August Newsletter 2020
SAVE THE DATE
8.10 | Flagler County Schools return
8.10 | St Johns County Schools return
8.17 | Volusia County Schools return
Mark your calendars for our Fall Fundraiser | September 16th - 18th
PRAYER CORNER
As we turn the corner on the summer months, we would encourage you to pray for our teachers, parents, and students as our local cities seek to get back to school. This new school year is sure to bring many extra challenges for everyone involved and we are praying for God’s wisdom, grace and peace to rest on each person involved in the process. Learning is a wonderful gift from the Lord and it is our prayer that the 2020-2021 school year can serve to bring calms to our children’s hearts and not anxiety and trouble.
UNITY
by Bill Powell
Guess what is one thing we all have and that we all share? Wait for it …………………………
An opinion! Someone once told me that I was a person of few opinions, and the ones I have you have to drag out of me. To know me is to realize that was a funny. I am very opinionated. Actually, the only opinion that is always correct is the Lord’s opinion. His are not opinions but fact and truth. If you would like my opinion just ask. As I write, I thought, have we not heard it all? Can I persuade you, change your mind, enlighten you? To be honest, I think I can, but I won’t try, and I will spare you what I think of this whole coronavirus issue.
We live in such a divided world. I am sure you have heard the phrase, “There are two sides to a story”. Actually, there are too often three side to a story, “Your side my side and the right side”. I would caution you that as you form your opinion please get all the facts, be well informed, and above all, let it be in harmony with the word of God. As God’s people, there is an expression I like that speaks of unity as Christians when it comes to our theology: "IN ESSENTIALS UNITY, IN NON-ESSENTIALS LIBERTY, IN ALL THINGS CHARITY”. This was quoted by St. Augustine around the 380’s or 390’s and is still relevant today. This phrase could also apply to the subject of the coronavirus (sorry my opinion).
As Christians, let’s take a look at God’s opinion concerning unity:
(Psa 133:1 NASB) A Song of Ascents, of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
(Joh 17:23 NASB) I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
(Eph 4:3-13 NASB) being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
(Col 3:4 NASB) When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Now let that sink in! Let me finish with another quote by the famous philosopher Forrest Gump, “And that’s all I have to say about that”.
Stir And Be Stirred
by Chris Johnson
Have you ever been stirred to action? Maybe you heard a compelling speech or saw a powerful video that provoked you to take a stand for something, volunteer your time, or even give money towards a particular cause or need. God has designed us to be stirred to action. The writer to the Hebrews compels the readers to “consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds” (Heb. 10:24). I wonder how we’re heeding this godly advice in our daily lives. By God’s grace, he’s placed people in my life who regularly stir my heart and mind to these things. I thank the Lord for those he’s using to challenge me and motivate me towards a deeper love for him and an active faith in serving him. I also pray to be used by him to stir others up. Living under God’s authority is meant to be active and participatory. Sadly, many people think that the “action” is for ministry leaders only but that’s simply not the message of the Scripture. God has saved his people by his grace and set them on a mission. That mission includes stirring up fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to love and good deeds. That mission includes spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide through every means possible and by way of every avenue, the Lord opens to us. I pray this article would stir up your heart to greater service of the King. We have such a marvelous privilege of not only being called the child of God but also of being used as instruments of his grace and mercy in a lost and dying world. Our lives are meant to be conduits of God’s power actively moving in the lives of others. May we be stirred and stir up one another in the journey.
Rest For The Weary
by Christina Hutchinson
The past few years, God has had me in a place where I have been able to see His comfort truly at work. From losses to changing times, new seasons, and new journeys, He has provided the path and the protection to walk through them. We're used to saying the words "may God's peace comfort you," but until you've been through something difficult, it's hard to understand what that comfort feels like and what it truly means.
A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that her 18-year-old son was in a terrible accident and pleaded for her friends to pray. Within a few hours of her initial post, she sadly reported that he had gone to be with the Lord. You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you hear bad news? Her first post had me feeling so sorry for what she was facing amid all the chaos going on, then learning her son passed away shortly after left me feeling heavy-hearted for her. I cannot imagine the pain this loss has inflicted on her, his father, and his younger sister. How do you face the hours, days, weeks, and years ahead? In moments such as these, it is easy to fall into the trap of telling ourselves that God doesn't care. If He did, then how could He let this happen? We feel alone, isolated, and given the times we're in right now, that loneliness is bound to feel magnified.
But there is hope. There is love. There is peace. God does not leave us or forsake us in the midst of a trial. He comforts us through His word, through the works of His people, and with a peace that surpasses all understanding. My prayer for this mom is that she would surrender her sorrow to the Lord and cling to His peace through this difficult time she is facing. May we all, when faced with trials, cling to a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that is found only in Christ. And when others are faced with sorrow, may we be the reason they feel God is near, by showing them love and support.
How Do I Keep From Singing (And Believing)?
by Denisha Stearns
Do you know the songs “In Christ Alone (My Hope is Found)”, “Give Me Jesus”, or “Everything to Me?” These songs (favorites of mine) and thousands of other songs we have played on our station through the years sing to who matters most- Jesus. People look at us Christians and call us fools and crazy. They have asked us, “What do you waste your time for?” Or, “when there are other good teachers, why pay Jesus so much attention?” I’m sure you’ve heard many similar remarks. I thought I’d put a few good gospel Scriptures on the page for all our benefit:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)
Why would anyone perish? Because we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” “The wages of sin is death, but, the gift of God is eternal life.” (Rom 3:23 and 6:23, NIV)
How did God give this gift? “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21), “For the joy set before Him, enduring the cross, despising the shame…” (Heb 12:2), and “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1Cor 15:3,4,NIV)
“Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.’…and ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Rom 10:11,13,NIV)
Among all the teachers and prophets ever born, Jesus is the only one sent by God to die for us. He is the only one who came back to life again after being dead, proving that everything He taught- about God, about Himself, about life and death- was true. He saved us! This is why we believe and why we sing of Jesus our Blessed Redeemer, yes? Though we could have 10,000 Reasons, let’s take our Thousand Tongues to Sing our favorite praises today to the Our God, the One who loved us first- radio not required.
We thought we would introduce to you the voice you are hearing on Saturdays.
His name is Bobby Mitchell. Bobby is a true radio professional with over 45 years of broadcast experience. He started his career when he was 16 at none other than WMFJ 1450.
The Lord works in mysterious ways! Bobby says he is thrilled to be back here to finish out his career. You can reach him, if you would like to send him a note at bobby@wjlu.org
