Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
Last month I was surprised to hear these words from the
mouth of my wife. “February, the
shortest . . . AND the longest month
of the year!!” Kathy was experiencing cabin
fever with the darkness we have had and the large amounts of snow we received. She was feeling a lack of energy and like
every chore could require a major effort.
Kathy was weary of winter. But, you know that we still have March, and
maybe April, and perhaps even May to ‘enjoy’ our Alaskan winter. The weariness is not over (except for those
of us who enjoy playing in the winter weather)!
Do you ever grow weary?
The Christian life can be a struggle.
We know that God is Creator and Lord of all. He has made us, and saved us, and calls us to
love Him and to love others. Nevertheless,
living as a child of God is not always easy.
We face our own weakness and the temptations of our enemy. Sometimes we fail and experience the burden
of guilt. We work hard to serve God, and
can still come up short. Just thinking about
living in faith and in love for our whole lives can make us weary.
The assigned Scripture readings for the first Sunday in
Lent always share the account of the temptation of Jesus. On March 5 the Gospel lesson is from Matthew 4
where we read, “3 The tempter came to him and said,
"If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on
every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:3-4)
Satan tempted Jesus to doubt that He was really God’s only begotten
Son. Satan attempted to lead Jesus into
indulging His desires and to break a vow He had made. Thankfully, using the Old Testament
Scriptures for help and strength, Jesus resisted that temptation, and all the
temptations the devil threw His way during His life.
When asked what Jesus
has done for us, Christians often respond that Jesus died on the cross to pay
for our sins. Sometimes people also
respond that Jesus rose to win victory over sin and death. But that death and resurrection would not
have saved us if Jesus had not, as true God and as true man, also lived a
righteous life of obedience to His Heavenly Father. Because Jesus is obedient and righteous, He
doesn’t have to die for His sins. His
death can pay for our guilt.
But, Jesus is the Son
of God and we are only human. Even Jesus
grew weary. So where do we find help and
strength for the struggles of faith and living the Christian life?
First, please know
that our real hope and strength is found in the cross. Jesus’ death paid the price our sins
deserve. The gift of forgiveness is hope
and relief for all who struggle with failure and guilt. God knows our sin and, in love, He sent Jesus
to forgive us!
But, Jesus’ life also
helps us live today in faith, in obedience and love as children of God. Listen to Hebrews 2. “17
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that
he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that
he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself
suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18) Because Jesus was tempted He can help us
with our temptations. Because Jesus suffered
He understands what we face. We are not
alone, Jesus is there to help! That
message of help to live for God is the basis of our sermons this Lenten season
In Stephen Ministry
training recently new Stephen Ministers read Matthew 11:28-30 28
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light." Jesus knows
our weariness and He calls us to Himself for rest and relief. We find that relief from guilt and weariness
in the forgiveness of Jesus’ cross, and in the righteous life of our Savior.
A Child of God, Thankful
for Jesus’ Help in Times of Weariness,
Pastor Rockey
P.S. Here are pictures from Monday fishing at a brand
new lake for me.
- Ice over 3’
thick, thickest this year - https://goo.gl/photos/UZeLkjwts3KmVihD6
- Snow-machine,
gear, and some fish on the ice, https://goo.gl/photos/ySoexEjxFGPLkm8N9
- Monday’s
catch, between 11” and 13”. https://goo.gl/photos/un5AbFPionXid2eH6
******
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