How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” - Isaiah 52:7
Are you struggling with seasonal depression? Anxious thoughts? Panic attacks? Worry? Fear, etc?
Our culture specializes in bad news. The sinful pull of a broken world leaves us drinking in fearful articles, discouraging podcasts, negative news cycles and the beat goes on. Negative information contains the power to engulf our hearts, which leads to negative thinking which then leads to negative feelings and emotions.
So what is a Christian to do in the midst of such daily negativity? Believers are to daily receive the good news of the Gospel! It's only the Good news of the Gospel that relieves our minds, renews our hope, and puts our minds in a place of health and stability. Isaiah said "how beautiful...are those who bring good news" so certainly receiving the good news of the Gospel means we get to church on a regular basis to hear good tidings and peace proclaimed.
The good news of the Gospel also flows into our souls through the written word, hence the example of the Bible and the many New Testament letters of the apostles, whose letters contain Gospel encouragements over and over again.
These articles that I write are some form of the written word and though not inspired scripture, I do hope these testimonies encourage your minds today:
Good News Report #1 - The "Take 5" Prayer challenge has been bigger than we thought
I have been blown away by how God is using this year's "Take 5" prayer challenge to transform people's lives. I've had multiple people tell me that this five minute per day prayer challenge is changing their lives and helping them see God's works all around them. Praise God for these good reports! May God continue to use this prayer challenge to storm the gates of Hell and bring about many victories for Jesus' glory. Let's keep it up church! (and if you missed this Sunday's message on prayer, you can catch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NaSg9gSlco&t=9724s)
Good News Report #2 - We have new leaders for our Missions Committee
Chris & Rachel Harrington had to step down as our missions committee leaders in 2021 because they felt God's call to go to the mission field and serve the Lord in South Africa (How cool!). You can learn more about the Harrington’s ministry and support them by clicking on this link: https://www.abwe.org/work/missionaries/chris-and-rachel-harrington. With the Harrington's stepping down, God has richly provided for Living Waters by affirming Bissong & Johanna Bate as our next Missions Committee leaders. Bissong was born in Cameroon, Africa and Johanna lived in Germany as a missionary's kid. They met in Istanbul, Turkey, were married and of course, they moved to Des Moines Iowa (note the humor and sarcasm! LOL). Bissong and Johanna are truly a global couple who love missions and we believe they will do a fantastic job facilitating missions at Living Waters. We are praising God for this good news!
Good News Report #3 - Counseling Conference is ready to go!
Pastor Andy and his team are ready to host a phenomenal counseling conference this weekend January 21-22 at Fellowship Baptist Church. The theme of this year's conference is "The Gospel and Addiction" and we will have 16 speakers addressing this crucial topic. We have just under 100 people registered to attend the conference and we are anticipating a very blessed time of worship, instruction and encouragement in the Gospel. What good news that Jesus has brought this counseling conference together for His Glory!
I love you church. It's late January and look, I get it, there are lots of reasons to be down this time of year...but may the good news of the Gospel be your joy today!
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