Dear Lifewell,

Peace and truth to you!

I am writing to encourage and challenge you during the present crisis. The prophet Isaiah said to Israel, and so to those of us who have been grafted into the olive tree and adopted into his family, “Rise! Shine! Your light has come, and the glory of the Lord will shine upon you. Though darkness, even deep darkness cover the earth, the light of the LORD will shine upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you” (60:1-2). The Lord Jesus told his disciples, and so you and me, not to hide their light beneath a basket but to put it up on the table so everyone can see. The Lord said we are a city set on a hill. Our church was once known as Zion because we wanted to be like Jerusalem, the city of God’s people sitting on a hill. The change to Lifewell is was not a change in that hope, or mission.

Now is our time to shine, Lifewell! All around you people are in fear. Why? It is being stirred up by the Great Fear-monger himself, the enemy of our souls, Satan. He is using many tools, but I want you to understand, to realize fully, that we have nothing to fear! I spoke to those gathered yesterday about this. Many of you were absent, so I would encourage you to view that message (if you haven’t already). It’s up on our website right now, and will be archived on my youtube.com/deorl. Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear is darkness. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus offers hope, and that’s what people need to see coming from us. 

In order to shine you need to come out from beneath the bed or the table. Put the light of Jesus up where everyone can see it. What does that mean? Trust God and encourage your family, friends and co-workers to do the same. Tell everyone that God is in control, even when the world seems out of control. Share the good news about Jesus, and the hope of eternal life with everyone. If you’re on social media, refuse to be negative, refuse to be hostile or hateful. People need to see that we are confident and courageous. The very idea of Lifewell is for us to live in such a way that others recognize us as different, positive, life-giving.

It is imperative that we live under the inspiration of the indwelling Holy Spirit, moment by moment, all day long. Don’t do anything, don’t post anything, don’t say anything, until and unless you sense the Holy Spirit leading. If you never have that sense, you don’t have relationship with Jesus! “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:9, CSB) How do you make decisions? What made you stay home yesterday, or go to church? Why did you worship with us, or fail to? It’s possible to be at church and not enter in to worship! We must make these decisions on the basis of faith. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Where do you think that assurance and conviction comes from? It is the Holy Spirit seeking to convict your spirit. Are you paying attention? If the Holy Spirit convicts you to avoid a certain place, or take a different route home, or not to be around someone, or to share with someone, or not to say what you really want to, you must obey.

God will protect us, Lifewell, but we have to pay attention to his leading, not the speculation and prognostication of politicians and the media. Faith follows facts and truth. Faith is the organ of spiritual sight. Faith must be your response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). We must abide in Christ, remain in Him, stay close to Him, and that equals being filled with the Holy Spirit and following His lead as He moves on your spirit. “Walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh…If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16 & 25).

The present crisis is a test of your faith and faithfulness. Will you pass? Are you failing? We are guaranteed victory, so raise your hands and the Lord will lift you out of your depression, doubt and fear! “We overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us!” (Romans 8:37). Everything will be ok, friends, so long as you love God and pursue His purpose. In fact, everything will be better than ok, we will come out stronger, better and more like our Lord! “All things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

I love you, and pray for you. I hope you will pray for me, and I hope to see you soon!

In Truth;

Pastor Darryl