S.O.A.P. 3

2019 will be a year full of exciting opportunities including decisions we will need to pray about and believe they live up to what the Scripture says “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us...” This Bible verse comes from Acts 15:28. This passage deals with the leaders of the church making decisions which affected groups of believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. The group of elders passed down some decisions which they felt would help believers grow in their faith and remove any confusion; which often takes place whenever groups of people voice their opinions and generational standards. Fast forward, one thing we should be thankful for is the foundational truths we have in the Word of God, the Assemblies of God, and this God-honoring local fellowship. We will never agree on everything and I think that’s part of maturity, learning how to get along even though we have very strong personal feelings about certain Christian traditions, Biblical interpretations, values and much more. Our year ahead, if Jesus tarries, will be one of great opportunity and at the same time challenging moments which are part of a the normal Christian life. Yes stuff will happen and we will all respond with I wasn’t expecting that to happen. (How amazingly timely is it – I was just talking to someone as I wrote this article about a major employment change in their life.) However you choose to read the word of God on a regular basis is up to you, yet I want you to feel comfortable enough to call me, text me, or stop by the office and visit about your spiritual journey and how you can improve whatever facet you’re working on. Obviously there is a great focus right now on daily scripture reading and this is very important but let's not neglect sharing our faith, helping the less advantaged, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, etc. which are all Biblical mandates. Some of us are going to be more motivated by local ministry, some of us will be more motivated by issues which relate to our state or nation and then there are those like myself, passionately called towards missions. Whether it is India, Tijuana Mexico, Hungary (prayerfully in 2020) Love Packages, Lake Superior Life Care Center or knocking on doors in our community, all are very important. I want to personally invite each you to participate in our upcoming missions appreciation dinner. Your attendance, as others have said, does not require any previous participation with missions activities. Please join us on Saturday, January 26th at 6pm, you should come just to watch me toss rolls!

Tonight is the final gathering for our week of prayer and it would be wonderful to have as many as possible join us. We will be praying for: miracles, healing and revival for northwest Wisconsin. Obviously prayer never ends; we will continue throughout the year to have various prayer gatherings. Friendly reminder – every Tuesday morning at 9 o’clock we gather at the church for intercessory prayer and on the fourth Sunday from 1-3pm we gather at the Rairdon home praying about starting a new church in Iron River. The article began with the scripture found in the book of Acts, and we are the continuation of the Book of Acts. The specific scriptures that were canonized in the Holy Bible have and hold great meaning, yet the Book of Acts continues because we are still declaring “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us...” My prayer is you will often in 2019 catch yourself saying it seems good to the Holy Spirit and to...