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A few weeks ago, I watched a heart-wrenching interview of a 75-year-old senior female who is scared to death of the future. As she spoke to the interviewer her distress was evident. Her lips quivered and her voice and body trembled as she shared her raw feelings concerning her fear. Hope, it seems, is in short supply these days.
As Jesus approached his trial, death and resurrection, his greatest concern was for the unity of his followers. He prayed for his community of disciples then and in the future, including us today. Specifically, he prayed that we would experience complete unity and be perfectly one. Jesus shared that Communities of Faith best show God’s love to the world when we live in unity.
In 2011 a great tsunami hit the coast of Japan. Every home in Anoyeshi Village that was built above the warning marker survived. But there were thousands along the coast who ignored that warning. Over 29000 were killed when the tsunami struck. They died because they ignored the warning signs they should have heeded.
In his book, Simple Faith, Charles Swindoll notes: “Colors fade. Shorelines erode. Temples crumble. Empires fall. But “a word fitly spoken” endures. The Bible has a lot to say about words. Proverbs 15:1 says for instance: “A soft answer turns away wrath; But a harsh word stirs up anger. “
One news station has called fatherlessness the biggest epidemic in America. According to the National Census Bureau, 18.3 million children in the US live in households without a father. This is 1 in every 4 children. The situation is dire, and the sirens are blaring loud and clear. The family is under Satanic attack, perhaps because it is the place where God’s word and Christian teaching is best passed on from one generation to the next.
As a local pastor, I know hundreds of people. I have met them through organizations I have worked for, through churches I have served or visited, and through community events I have attended. I would bet that similarly; you have met hundreds of people in your life. Yet how well do we know the people we have encountered?
Throughout the Bible, God’s people are instructed to stop and recall what God did for them. Psalm 105 is one such instance. It is a song of remembrance of God’s goodness to his people. The Psalmist captures how God directed, provided for and protected the Israelites throughout their history. And as believers in the 21st Century, we can look back and see how God’s plan…
As Jesus approached his trial, death and resurrection, his greatest concern was for the unity of his followers. He prayed for his community of disciples then and in the future, including us today. That means he prayed for me, and for you. Specifically, he prayed that we would experience complete unity and be perfectly one. Jesus shared that Communities of Faith best show God’s love to the world when we live in unity.
Mother’s Day conjures up images of breakfast in bed, bouquets of flowers and special meals surrounded by grateful children. Yet this is not always the way it is. Mother’s Day can also be filled with complicated emotions. Perhaps you are grieving the recent loss of your mother or child, or maybe you are estranged from your children, or you desire to have a child, but things have not worked out as you had hoped.
“She turned around.” With this act of faith, Mary sees Jesus standing there. Initially she did not recognize him. Later, when he called her by name, she did (John 20:16). Her grief, her despair and her pain blinded her to her Savior’s Presence, and who can blame her?