The Apostle Paul came to the end of his life and wrote these words: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Yesterday, I read a note to my oldest daughter from one of the dearest saints in the world to me (Elizabeth Smiley). Mrs. Smiley is 98 years old. I got to be her pastor for a few years in Texas and I have benefitted directly from her prayers for 15 or more years.

In her note (at 98 years of age) she wrote of how because of her infirmities she wasn’t able to attend church as much as she wished but she was thankful that she was still able to pray, encourage, and love.

PRAY – ENCOURAGE – LOVE

At 48 I want to pray more – encourage more and love more and by the grace of God do that all the way to the finish.

As a church – may God help us to PRAY – ENCOURAGE – LOVE and excel still more all the way to the end.

Thank you Lord for the example of Mrs. Smiley.

If you missed adult bible study yesterday – you can listen to the first part of a series we began on marriage here online soon. I am really excited about studying this issue biblically together.

If you are not married this study will still be a tremendous benefit for you. God may use it to equip you for a future marriage, for counseling/advising someone else about marriage, or as a spokesman and ambassador for biblical marriage.

Marriage parables forth a greater reality of our union with the Lord Jesus. If you are a believer then the Bible speaks of you being married to Christ. In this study, it is my prayer that studying the shadow of marriage will make sweeter for us the reality of being wed to Christ.

So listen if you missed it and be sure to come and join us next week at 9:45.

01-marriage-session-1

Come and join us this Lord’s Day as we remember the death of the Lord Jesus and the communion we have with Him and each other because of His death. The Lord’s Supper is an important part of worship because it expresses the infinite worth of Christ – perhaps as gloriously as anything that ever happens in the church. Surely, no one is more worthy to be remembered. No one is more worthy to be proclaimed. And no one can satisfy our souls with eternal life but Christ. So prepare yourself and let’s come and remember, and proclaim and eat and worship this Sunday.

            My wife called my attention to a couple of advertisements by churches for “Easter” (Resurrection Day) that invited people to come to their particular church and then emphasized that it was a “safe place for your family.”

Is safety really an issue in deciding where you should go to church?

Pastor Andrew shared with me a story this week from a book he is reading about a church in China. These believers were choosing to meet in a home where there was active tuberculosis because the authorities wouldn’t raid it. It was actually safer than meeting somewhere else. Obviously, it wasn’t nearly as safe as not meeting or as meeting in a state run church.

When I think about reasons to invite people to come to Springs of Grace, the church being a “safe place” hasn’t been on my list. I hope Springs is “safe” in the sense that it is a place where you will hear the truth and see God’s people demonstrating love to the least of these. I hope Springs is “safe” because what unites us is not the color of our skin or the size of our homes or the amount of money in our pockets but our shared conviction that Christ is everything. It’s a safe place because you’ll be told about the greatness of God and the foolishness of living for anything other than Him and His purposes. It’s a safe place because you will be reminded that God is good all the time to those who are His own and remembering that will keep you from falling into temptation. It’s a safe place because at Springs of Grace we remind each other that life isn’t about us or about right now but it is about living for God, loving others and looking towards heaven. Remembering that will keep you from the danger of wasting your life on yourself. Springs of Grace is a safe place because you can hear about a Savior who took upon Himself the full fury of God’s wrath that your sin deserved and bore it on a cross and then rose from the dead. Believing that will keep you safe from hell.

So perhaps that’s what these churches on the radio mean when they say “they are a safe place for your family.” I hope so.

But if by “safe” they mean free from risk (which is how Webster’s dictionary defines the word) then they are missing what the church is about. God calls us to take risks for His kingdom. Esther did (Esther 4:16). Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego did (Daniel 3:17-18). Thomas and the disciples did (John 11:16). The early church did (Acts 2:45; 4:19-21,32). The Apostle Paul did (Acts 14:19-20; 1 Thess. 2:8). Believers in most of the world still do and so should we.

We ought to risk our safety in order to love others who are not exactly like us. We ought to risk not having enough money in the bank for a future emergency in order to help those who are experiencing the emergency of doing without right now. We ought to risk the safety of privacy to share our needs with one another and confess our sins to one another and bear one another’s burdens. We ought to risk our safety in order to see the glory of God advanced and His Son treasured.

I’m glad I go to a church that is safe and not safe – may it be more so in the right ways to the glory of God.