From: "Phil Rembleski" <PHIl@rescuechurchofchrist.org>

To: "1111RESCUEMEMBERS"

Cc:

Sent: Mon, May 27, 2024 at 6:07 AM

Subject: 5-27-24 THOUGHTS

5-27-24   THOUGHTS

THERE WILL BE NO POST FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK.  CATH & I ARE TAKING A MINI-VACATION.  PRAY FOR OUR SAFETY PLEASE.

A familiar and powerful reading is ours today. I’ve chosen the Message Bible.  Please read it from a good word for word translation also.  The essence of our eternity is here.  This is once a week reminder information.  Immense in mercy and incredible in love... that’s our God toward us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ.  As we trust God with our all, we must join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.  We should rejoice every time we read this section of God’s word.

Eph 2:1-10   Message Bible    It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. 2  You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.  3  We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. 4  Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, 5  he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! 6  Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah. 7  Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. 8  Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! 9  We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! 10  No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

My Prayer:
O Lord, help us to participate in Your plan to save us.  May our hearts be fixed on You as we abide in Your presence. May we live in love as we tell the story of the saving Christ. May we put our hearts and minds into building the fellowship of the Church as we encourage one another toward love and good works. You are to be praised, O merciful and loving God.  
In the name of Jesus,     Amen.