From the Pastor – January 2019
Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Because Jesus lived and died and lived again, it is our deepest-held belief that it is never too late to begin again. I think about this when the new year rolls around. Often we are encouraged to start again with a New Year’s resolution. But I say, why wait for January 1st? When you find in your life an opportunity for adaptive change, take it!
Beginning again implies forgiveness for yourself and for others. If we begin again, it is because we are not pleased with the result of the last try. Perhaps this means starting with forgiving yourself or another for what was done or left undone. This forgiveness business is often the hardest part! It is a skill we just don’t teach very often. Someday, I will write a newsletter article on forgiveness because it is an important conversation!
Because we can always begin again, we can take risks in trying new things. Many of you know that my 90-year-old grandmother passed away this year. Since she was responsible in the family for keeping up communication and social media, my grandfather felt rather isolated from the happenings in our close-knit family. To come to terms with it, he has learned to use an iPad and Facebook to stay in touch. Now, he sees all of our pictures, and we read his posts and replies to our posts. He is now closer to the family because he was willing to make the change: learn and grow!
God’s love for you is everlasting. God’s mercies never end; they are new every morning! This was first written by a person experiencing political and economic turmoil the likes of which we have never seen in our lifetimes.
Yet even in the maelstrom, he wrote these words of faith. Words that hold the conviction that no matter what is going on we can experience God’s peace. My prayer for you this year is that you experience God’s great blessing of love and faithfulness. I pray that you will share this blessing like water. Most importantly, I pray that whatever 2019 holds for you, you will know the peace of God’ presence with you.
Rev. James F. Deters