Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
You may have noticed that gas prices are going up. As I drove through Westford town center, unleaded gas was already at $3.60 per gallon. Good thing I filled up earlier this week! Bad thing if I have to fill up early next week! Now, I haven’t seen people lining up at the pump as if there will be a shortage due to the war in Iran and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. But I have heard of some people stocking up on supplies they think they will need when things start to run out on the shelves. In their anxiety, they are trying to be prepared for an unknown future. But we are told not to be anxious about anything (Matt. 6:25) not even about what we will eat or drink.
It’s more than food and drink or gas that we are anxious about. We get most anxious about the things we can’t control. When we have overwhelming responsibilities, we don’t know how all the work will get done. When we have unexpected news, we are anxious about what the future will be like. Oftentimes, our anxious responses just make the people around us anxious or they make matters worse because we make things into bigger problems than they really are. And that just makes things harder – causing us to be more anxious.
What are you anxious about recently? I have been reminding myself to bring my anxieties to the Lord so that the things I can’t control don’t overwhelm my soul. Rather, I am able to be confident in the Lord, that He is in control and will do what is right. We can cast our cares on the Lord knowing that He cares for us.
May God grant you the relief of confidence in the face of the anxiety that assails you. This confidence comes from trusting the Lord God who alone is in control and is working all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Please continue to pray for the nations of Iran and Israel/Gaza and Ukraine/Russia and Sudan. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ And here are other prayers for peace in general: https://worldrelief.org/prayers-for-peace-in-the-world/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza and Lebanon, and Sudan, and Iran and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
Further announcements can be found in the weekly spotlight. And other church wide announcements can be found in our weekly bulletin.
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:00 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Pastor Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL