Hi Friends!
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word. With my whole heart I seek You; let me not wander from Your commandments! I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You. (Psalm 119:9-11, ESV)
That is one of the most well-known passages in the Psalms. It is why AWANA is such a powerful tool in the discipleship of our children. It’s the reason some of the guys are working on the “Topical Memory System” from Navigators. It’s the purpose behind many different ways we have been trying to encourage Bible memory in all of our people, young and old! Are you seeking Him with your whole heart?
This Sunday’s message in the Spiritual Disciplines series will focus on “Silence & Solitude”. Shhhhhhhh. For an introvert like me, you’d think this discipline wouldn’t be too hard. And sometimes it’s not. But this week I’ve been trying to find more silence than usual in my life. One thing I’ve done differently this week is turning off the radio anytime I’ve been driving alone. That may not seem like much, but it has been amazing to me how abnormal that feels. I normally listen to music, sermons, the audio Bible, or an occassional ball game. But listening to nothing has allowed me think more. Sometimes I’ve been tempted to start preaching, but I’ve really tried to just be silent during that time. I’m not saying that I’ll never listen to the radio again, but for we who live in such a noise-saturated culture, this could be a good discipline to practice more.
We will again look at many Scriptures on this topic. But for now I’d encourage you to spend some time thinking about the example of our Lord Jesus in this area of silence & solitude. Spend some time with verses like: Matthew 4:1 & 14:23; Mark 1:35; and Luke 4:42 (and any others you can find).
Please remember that we will have a brief meeting after the worship service to talk about the My Hope with Billy Graham program. Some of you have already expressed interest in being “Matthews”, those who will invite friends and show the video in your home. If you are considering that or would like more info about it, please stay after for 15-20 minutes or so.
Thank you to everyone who has responded to Elizabeth’s request for help with “Experience Christmas”! We are getting excited about how powerful this event is going to turn out. The incredible people of FBC Brownsville continue to amaze us!
We thank our God for you!
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael
P.S. Also THANK YOU for generous giving toward the relief efforts for the Philippines! We had over $4,000 come in this past Sunday, which has been sent to Medical Teams International out of Portland. I know God is pleased when we give generously and sacrificially. If you have not given yet, we’d still like to receive this offering over the next few weeks and really be a blessing to the hurting people of the Philippines! God Bless You.
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Michael S. Beach