Church Family Update - November 4, 2020

A Brief Update for Council

Last night we had a rather epic council meeting. Thanks to each one of you for your prayers and support. We spent time talking about the budget, the survey results and our ongoing response as a church to COVID. We had so much fun that we decided that we’re going to meet again next week (November 10) because we just can’t get enough of each other. We would appreciate your ongoing prayers for our council and for our church. 

We look forward to conveying the content of our conversations and decisions in the near future. In the meantime I want you to know, in all sincerity and without exaggeration, that our meeting was marked by love, humility and a spirit of unity. Brendan opened our meeting with a beautiful devotion from Romans 15 and exhorted us to seek unity even amidst diversity and by God’s grace we were able to do that. (We remembered the Ampersand!) And now we’re working out the logistical details of how we can follow where we think the Lord is leading. 

We’ll keep you posted. I secretly took a picture of our socially distanced meeting last night. This was the first time that we met together in person since March and it felt very good to be together. 

A Devotional Thought:  

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11

The famous passage in Ephesians about the full armor of God is about preparedness. You dress for battle before the battle begins so that when the arrows start flying, you’re prepared. If you’re watching the bow of your enemy being raised and bracing yourself for a flaming arrow to fly your way, that’s the wrong time to start thinking about where you might be able to get a good deal on a breastplate and shield. 

I used to be in the habit of prayerfully dressing myself each morning with the armor of God in order to prepare for the day ahead. I’d start with my feet and work my way up (which is a little funny because I don’t start with my shoes when I’m actually dressing myself).

“Dear Lord, as I begin this new day please put the gospel on my feet, the belt of truth around my waist, the breastplate of righteousness covering my heart, the helmet of salvation protecting my head, and the shield of faith to protect against any arrows that might come my way. And help me to wield the sword of the Word well. Amen.”

That’s a pretty simple prayer to start the day. For some reason I stopped doing it but I think I’m going to start again. I’m thinking about this today because someone that I respect deeply (I don’t know this man personally but I’ve been reading his blog and books for years) was delivered a blow that is beyond my ability to comprehend. 

Tim Challies’s son Nick passed away yesterday. Here’s Tim’s description: “Nick was playing a game with his sister and fiancée and many other students when he suddenly collapsed, never regaining consciousness.”

My point in bringing this up is simply to encourage myself and you by pointing out that Tim and his wife Aileen were clothed in the armor of God and they were therefore prepared for this tragedy. They’re definitely mourning and grieving and looking for answers as any parent would do. But they are also trusting God amidst the pain and tears. Here’s what Tim wrote today:  

“Yesterday Aileen and I cried and cried until we could cry no more, until there were no tears left to cry. Then, later in the evening, we looked each other in the eye and said, “We can do this.” We don’t want to do this, but we can do this—this sorrow, this grief, this devastation—because we know we don’t have to do it in our own strength. We can do it like Christians, like a son and daughter of the Father who knows what it is to lose a Son.”

I don’t know what valleys the Lord has in store for me to walk through. But I do know that I want to be prepared to respond with faithfulness regardless of my circumstances. And one of the ways to be prepared is to put on the full armor each and every morning. 

May you be blessed today and may you find peace and comfort in the arms of your Savior. And if you get the chance to extend kindness to someone today, take it, because there are a lot of hurting people out there. 

Pastor Jason