"Ponderings from the Pastor"
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! May I be among the first to wish you a very Happy New Year! And not only that, a very Happy New Decade as well! “Decade” is not a word we think about or use very often, is it? The passing of time seems to be measured either in shorter terms (weeks or months), or in much broader spans (generations or centuries), but rarely do we consider the 10 year span we call the “decade”. Consider this for just a moment- where were you… how different was your life a decade ago? For many young people, a decade ago seems like a lifetime passed, with many personal and professional changes. For those of us who are further along in our years, we reflect on the past decade with a certain amount of melancholy. Words like “I wish I had”, or “I should have” come to mind.
As some of you know, I have recently had a very serious medical issue which has forced me into doing a lot of spiritual searching. By God’s grace I have been blessed with an amazing family, an incredibly loving and supportive Church family, and some very skilled medical practitioners. From the nurses and technicians to the surgeons and doctors, I have seen God at work throughout this process. I have had revelation after revelation throughout this time, and God has given me such powerful new insights that I cannot wait to get back into the pulpit and share them.
There is one over-arching revelation that pretty much sums up what this experience has shown me. The root of this inspiration can be found in the writings of Jesus’ brother James, 4:13-15. No matter what your age, I would invite you to consider these words as you begin a new year/decade- Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow!! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
There is nothing wrong with planning, nothing wrong with dreaming. But don’t make your plans without putting God first. Because as we all know, the plans He has for us are so much greater than the plans we have for ourselves.
It's worth pondering!
Pastor Bill
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! May I be among the first to wish you a very Happy New Year! And not only that, a very Happy New Decade as well! “Decade” is not a word we think about or use very often, is it? The passing of time seems to be measured either in shorter terms (weeks or months), or in much broader spans (generations or centuries), but rarely do we consider the 10 year span we call the “decade”. Consider this for just a moment- where were you… how different was your life a decade ago? For many young people, a decade ago seems like a lifetime passed, with many personal and professional changes. For those of us who are further along in our years, we reflect on the past decade with a certain amount of melancholy. Words like “I wish I had”, or “I should have” come to mind.
As some of you know, I have recently had a very serious medical issue which has forced me into doing a lot of spiritual searching. By God’s grace I have been blessed with an amazing family, an incredibly loving and supportive Church family, and some very skilled medical practitioners. From the nurses and technicians to the surgeons and doctors, I have seen God at work throughout this process. I have had revelation after revelation throughout this time, and God has given me such powerful new insights that I cannot wait to get back into the pulpit and share them.
There is one over-arching revelation that pretty much sums up what this experience has shown me. The root of this inspiration can be found in the writings of Jesus’ brother James, 4:13-15. No matter what your age, I would invite you to consider these words as you begin a new year/decade- Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow!! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
There is nothing wrong with planning, nothing wrong with dreaming. But don’t make your plans without putting God first. Because as we all know, the plans He has for us are so much greater than the plans we have for ourselves.
It's worth pondering!
Pastor Bill
