Hello Church
May I encourage you to see as God does. God saw the crucifixion of Christ and the resurrection of Christ of the most important thing he did for humanity. The prize for doing this – you.
He did this for you. Would let the realities of God’s purpose in Christ seep into your everyday experiences and purposes. I think the video series we are doing together on Zoom on Thursday nights from 7-7:45 could get you and your family centered on the love of God through Christ.
So, two things:
- Join us Thursday on Zoom. I will be on 10 minutes early for fellowship before we begin. Get your heart ready for the event with more importance than Christmas. It may get you primed for #2.
- Pray for our city from now until Easter. What does our city need, you ask? You tell me. Seriously. Let me know what The Lord is laying on your heart to pray for. Here’s some of my requests for our city: that those in leadership positions develop the heart of God to lead with His mindset. Our Mayor, our teachers, our Assembly, our business owners… add to my list. May God start a revival. I had breakfast with a Mayoral candidate today and I was inspired to speak up and remind the group of Jeremiah 29. The Mayoral election is 2 days after Easter. So, from now to Easter is a perfect time to pray for our city. Pray also to speak a word of invitation to your friends to join you for celebrating Easter worship.
Jeremiah 29.1 and following: Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
1This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the exiles … and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.) The letter was entrusted to Elasah … whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Likewise, God calls us to make Anchorage prosperous, and not just financially, but in all ways. He has always called his people to let their light shine. Go out and make your friendship circles better, your work place better, your school better, your neighborhood better; spiritually, relationally, empathetically, in all ways. I spoke today that too often we get apathetic because either our household is ok, or we don’t think we can do anything to make things better. Either way we sit in our fortress home and thank God for what he has done for us and forget that he calls each of us to make other households better.
Here’s what one person told me about the first Easter video last week, “This series has the depth I want to feel moving toward Easter. Thanks for setting it up for us!”
Have a great evening and day tomorrow,