Newsletter Article for 7-5-20
Newsletter Article for 7-5-20
From Mike:
I don’t think I have ever approached an Independence Day with more feelings of being captive than I do now. I feel captive to a wild virus that has caused us to stay home, keep social distance, wear face masks, and disrupted everything that I love and live for. We have been okay and have suffered little or no hardships. It’s just the idea of some unseen thing keeping us apart and causing so many to live in fear is…like being held captive. I am not down, sad, or depressed, just feeling weird about so many things being different. I firmly believe that God is in charge and He will provide for his people and his church. It just seems to take a little away from the usual feelings of joy about independence.
And then there is all the social unrest and division that seems to be permeating our country. It is like Satan has found something that he can use to drive people further and further apart and it’s hard to see where it’s going to go. Personal issues are being mixed with social issues and in turn mixed with political issues. All of which spells hurt, hate, and harm that leads to distrust and disunity in many people. I can’t imagine that our Founding Fathers, with all their own cultural struggles, could have imagined this when they committed their “sacred trust” to the independence of this nation. It does cast a temporary shadow over this special holiday when we celebrate the founding of our country.
I believe with all my heart that we will look back on all of this one day and say that it made us a better nation. As a child of God who puts my hope and trust in God’s hands, every day he gives me to live and love for him is Independence Day! I have been set free from the burden of sin, the sting of death, and the darkness that is in the world because of rebellion to God! He gave his only Son to die for me because he loves me and I will return that love to him through how I act, talk, and think. I will practice love as a way of life and as a way of treating others. It is how Jesus lived and treated others, and I can do no less.
I have said all that to simply say that our last of the Seven Practices of a Transformed Life is love. Sunday we will look at this last practice and talk about why it is the most important practice and why it must transcend anything else that might be going on in our life, our world, and our culture. It may not cure the Corona Virus, but it will cure the poison that seems to be spreading through our society. We are his carriers of love. Let’s spread it to everyone!
Join us Sunday at 10, either on sight or by screen, and remember that true independence is only given by God and shared by love. This is truly a case where practice makes perfect!
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Remember, a Bible Study Discussion sheet that is connected to my Sunday lesson is available on our church website as part of the lesson outline at florissantchurchofchrist.org, and it is also on my website mikerootbooks.com.
Join Donna and me Wednesday evening as we look at the My Phavorite Psalm! The Facebook live cast is on my site, but it is Public so you don’t have to be a FB friend of mine to see it.
