Dear Brothers and Sisters,

A Prayer regarding Accountability for Believing the Gospel by Scotty Smith—
• You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. (Galatians 5:4-5). “Dear Jesus, this is one of the most sobering passages I’ve ever read about the gospel. Paul doesn’t describe “falling from grace” in terms of falling into immorality or godless living. Rather, to fall from grace is to lapse into performance-based spirituality—trying to gain and maintain a relationship with God based on my obedience to the law. How perilous and eternally destructive it is to move away from the gospel of your grace. In reality, trying to be justified by law is the essence of godless living, for the righteousness we must have can only be received by faith, not by works. Everything else leads to alienation from you—a godless existence, indeed. So, more than any other form of accountability, we need accountability for believing the gospel. If I maintain a daily regimen of Bible reading, memorization and quiet times, but don’t really believe the gospel, it will profit me nothing. If I’m scrupulous to avoid evil, and even the appearance of evil, but no longer believe the gospel, I am self-righteous and lost. If I should go on short term missions trips every month and give a big portion of my income to the poor, yet don’t trust the gospel-plus-nothing for my salvation, I’m a generous altruistic infidel. If I am careful to obey every imperative—all the commands I find in the Bible, but no longer believe the indicatives of the gospel, I’m certainly religious, but I’m not in Christ. If I cross every theological “t” just right, love the Bible, and correct heresy everywhere I find it, yet lapse into justification by works, I’m to be just as pitied as any other person outside of Christ. If I weep many tears of sadness over my sin and earnestly repent, yet no longer cling to your cross as my propitiation and righteousness, I’m only a tearful pagan. Jesus, by your Holy Spirit, hold us accountable for believing the gospel. Continuance in the gospel is the test of spiritual reality. And, should we participate in accountability groups, let us be most zealous to hold each other accountable for believing the gospel. Everything else will take care of itself!”

• At Teen MOPS last week, we had 20 moms present – age 13-24. What a privilege for SRPC to get to watch these young moms warm to the love of Jesus.

• Did you know we have about 15 retired guys working all week at Common Ground ministry in Montgomery, AL! They are rehabbing three houses!

• A woman in the church is looking for a family to adopt her niece’s two-year-old daughter who is in the care of aging grandparents. Contact Jamie Richard for more information.

• My wife and I are in love with Diana Cherry and her ministry to amputees in Haiti. Diana is just 24 years old! She has started a sewing business called “3 Cords” with the amputee ladies to allow them to be self-supporting. I got these emails from Diana this week...

“So I’m writing tonight to ask you to pray. Mary Maude is my favorite person in all of Haiti, and possibly in the whole world. She is an amputee that works for three cords, and i first met her when she got her prosthetic leg at our lab. i cannot put Mary Maude into words, but I love her as my own sister. i love and trust Mary Maude so much that i just cannot explain. She is a leader in 3 cords, and all the ladies look up to her and respect her. She is 29 years old, but looks about 22. She is beautiful. Loves Jesus. Laughs all the time. Loves to talk and ask questions. She loves on all children (not common in Haiti to love on children, esp. if they are not your own), never complains, never asks me for anything, always thankful. She is so wonderful that i see her being in charge of 3 cords one day, and in this position i know she would not only lead, but SERVE those who work under her. Mary Maude is truly one of the most remarkable women on the planet. The day started out amazingly. We decorated the 3 cords lab with all the stuff Haitians love, and when the ladies walked in, they were beaming, gazing at the gifts on the table for them, and all the chocolates, etc. They immediately busted out in song and dance, and i can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life. The joy welling out of my bones was indescribable. I mean, there were 8 amputees, DANCING, doing the stanky leg, ricky bobby, and all sorts of other silly dances that they were LOVING. We painted each other's nails, and they just felt so special. We danced for an hour and a half straight, and they were laughing and loving it the whole time. Taking pictures. Posing. Bouncing around. We also had a dentist in the clinic today, and most of the ladies ended up going because they had one problem or another. Mary Maude's gums were swollen on one side and she went to check it out. Tonight at dinner, the dentist told me that he thinks it's bone cancer, after looking at the x-ray. I’m devastated. And I don't really know what else to say or ask but to pray. My heart hurts so much that I could possibly lose this friend. And that Haiti could lose this woman. There are so few like her in the world.”

“For sure you can ask others to pray. It seems to be aggressive, as it has been growing fast. In the x-ray, you could see that the bone from the jaw overtook the root of the tooth, and she now lost that root completely. Pray for strength for me as I'm going to be translating for Mary Maude when she sees the dentist again today. We're not going to tell her it may be cancer, but just that she needs further tests and 3 cords will pay for it. I think she can get a CAT scan in Haiti for $500. This will show if it's in other places in her body. And then there's an ears, nose, and throat doc coming in 8 days, who can take a sample of the tissue and test it in the states, to see what kind of cells they are specifically. Please, please pray today. I'm already crying and it's only 7am. I need to stop so Mary Maude doesn't get nervous. I didn't really sleep last night. The last time I was this sad was when they took Mindylove at customs. My body felt sick then, and it feels sick now. Let's pray for another rescue. Of all people I love in Haiti, these are the two I love most. And God can rescue again. Love, Diana”

• Next weekend, after worship, there will be info meetings on this summers mission trips to Japan and Montgomery, AL. The High School mission trip this summer is to NOLA – for more information contact Linda Peshek.

• Pray, pray, pray! Student Ministry Middle School retreat this weekend – 50 kids signed up. SRCS Jr. and Sr. classes going to Washington D.C. next week. Next weekend, February 25-27, I’m preaching at Village Seven Church in Colorado Springs. Would you pray for me – I get really scared!

• This weekend I’m preaching on James 2:14-26. This Sunday night we get to interview the Pastor’s Class attendees who are ready to profess faith and join SRPC. . .what fun! See you in worship!

Ray