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Newsletter |
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A Permanent Fix! The Perfect Gift |
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There is a phrase in the song, “Amazing Grace,” that speaks to me every time I recite it in times of need. The Lord Has Promised Good To Me, His Word My Hope Secures. He Will My Shield And Portion Be, As Long As Life Endures. I can’t think of a time in my life when everything was just right and nothing was wrong. That’s the way life is, isn't it? It is not a place we achieve and then rest in one spot, with nothing ever changing after we arrive. Rather, it is a journey, a series of moves from one place to another, from one age to another, making relationships and seeing them change or even end. We strive for success and often find ourselves walking through bitter tears. If I had to make this journey alone, without the help of God, I don’t know what I would do or where I would be right now. Just when I think I have arrived, another challenge raises its head. Just when I think everything going down the drain, God raises up His divine banner of hope laying before me a pathway of Grace and my heart gains strength once again for the journey. There is a wonderful verse of scripture in the Gospel story. It is found in the church’s remembrance of Jesus ministering to a lonely, shunned woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria. He stops at the well out of his own divine go/man purposes, sending his disciples to find some food. And then, He ministers to one of the least in that village, a woman scorned for her immoral lifestyle by her neighbors. He opens her eyes to the divine banner of hope and lays before her the pathway of Grace. She responds with faith! Then the disciples return bustling with earthly business, offering Jesus food because he must be starving by now. Here it comes! A little phrase that tells so much about what we need in our lives on journey. He responds to the disciples with a refusal of their food and their a concern for earthy needs. He tells them, “I have food about which you know nothing…” Here is the consummate fisherman placing the bait before his catch. There is food for your journey that will change your life, fill you with hope, extend grace where it is needed most and give you peace in the new year. Amen
Thank you for listening and I will see you in heaven. Pastor Mark |