And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:8-11
How’s that for Christmas in July? I love that passage. It is a passage that we need to cling on to in these weird times we are living in. We have viruses, protests, riots, anarchy, political unrest, financial woes, job loss, disrespect to law enforcement, and many more things that have led to some of the craziest times that America has ever seen. We are living in a world where people seem to not give a rip about other people.
My wife keeps telling me that she believes this could be the beginning of the end times that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24 and Paul speaks to again in 2 Timothy 3:1-5:
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. “
Sound like today? Well, yes it does. Well, thanks Jeff for being so encouraging in this brief letter. (Said nobody who read this!) I want to remind you of the Luke 2 passage at the beginning. The angel said, “Fear not but have joy because you have a Savior!” My encouragement to everyone (including myself) is to hold tight to God’s promises throughout the Old and New Testaments that we need to fear not, but be strong and courageous in the face of obstacles and difficult times.
I know this is not how any of us would want our world to be at this moment, but thank the Lord this world is not our home! We long for heaven! Remember—the war is over—Jesus wins (as do those that are on His side)! We have victory over death and the destruction we deserve because of what the Savior did for us. We will make it through all this fallen world throws at us and be with Him forever someday!!!!! So, FEAR NOT RIVERLAWN, we have a Savior who brings us good news of great joy!!
Fearing Not,
Jeff
How to Stay Connected or Get Involved
Family & Kids
Kurt Schneider -Family Pastor
kschneider@riverlawn.org
Devin Donnell – Kids Pastor
ddonnell@riverlawn.org
Students
Eli Bayless – Students Pastor
ebayless@riverlawn.org
Missions
missions@riverlawn.org
Young Adults & Small Groups
Josh Gores – Discipleship Pastor
jgores@riverlawn.org
Connections
Greg Schuessler – Connections Director
gschuessler@riverlawn.org
Women’s
Alisha Illian – Women’s Ministry Leader
info@riverlawn.org
