From Fear to Fearless

Grace and peace to you! I hope your week has been wonderful!

As always we have had and exciting week at Mercy Abounds. Tuesday Bible Study was awesome. We had a sweet time of prayer afterwards. We studied from "Lessons Learned in the Dark" from Jennifer Rothschild about walking by faith and not by sight. It was a sweet time in the Lord. We had the opportunity to encourage each other to keep walking and trusting God and then we prayed for one another. My sweet friend, a new sister in Christ of only about two months now, was so incredibly filled with the Spirit as she encouraged a sister who had been walking with Jesus for a while but was discouraged. There is nothing on this earth like the excitement of a new Christian as they see God work. I hope I see much more of this! The sister appreciated the lift and we parted ways peacefully filled and exhausted. Wow!

The Next Door Bible Study met and we just shared what God has been doing in our lives, what we were thankful for lately and heard some testimonies. Then we got the surprise of our lives! Dustin called from rehab. This young man had gotten ill some time ago and suffered for so long. We all struggled for so very long in prayer for him. His grandmother, Charlotte, who works with us on Fridays (UP) gave me bracelets today that say, "I prayed for Dusty". Oh what a wonderful gift! We passed the phone around and he asked us for the name of some songs he could be practicing while in rehabilitation so he'd be ready to sing with us when he got out. Dusty had, at the Dr's best guess, a viral brain infection. They still have no proof of anything, and no firm diagnosis has been given. Those of you who know about spiritual warfare can understand that we all battled on a spiritual level for the life of this young man with prayer, fasting, and sharpening each others faith. It was a tough time for all of us. He has a long way to go and we are so glad to have him any way we can get him. It is a miracle he was able to dial the phone and speak with all of us. He was able to remember almost everyone. It was amazing. Next week we will continue with Genesis 24 as planned!

Today was [UP] Bible Study. We had the most incredible time ever! I know I say that every time but it is so very true! We talked about fear again. Building 429 has the song "Fearless" and the band spoke about their troubles and fears. We talked about ours. We talked about being careful what we put into our minds and to avoid sinful things. We talked about fighting fear with scripture and prayer, that scripture memorization was crucial for fighting our fears and that praise was also a weapon of warfare. They learned about Jericho and Joshua. We wrote in the palm of our hand the risks we'd be willing to take for God this next week. Then we discussed that our names, if we are saved, are engraved into the palms of Jesus Christ and we didn't need to fear for nothing can ever take us out of His hands. Let's rehearse Paul's words from the Holy Bible, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39. Now that's good stuff! You can't find those promises and the promises be true in any other publication or speech. God's Word is Truth and authority but it is also love and encouragement. God is good! Our laminin is in the shape of a cross, we are unique down to our DNA and we bear the image of God. Amazing!

Well, if this doesn't encourage your heart, friends, I don't know what will. Please pray for us as we continue. Pray especially for the Next Door Bible Study. So many of these young folks are at a crossroad in their lives right now. Pray they will make right decisions and that they will be courageous for Christ in all they do.

Pray also for God's continued provision in my life. I am still not working but am beginning to walk some with a walker and am trying to learn a different trade. God has miraculously provided for me so far and I have no reason to believe that it will end. He hasn't put me in my Promised Land yet so I can earn a wage that will sustain me. Your prayers are much appreciated.

To God be the Glory!

Jamie