Hello from up in the
country, Enola, Arkansas and your friend and minister, Mickey Burleson and the
Enola Church of Christ. Well, life is
made up of opportunities, chances, and changes.
I will be making a life-change as Cindi and I move from Enola, Arkansas
to Louisville, Kentucky to begin a new ministry with the Watterson Trail Church
of Christ at the end of the month (October).
The past 3 ½ years have truly been a blessing to me and also I hope, a
blessing to the wonderful Enola Church of Christ. The church at Enola has grown in every
way. God has blessed us all. The church at Enola has been so very kind and
loving to me and my family. I pray that
the church will continue to grow and prosper in the coming days as the
eldership reaches out in prayer to God and in preparation and patience for a
man with a dedicated servant’s heart to continue the work of ministry up in the
country. If you are reading this blog,
please remember the church of Christ at Enola in your daily prayers. It could be that you are a gospel preacher
and are ready for a change. Well,
consider giving the church a call. Take
a look at our website http://www.enolachurchofchrist.com
and get in touch with one of our three elders.
You will be very glad you did.
Our series of sermons
“Living a Life that Really Counts” will conclude this coming Sunday as I will
be preaching my final sermon as the local minister. We have considered Paul’s indisputable,
undeniable, irrefutable laws of living a life that counts. Our Scripture text comes from Galatians
6. What goes up must come down. This is equally true: What goes down must
come up. By this I mean, what we sow, we
shall certainly reap. God is not
mocked. No one and I mean, no one can
ever say to God, “See, I told you so.”
God is always and forever right.
Law #2 is this: Impossible is
what no one can do until someone decides to do it and never gives up or out or
in until the “impossible” is proven to be possible. Luke 1:37 is true. If you read this verse you will see that an
angel made this statement to Jesus’ mother, Mary. “For with God nothing will be
impossible.” This was true then. This is still true today. This Sunday (26th) we will look at
Law #3: Means plus opportunity equals
responsibility. When I have the means to
do good and the opportunity to do good, I then have the responsibility to do
good. We’ll take a look at this in our
every day Christian life.
On Sunday evening at Enola
we are studying about PEACE. Do you have
peace? We will never have true peace
until we have peace WITH God. People try
to find peace in every place in the world; a pill, a drink, food, pleasure,
entertainment, work, things, a new outfit, a new relationship, a new job, a new
city, a new church, I could go on and on.
Peace comes to every person who trusts in God and becomes obedient to
His will, word, and purpose. Once I have
peace WITH God, I then receive the peace OF God. He presents His Holy Spirit to me when I rise
up from the waters of baptism (Acts 2).
In baptism I receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the peace OF God. Because I have the peace OF God, I can have
peace WITH people. I have a better
understanding of those around me. Some
are suffering. Some are 100%. Some are doubtful. Some are faithful. Some are immature. Some are maturing. Some are lost in sin. Some are safe and sound in Christ. Some are confused. Some are secure. When I have peace with God and He gives me
His peace, the peace of God, then and only then can I truly have peace with
people. If you have sin in your life,
sin that you have hidden away, sin that has become a personal “habit” to you,
any sin then you do not and cannot have peace with God. Isn’t it about time you answered Jesus’
invitation to “Come to Me?” It could be
that at one time you did have the peace that I am writing about. In Luke 15 Jesus teaches us about a sheep who
was lost, a coin that was lost, and a son who was lost in sin. If you read this group of parables you will
find that the son that became lost in sin remembered, repented, and returned to
His father. You can too. Just get up and come back to your
Father. Come back to the family, the church
that Jesus founded, purchased, built, and even today watches over, provides for,
and blessings. May God help us all to
come to Jesus to find His peace.
