Newsletter - February 24, 2022

I Don't Think So I remember explaining electricity to my son. I went into great depth to tell him about the power surging down the lines outside the house, then into the house. There was even a small discussion on how the power was made, including dams, turbines, and the like. After this extremely powerful moment of "fatherly" enlightenment, I can still hear what he said. He said "I don't think so."  When you look at electricity on its surface, we too might say "I don't think so." It doesn't take a college degree to get it, but it surely does sound "impossible." However, if you work through all the intricacies of making power, it works. It really works.   So it is with the things of God. If you recount and wonder at the workings of God, and then the workings of God through His Son Jesus, we are amazed and awed by the works of God. We read page after page in His word of His miraculous intervention in human history and His effortless movements in all types of lives. We revel in His power and what He has shown He can do and, more wonderfully, what He will do. Creation shouts the glory and majesty of God. The laws and commands of God fit together perfectly, dovetailing with the person of Christ in the New Testament. The prophets and judges and kings of old experienced the same austere holiness of God and equally His overwhelming grace. We see how He takes the worst of us and brings out the best in us. There is almost never a moment as we spend time with Him, that we are not amazed at His mercy and out-stretched love and involvement.   So, now we turn to hope. How can we not have hope in this type of person? How can we not lean expectantly on His grace and expect His movement? How can we not learn that this is not just what He does but who He is?  The Bible shouts, "Have faith in God." The winds whisper "Maybe God will do something." After all, He always does something.   Both in my own personal experience and repeatedly in the pages of Scripture, God is a person in whom we can hope. I know it sounds impossible, but He works well in the kingdom of "Impossible." I know we are tempted to say, "I don't think so," but can you find a faint glimmer of trust, a passing whisper of "maybe?" God may do something big in your life today! This day, might be the day.   I'm praying just for that! Jerry Rea

Sight Seeing I recently heard a person who was approaching retirement talk about all the places he wanted to visit when he and his wife had more time to travel. With great excitement, he mentioned famous places all over the world. Even though travel on that scale would require a lot of time and money, he thought it all worthwhile. He even couched his plans in a spiritual context, saying he thought it would be an act of worship to go and see all the beauty and majesty that God has created.  Sound familiar? Don’t we all relate to that, to some extent? Maybe God will bless us with those sorts of resources to be able to worship Him in that way, but, then again, maybe He won’t. Does that mean that our worship in not-so-spectacular or glamorous surroundings is any less significant to Him? I hardly think so. In fact, if one wants to contemplate beauty, I can’t think of any place on earth that even remotely compares to the beauty that we are all to behold in heaven.   It reminds me a little bit about how we think of church music. There are a lot of fantastically impressive songs and other types of compositions that really make an impact in a worship service. However, not every congregation has the resources to perform them up to the standards set by the “real pros.”  Nevertheless, we at FSBC do our best every Sunday, because we present our music as an offering to God, back to Him a portion of what He has given us. It may not blow your socks off like the Grand Canyon or the Taj Mahal, but we believe that to His ears, it’s just what he wants to hear.  We purpose to avoid musical sight-seeing in our earthly quest, and focus, instead, on preparation for the greatest music to come at our journey’s end. Retired or not, we invite you to join us. Tickets are cheap and the rewards are great.        David

STRONGHOLDS MINISTRY WEBSITE

MORE RESOURCES AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE Visit Bro. Jerry's website by clicking on the Strongholds Ministry Website link above to watch Sunday Sermons, listen to his Radio Devotional: "It's A Brand New Day," read Here's Hope articles, find Wednesday Bible Study notes, Sunday School Lesson notes, and Sermon Outlines.