God is eternal and His promises are eternal.

We are rejoicing in the faithfulness of the LORD and the way He is answering prayers among our Evergreen Church community!! Encouraging things have happened, from welcoming a new family into our church family to the opportunity I had to do the opening prayer one day for the Florida House of Representatives, to an amazing January full of powerful prayer services and a Consecration Week, this has been an exciting last couple of months! We honor and glorify the name of the LORD.

As the weather begins to warm a bit and the seasons are preparing to change again, I have found myself still thinking every day of the Israeli hostages who were kidnapped to Gaza on October 7th of 2023, praying for them to be returned. Our church continues to stand with Israel as the hostage posters hang in our windows. Each story of those rescued and each day that goes by, the desperation increases to see these precious ones set free. In the midst of such joy at Evergreen, this may seem an odd blogpost for opening March, but here is the thing, we are in Nehemiah for our Sunday messages lately and when you are reading Nehemiah and the rebuilding and the renewal that he was called to lead for the city walls, gates and Jerusalem's political and social life itself, you have to see Israel today.

The eternal promises and covenants between God and the man Abraham are irrefutable and these promises are still binding today. What made my heart ache was when I was read Nehemiah chapter 8:13-18, and in this part some of the leaders of the people, priests, Levites, scribes and Ezra continue to search the Law of Moses and they come across the Feast of Shelters and realize that they should participate in this festival unto the LORD. What made this poignant was a few things: my Bible translation gives the exact date October 9th, 445 B.C., the Jewish people of Nehemiah's day are having to rebuild after national tragedy, they are pressed on every side by enemies, they are discovering this festival also known as Sukkot. When Israel was attacked almost 5 months ago, they had just completed Sukkot and the joyous festival was marked by this enormous tragedy.

Almost 2,500 years ago Nehemiah and the Jewish leaders are rebuilding Jerusalem to honor God and then here we are a couple of millennia later watching another national trauma to Israel at a time that should have only been celebration and remembrance of God's faithfulness. Lest we ever forget, we who are followers of Jesus and are Gentiles are to have the kind of fervor and love for Jewish friends, neighbors and Israel herself like Ruth had for her mother-in-law Naomi. The kind of love that causes us to cling to Israel as Ruth did to Naomi. Why? Because, these are the chosen ones that God chose to send His Covenants to and through, our Lord Jesus, the Messiah comes from this people and this land and because of this: 'The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 'Genesis 12:1-3

These promises, even the book of Ezra-Nehemiah itself all belong to the Jewish people, and seeing how long God has been faithful from 445 B.C. anointing Nehemiah to go and rebuild all the way to today should cause us to stop and consider God's awe-inspiring faithfulness! As we hear of higher numbers of Jewish people coming to faith in Jesus as Messiah, we cannot turn away from who we are adopted into, who our God is and the absolute "durableness" of every word that comes form the mouth of God, as I love to say, cover to cover! So just think, if you wonder about His promises or His faithfulness to you specifically as an individual, look into the etched lines of Jewish history in the Old Testament all the way to today and the way that God's eternal promises are kept because He is eternal. His love is unconditional and all the proof we needed came through His Holy Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, our Risen King!

Let's rejoice in God's eternal promises, in the prayers answered at Evergreen, in all that is to come during this month with new events like the Men's Pop-Up Fellowship, Proverbs in March and of course, Holy Week. Please let us know if you need anything and below you will find March's calendar of events. There may be some add-ons coming mid month, but until then this is what we have on our March agenda!

Love in Christ,

Pastor Danielle

MARCH 2024 Calendar:

Sunday services begin every Sunday at 11:00 AM.

February 25th - March 2nd:

• Friday, 3/1, Men's Pop-Up Fellowship - 8:45 AM @ Ground Ops

• Friday, 3/1, Proverbs in March Text Groups Begin!
  

March 3rd - 9th:

• Wednesday, 3/6, Prayer Service - 6:30 PM
  

March 10th - 16th: (Sunday, March 10th Daylight Savings Time!)

• Wednesday, 3/13, Gifts of the Holy Spirit Bible Study - 6:30 PM
  

March 17th - 23rd:

• Wednesday, 3/20, Prayer Service- 6:30 PM
  

March 24th - 30th: {HOLY WEEK}

• Sunday, 3/24 - PALM SUNDAY

• Tuesday, 3/26 - "Christ in the Passover"- 6:30 PM (RSVP required)

• (No Wednesday Meeting this week)

• Friday, 3/29 - GOOD FRIDAY - Noon Service

March 31st - April 6th:

• Sunday, 3/31 - RESURRECTION SUNDAY - Easter!!!