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 Pastor's Notes
Greetings and grace to you in the
wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Writing this newsletter on Monday night, Nov. 25, with a greater
understanding that thanksgiving is not optional. Remembering not only the happenings of
November but reflecting also on 2019.
My oldest grandson spent the day with me today and was a big help
getting up leaves. It wasn’t
all work, as we had some play time as well. Received a text from Hannah, and
Marshall’s first doctor’s appointment went well. Days like today make thanksgiving easy. Then you remember those hard and
challenging days we have experienced in 2019 and the thanksgiving rendered was and
is for God’s faithfulness and goodness. By the time you read this, you will have
eaten your Thanksgiving meal and possibly even shopped till you’ve
dropped, but let us never consider thanksgiving unto the Lord as an optional
aspect of our life; rather let it be an essence of our lives.
The month of December is
certainly marked by Christmas, celebrating the birth of Christ, but it also
contains the Week of Prayer for IMB Missionaries (Dec. 1-8) and the Lottie Moon
Christmas Offering, which is received all month. The Women’s Ministry Christmas
party is Monday, Dec. 2 @ 6pm. Senior
Adult breakfast is Dec. 10 @ 8am at Old Gin House. On Sunday, Dec. 15, the Choir will be
presenting their Christmas cantata @ 10:30am followed by a churchwide Christmas
lunch. Also, that evening the AWANA
clubs will be visiting the nursing home.
Everyone is invited to go caroling on Wednesday, Dec.18 @ 5:45pm. We will not have services on Christmas
day.
The Lord led us to “That I may know him…” (Php. 3:10a) as a theme for 2019,
desiring each of us to grow in our intimate knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. What was the reason the
Lord Jesus came from heaven to earth, being born as a babe in the fullness of
God’s timing, and being crucified on an old rugged cross? Some might answer to pay our sin debt
and save us. “So that we
could be redeemed by His shed blood,” others might answer. Some might say, “To give us
eternal life through His resurrection life.” None of these could be said to be wrong,
but salvation and redemption would just be judicial without reconciliation and
intimate revelation. Let us not
forget what Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
(John 17:3) Salvation, forgiveness of sin,
redemption by the shed blood of Jesus is only the beginning of the gift of
eternal life through His resurrection life. This beginning would not have been
possible without Jesus coming. Consider
John 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
[him].” The Greek word translated “declared”
is exegeomai, which according to Strong’s, means to declare the
things relating to God; to unfold a teaching; used in Greek writing of the
interpretation of things sacred and divine. Toney’s simple understanding of “declared”
in John 1:18 is to make known. Just
as John 14:6 states, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
The Bible emphatically declares that Jesus Christ is the only Savior!
(Acts 4:12) Considering the truth
of John 17:3 and 14:6, you must know Jesus to know God, and you must come to
Jesus to come to God. If any preacher,
popular personality or even an angel from heaven declares a person can go to
heaven and God will accept you without personally knowing Jesus Christ it is a
lie from the devil. Don’t
believe it; believe the Word of God, which is truth and the source of faith
(John 17:7; Rom. 10:17). Know the
Lord Jesus and grow in your knowledge of Him. Merry Christmas!
By His grace,
Toney
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