March 26, 2020
Brothers and Sisters,
Well how are you coping with the many changes in our lives that we are experiencing? I am trusting God and praying that over the last few days you and your family have pivoted emotionally and mentally to embrace the difficult inconveniences that we are all under. It is only then that the light of Christ can shine through us towards others. Encourage one another that God has got this situation under control. He is still on the throne. Let us remain prayerful and watchful during these days.
Certainly the church, the nation, the world are experiencing a very tough time right now. I always have believed that tough times don’t produce problems but tough times reveal problems. As we see issues surface in our own lives and our own families let us use these weeks to commit ourselves to the basic discipleship principles that Jesus taught us:
- The importance of making sure that your heart is right each day through prayer and study of the scriptures.
- The importance of depending on brothers and sisters rather than harboring the independent spirit that gets so many people in trouble.
- The importance of letting the love and forgiveness of Jesus reign when relational tension surfaces. Jesus said forgive your brother (or sister) 70 X 7 times. Let’s not forget that as we experience the cabin fever of this crazy season.
My mind has been drawn to Psalm 46. Let me end with a few thoughts that will hopefully encourage our hearts today:
God is still our refuge and our strength. He is our help during troubling times. When the foundations are shaking and the earth seems to be in an upheaval there still remains a fountain to which God’s people can drink and be satisfied. During these days the Lord wants to teach us, to remind us, to shout at us, that we need to be still and know that indeed He is our God. He is potentially the God of all who cry out to him in Jesus’ name. He is the God of Jacob, the scheming rascal. He is the strength and the refuge for those who realize their need for grace.
So I am reminding myself each day to simply be still. On the Galilean Sea during a crazy storm Jesus spoke into the noise and the rain and the wind:PEACE, BE STILL. And as Mark’s account states in his subtle way instead of a great windstorm there was now a great calm. To know, remember and praise Him for the fact that He is my God, my Savior, my Lord, my eternal companion.
Pastor Stan