Dear Fellow Children of God,
Have you ever been to a family reunion, or a high school
reunion? It is good to re-connect with
loved ones and friends. But, it is
embarrassing if someone says, “Hi,” and we forget their name.
This past week I have had 3 people come up to me and
greet me. I knew their faces but I did
not remember their names. Some of these
folks even asked about family members by name, and talked about recent events
in the life of our family. So, these
people knew me, and they knew my name, but I had forgotten theirs. This is embarrassing for me, in part because I
have a ‘reputation’ of remembering people’s names. But, I didn’t remember these three times.
This Sunday is a “Family Reunion” of sorts. Sunday School starts with a full schedule of
Adult Bible Classes. For those who have
been occupied elsewhere with summer vacation, or with fishing, or even with the
Alaska State Fair, we get to return through worship and Sunday School more
fully to the presence of the Lord, our Heavenly Father - the one who loves us
most.
And, while we may forget the names of others, God never
forgets our names. In fact, He takes the
personal relationship He has with each of us very seriously. Just consider what the following verses mean.
In Isaiah 43:1 God
tells the Israelites, “But now, this is
what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear
not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’” Your friends and acquaintances
may forget your name, but God calls us, by name. He knows us and cares for us.
In Isaiah 49:1 God
tells the Gentiles, the non-Jews, (that’s us by the way.) “Listen
to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD
called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.” God has called
us before we were born, and known our name.
He does not forget us. He knows
us and cares for us!
And, in John 10:3, when talking about being the Good Shepherd, Jesus talks
about how shepherds treat their sheep. “The watchman opens the gate for him, and
the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” God knows us individually and calls us by
name. What a blessing! The Lord of the Universe knows each of us
personally.
The amazing thing is that God does know us. He knows who we are and the special people He
made us to be. He also knows where we
have failed to live up to our promise and have turned out backs on Him and
others. But, God still cares. He cares so much He sent His Son to pay for
our rebellion and to save us so we can have an eternal reunion with God in
Heaven. In spite of our sin, God still keeps
calling us to repentance and faith, and to His eternal love.
We may forget the names of others. Others may forget or ignore us. But God always remembers and cares and calls
us to Himself. And, tomorrow we get to
attend that reunion, to begin the process again of growing in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
May you find joy that God Himself knows you, and calls you by name back
to Himself in Jesus.
A Child of God, Thankful for the Personal Love of God,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Fishing has
been good this year. Here are some pictures from August Silver
Salmon trips. https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/5921001414319839281?banner=pwa
P.P.S. We have
recently had some new challenges in our family.
Thank you for everyone who has kept us in prayer.
****
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am sending
these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends
whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends and
members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)
However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll
gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know
someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their
e-mail address.
****
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