{"id":8337,"date":"2020-03-19T21:09:11","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T04:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?post_type=portfolio&#038;p=8337"},"modified":"2020-03-19T21:11:15","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T04:11:15","slug":"2020-max1","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2020-max1\/","title":{"rendered":"A Letter from Max"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p style=\"text-align: right;\">Max Lucado<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8339 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/max-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/max-2.jpg 550w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/max-2-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/max-2-450x262.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Friends,<\/p>\n<p>We find ourselves in a sober moment. These are uncertain times around the world and fears are rising. People who have never felt anxious before are suddenly weighed down with worry and are not sure what to do next.<\/p>\n<p>Do you need encouragement right about now? Are you feeling anxious and uncertain? Do you find yourself in a season of isolation as events cancel, schools shift online, and even churches need to close their doors to large gatherings?<\/p>\n<p>I know I could use some peace during these chaotic times. When I need to stay calm, I turn to this Scripture: \u201c<strong>Do not be anxious about anything,\u00a0but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.\u00a0And the peace of God,\u00a0which transcends all understanding,\u00a0will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus<\/strong>\u201d (Phil. 4:6-7, NIV).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8338 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Max-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Max-1.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Max-1-300x150.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Max-1-450x225.jpeg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you need help finding peace that transcends all understanding, I would like to invite you to join me for two special online events:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong> Online Church<\/strong>\u2013 we know that many will be unable to worship with their local congregation, either because of the need to remain at home, or because their church is taking a hiatus from regular gathering. Or maybe you just need some extra support from a community of faith from around the world. We\u2019ll meet online, via Facebook \u00a0Live at 8:30 am CST on Sunday, March 15, for a few minutes of prayer and encouragement, and will continue for the next several Sundays. Join us and invite others as well.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/maxlucado\/\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/maxlucado\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8340 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/max-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"309\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/max-3.jpg 309w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/max-3-300x194.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 309px) 100vw, 309px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Anxious for Nothing<\/em>Online Bible Study<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 starting Sunday, March 22, we will be offering a free online Bible study based on the book\u00a0<em>Anxious for Nothing<\/em>. My hope and prayer is that this study will provide some practical help for all of us as we seek to entrust our fears and place our faith in God. The five-week study will conclude on April 25. We would love for you to join us at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.faithgateway.com\/anxious-for-nothing-obs-registration\/?utm_source=sgobs&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=letterfrommax&amp;utm_term=afnobs2\">FaithGateway.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As we spend time together over the next few Sundays, we can encourage one another to recognize that these times are tough, but God is tougher. These challenges are great, but God is greater.<\/p>\n<p>Let us cast our worries on the Savior and Sustainer of our lives.<\/p>\n<p>I hope you\u2019ll join me on this journey to be anxious for nothing,<\/p>\n<p>~ Max<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":8339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[35],"class_list":["post-8337","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-english-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/8337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/8337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8342,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/8337\/revisions\/8342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8337"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=8337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}