1 Thessalonians 1:2–4 (NASB95)
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; 3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;
We have been digging into the book of James to discover if we have a living faith. It has been very challenging and convicting in my own soul. The Lord has been reassuring me that I do have a living faith, but He wants me to grow stronger and deeper in the application of His truth in my life so that I might be a better testimony of His transforming grace. How are you doing?
I chose the verse above because like Paul and the church in Thessalonica, I am so very proud of our church family. Your work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is evident in so many ways. One of them is in your commitment to reach people with the Gospel (locally and globally). Your faithfulness to pray and generosity in your giving has made it possible for us to support missionaries all over the world AND reach out to people in our own backyard. This past Tuesday it was to the Van Nuys Police Station. What a joy it was for my wife and I to go there as your representatives and let the officers know our church loves them, respects them, is grateful for them, and prays for them. They were ALL grateful and expressed it repeatedly. Please read the article posted on our website (and app) that shares an email we received from an eternally grateful spouse of one of the officers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I see your love for Christ also in your effort to be together whenever possible. Seeing you the past two Sunday evenings has been such a joy for me. Sharing in communion and now studying the Psalms is something I look forward to each weekend. Your willingness to come on a warm evening (even though the shade, cold water, and strong breeze made it quite enjoyable), wear masks, and social distance in order to be together, shows me the reality of your commitment to Christ and one another. I hope to see you this Sunday, 6pm, as we will sing God’s praise and then study a profound wedding psalm (Psalm 45). You won’t want to miss this incredible passage of Scripture! If you can’t physically join us, please watch on the Livestream (9am – James 3; 6pm – Psalm 45).
Please pray for us as we go to the West Valley Police Station this coming Tuesday, August 25th, at noon. We will repeat what we did in Van Nuys and are looking forward to reporting back how your generosity and prayers were answered by God moving in a mighty way in the lives of those who protect and serve our community.
Have a great weekend. I’ll see you Sunday!