Church Family Update - July 23, 2020

First, some good news:

Well, good news has been just a little hard to come by these days. I know that good things are happening and that God fills our days with large and small blessings. But at this moment I don’t have any good news about our faith family to pass along to you. So could someone please get married or engaged or win the lottery or cure cancer or something like that so that I could pass it along in these updates and we could all rejoice together? Thanks! (Footnote: I don’t condone playing the lottery or any other gambling…that was just a joke.)

A reminder:

We continue to invite members and visitors to attend our Sunday morning service. We practice social distancing and refrain from singing but at least we’re together. If you intend to join us please register by Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM at the following link:    Google Registration for July 26   I look forward to seeing some of you there. 

Another reminder:

I continue to be available to anyone in our congregation for phone visits or in-person visits (with social distancing) if anyone would like to connect with me. Please contact me if you are interested in a pastoral visit for any reason. 

A devotional thought:

“Like clouds and wind without rain is a person who boasts of a gift he does not give.” (Proverbs 25:14) 

I almost laughed out loud when I read this verse this morning! I’m looking out the window of my study watching the rain drizzle down and the puddles get bigger and thinking to myself, “I want clouds without rain.” 

But the picture in the proverb is a powerful one. Especially if you live in an arid region and you have no form of irrigation except the rain that falls on your crop. And if not only your income but your very life is dependent on harvesting those crops. 

Under those circumstances, a grey cloud, heavy with moisture, that blows past without dropping any precipitation on your field is heartbreaking. It promises salvation but doesn’t deliver. It simply drifts by, indifferent to your anxiety. 

Thanks be to God that He is not like that! Our God is a covenant-making, promise-keeping God. In fact, the one thing that the Bible explicitly tells us that God cannot do is tell a lie (Hebrews 6:18). When God promises something, He will do it. 

It’s good for us to remind ourselves of God’s constancy and faithfulness during these troubled and unstable times. Today let’s remember that God has never promised that we won’t face hardship, peril or disappointment. But what He has promised is that He will be with us through these difficult seasons. And He has promised that the path He is leading us on will ultimately lead us home to be with Him forever. 

These promises are like rain in the desert bringing comfort, refreshment and hope. Or, to alter the metaphor slightly in order to fit our current circumstances, these promises are like bright sunny days that drive away the clouds and dry out our fields and gardens! Either way, the point remains the same. Knowing that our God always keeps His promises has the power to bring comfort, hope and peace during times of instability or uncertainty. 

May you find joy on the path today. Even if the particular part of the path you’re on is difficult, remember where the path leads. 

Blessings,

Pastor Jason