Dear friends,
"...we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.... we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5
Tuesday our monthly Bible/Dinner club will gather to continue in Romans with chapter 4 and 5 (all are welcome!) but the encouragement above applies every day. Tomorrow we will take communion in our joy - and anticipation - of seeing these promises fulfilled. It also means we should prayerfully examine ourselves today and prepare our hearts to come to the Lord's table.
This week has seemed a curious juxtaposition of the verses above... ice, snow, and frigid temperatures reminding us of how cold the world can be... fueled by headlines of shootings, debates, divisiveness and general discord. However, in the midst of the snowy days has been an abundance of light... sunshine... warming us even as we weather the chilly reality surrounding us presently. In Christ, His light is a promise that even in the sufferings we weather now, God provides glimmers of warmth now that give us a foretaste of the perfect yet to come.
Also, Phil Cunningham with Steps of Justice will be with us tomorrow. Join us to hear an update, pray, and find out about the upcoming Cambodia trip this summer. Until then...
Sola Deo Gloria!
- james
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