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 Pastor's Notes
Greetings and grace to
you in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We survived summer and the 2017 Eclipse,
but did we live purposefully during these days? It would seem that “survival
mode” is the way many live today.
The prayer of many is, “Just get me through the day
Lord.” Yes, there has been
many a day I have prayed that too, but how much better our lives would be if we
said, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in
it. Lord, show me what you have for
me today, and empower me to glorify You, and You alone!” Don’t just survive, thrive, living
for God’s glory moment by moment.
September has arrived
and the Lord has planned a celebration as a testimony unto Himself. On Sunday, September 24, ERBC will
celebrate the Lord’s 50 years of ministry through us unto the Piney
Chapel community, Limestone County, Alabama, the USA and the uttermost part of
the earth. Dr. Steve Linginfelter,
former pastor, will be our guest preacher.
Our lunch will be catered so everyone can enjoy the time of
fellowship. Be alert to the many
ways you can become involved in the details, whether it is as a greeter or
helping with special decorations and setup. As we anticipate many guests that day, I
would like to ask you to park in the very back parking spaces that
morning. There will be valet
parking to assist you if needed.
In the previous eight
newsletters I have focused on us being sent by the Lord with the purpose of
sharing the Gospel with the lost so they could hear and believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Once we personally
know the Lord ourselves, this should be our first priority! Have you ever considered that when your
path crosses that of a lost person with the opportunity to share the Gospel, it
could be because they were seeking God and asking for someone to tell them what
they ought to do? That was the case
with Cornelius in Acts 10. Verse
two reveals Cornelius was a “devout man,” which means he believed
in one God. This verse also tells
us that he feared God and prayed always.
In answer to Cornelius’ prayers God sent an angel to tell him to
send for Peter, who “shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” (vv.
3-6) Do you and I forget that an
unbeliever does not know what or how he is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
for salvation? Have we been so
churched for so long, we have forgotten what it is like to be lost, not knowing
the Lord?
Peter also had a
message from God to prepare him to go unto Cornelius. The Lord gave him a vision, preparing
Peter’s heart to understand “that
God is no respecter of persons;” and to go share the Gospel of Christ
with Cornelius and his household (vv. 9-35). The remaining of the chapter tells us of
Peter’s sharing and Cornelius’ salvation (vv. 36-48).
Let us understand that
the Lord has saved us by grace through faith, and has sent us, empowering us
with the Holy Spirit, to be witness unto Christ to all people. You and I do not need a housetop vision
to prepare our hearts. We have the
inspired Word of God! God has spoken
to us through each Word divinely inspired, written and preserved for our instructing. Therefore, you and I can go unto the
Cornelius of our day and tell them what they ought to do. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31) Now, let us go tell!
By His
grace,
Toney
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