Dear Fellow Children of God,
As I talked to St. John members this week I learned that a
number of families were out of town this past weekend. I know of two St. John families that saw each
other at Disneyland. (Imagine!) I know of two families that met each other in
Homer. One of those family groups was my
two younger children who were in Homer for a baseball tournament. How many other families do you think were
traveling last weekend?
During summer, because school is out, schedules change. I used to think that life slowed down in the
summer. Now I think that instead of
schedules slowing down, we now plan different activities. Many of those activities, such as fishing and
camping trips, or vacations, take us away from home. So, if summer schedules take us away from
home how do we keep up our relationship with God and His people?
God has established a Sabbath and established His church for
the good of His people. Children of God
need time with God in praise and worship to maintain and strengthen our faith
in Jesus as our Savior, so we have a day of worship. And children of God need time together with
other Christians to worship and grow and serve.
So I ask again, if summer
schedules take us away from home how do we keep up our relationship with God
and His people?
When my family and I travel we seek to find another
congregation where we can worship. But,
what do you do if your vacation takes you to a tent in the woods, or in Homer? There are many verses in Scripture that
encourage us to regular use or meditation on God’s Word. For example, God spoke through Paul about the
power and blessing of God’s Word, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
Have you considered personal or family devotions as a
possibility for spending time with God while you are away from home? I can share with you that when my friends and
I moose hunt we actually have devotions daily, but sometimes we have special
devotional time in camp on a Sunday.
That has actually been an opportunity for sharing God’s love with people
who are seeking answers about God.
How about your time away?
If you can’t attend worship, why not consider intentionally planning a
time of personal or family devotions? While
devotions do not give you time with God’s people for encouragement the same way
that worship does, nevertheless God strengthens us and feeds our faith in His
word. It is good for God’s people to use
this gift of God daily. But, when we are
away and cannot gather with the people of God I find it good to plan a time of
devotion which can include Bible Reading, discussion, prayer, and maybe even
singing.
God does tell us we need time to rest. Especially during the summer months it seems
that time takes us away from home. But,
we don’t want to take a vacation from God.
He is always with us. Before you
leave, why not consider materials you can bring so that you and the family get
to keep strong your faith in God’s love for you. If you want some ideas contact me. I might even have some to share.
A Child of God Encouraging God’s children to stay strong in
their faith
Pastor Jonathan
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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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