As more people continue to visit us from time to time, our church family is doing a great job of making people feel welcome. We love watching them give out the same kind of warmth and openness that they received when they first attended.
Even though we’re not led by our feelings, it’s still very nice to feel the joy of the Lord and know that HE is with us, teaching us, guiding us, and helping us move forward in our journey together.
Some of them are new to the Faith and some are returning to the path of purpose. Others have been walking in this way for a long time. That’s what makes this so fascinating. Even though we are at many different stages of life and even though we are moving at different paces in life, the Lord is helping us to walk together.
This week we want to encourage you to keep pressing forward. Keep chasing the Lord with all of your heart. You may have discovered that when you make up your mind to follow the Lord with all your heart, there are many obstacles that rise up to stop you. Most of those obstacles revolve around old habits, old friends and family relationships that may not be healthy. At one time in your life you may have been dependent upon certain vices, people and relationship to help you get through difficult times.
However, now that you have drawn close to God, those people and things that you once leaned on for support are no longer needed in that way. This is mainly because; you are not the same person. You are a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away and all things have become new.
Often, the people that become offended with your relationship with God will begin to do or say things to pull you back into that unhealthy connection. We just want to encourage you to keep chasing after the Lord. You may feel the strong temptation to go back to your old familiar pacifiers for comfort. Now is the time to exercise perseverance at a new level in your life.
Please hear us closely. This is part of what it means to follow the Lord. Everyone will not understand and many will simply not accept it, at least not until they make the same decision that you have made: to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
The past couple of weeks we have been teaching about the keys that will unlock the dream of God within you. One of those keys is virtue, which is moral excellence. You have to make up your mind to live a righteous life and sever those things and people who will hold you back. We also talked about what it means to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Simply put, make it your goal to get to know Jesus.
Finally we talked about self-control and receiving the ability of God to rule your own spirit. We cannot live out the dream of God if we cannot master our passions and desires.
This Sunday, we’re going to talk about adding perseverance which is a major key for all of us. During our church anniversary service, our special guest, Pastor Frank King, declared that perseverance is in the DNA of this church. We’re going to dig deeper into the Word of God so we can have a greater understanding of what has been infused into our substance as a church family.
If rather you’ve been a Believer for a few weeks or for many years, we will all benefit from this special teaching that the Lord has given us to share with our church family.
If this has been a tough week for you, please press past the circumstances and gather with your Urban Life family and friends. Please don’t sit at home trying to work out everything in your mind. Remember the lyrics of one of our praise songs:
Come on in, the table’s spread.
There’s a feast going on.
Come on in; have your fill.
We’re so glad you made it home.
Come on and get another full course meal of home cooking. Get some strength for your weary soul. Drink deep of the cool waters of the Spirit. Don’t allow the enemy of your destiny to cause you to go one more day, one more week, or one more month without receiving the LIFE that you need.
