Dear Fellow Children of God,
Christmas is less than 2 weeks away. As a child I could hardly control my
excitement as Christmas day approached.
But, even as adults many continue to look forward to this celebration of
the Savior’s birth. Families gather at
Christmas. Worship is full of good news
and joyful music. We celebrate that in
Jesus’ birth God has come to us in the middle of this troubled world, a
blessing truly worth celebrating.
But, you don’t have to wait till Christmas to see to see
God present in your life. Yes, Jesus,
the Son of God, did come to earth that first Christmas. But Jesus’ promise is that He is with us “always, to the very end of the age.” Let me share some events from my week, if not
sharing names, to relate how I saw God in action this week in my life and in
the lives of His people around me.
I saw reconciliation begin between people who had been
separated, and God was in the middle of this reconciliation.
I saw more than one family begin a meal in prayer, and
continue boisterously in love. God was
there in the loud laughter and heartfelt prayer.
I saw a man who had been in ICU, but was now home
recovering well. God was present in his
recovery in answer to many prayers.
I saw a Christian woman of faith comforting another
person who was grieving deeply. God was
there for the comforter, and He was there for the one grieving.
I saw a man who had been near death last week, greet me
with a smile and gladly grab my hand.
God was there in mercy.
I saw a large number of God’s people gather around His
word and praise Him for His love. The
Spirit of God was moving mightily in that worship service.
I saw the Talkeetna mountains shine brightly with the
pink alpenglow of the mid December dusk.
God was displaying His handiwork.
I saw people reach out in love and donate about $2,000.00
to help the homeless in our valley. God
was the source of that love.
The
Gospel writer Matthew tells of the coming birth of Jesus and quotes a prophecy
from Isaiah to explain what God was doing.
“21 She [Mary] will give birth to a
son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people
from their sins. 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: 23 ‘The virgin will
be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel--which means, God with us.’"
As Christmas arrives it is a joyful blessing to remember
God’s coming to us in the birth of Mary’s Son, Jesus. But, while we celebrate our Lord’s coming at
Christmas, the good news from God through Jesus is that God is with us at all
times. He is with us in times of
illness, and trial, and heartache. He is
with us in times of love in family situations.
God is with us in His creative care in the world around us. He is with us in times of worship with fellow
children of God.
Jesus is Immanuel--which means, "God with us." The birth of Jesus encourages us that God is
with us in His guidance, His forgiveness, His love, and His salvation not just
at Christmas, but all year long.
Now, can you
think of a time that you saw God acting in your life this past week?
A
Child of God, Thankful that Jesus is “Immanuel”, and that God is always with
us,
Pastor
Jonathan
P.S. The Offering at the Wednesday’s Community
Advent Service was $1975.44. This will
be given to My House - MatSu.
****
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.
****
No comments:
Post a Comment