Our Church Blog

Pastor's Thoughts September 2023

From the Pastor’s Desk 

Healed, Healthy, and Happy

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people (Matthew 4:23).

 Jesus’ ministry was concerned with healing and with a healthy lifestyle based on the interworking of body, mind, and spirit. The health of one is tied to the others. In The Jesus Prescription for a Healthy Life, Leonard Sweet describes the gospel of Christ as the pathway to both salvation and health, promoting wholeness through healthy relationships between self, God, nature, and each other… that all might work with synergy, without stress. In “synergy”, the combined effect of our work together will be greater than the effect of the separate parts. Does your faith in Christ lead you to health and happiness as well as salvation? The “health model” of discipleship encourages us to take care of body, mind, and spirit: to laugh, spend time with Christian friends, and trust God!

Although we encounter trials and troubles in life, we find in Christ the spirit of joy. Jesus endured the suffering and sorrow of the cross “for the joy set before him” (1 Thessalonians 5:16), that we might find “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4)! As we read the gospel stories, we can hear the laughter stirred by the Master’s subtle sense of humor and see the disciples’ knowing smiles as they came to understand him better. In Jesus, all the promises of God are fulfilled. Bible promises – tested and found to be true – assure us that we can place perfect trust in our perfect Lord. When we surrender ourselves to God, we find victory over sin and death and rest for our souls! In The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life, Hannah Whitall Smith observed that “it is generally much less difficult for us to commit the keeping of our future to the Lord than it is to commit our present.” At least a part of the “secret” is to take our problems to the Lord and leave them there. When we hand him the responsibility, we can leave behind our worry, anxiety, and stress. In perfect peace, we can listen to his instruction and resolve to obey his guiding word.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits – who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases (Psalm 103:2-3). Our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy (Psalm 126:2) …the Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Pastor's Thoughts October 2023

From the Pastor’s Desk 

The Wings of the Soul

But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Hannah Whitall Smith, writing in The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, describes our spiritual wings as surrender to God and trust in God. The soul that waits upon the Lord is entirely surrendered to Him and trusts Him perfectly. Therefore, we name our wings the wings of Surrender and Trust. All creatures that have wings can use them to escape from snares that are set for them if they fly high enough. Our souls can use our two wings to escape snares of sin, fear, doubt, and despair, rising to a “life hid with Christ in God.” This life finds peace in God’s presence independent of the circumstances surrounding us. No cage can imprison us, and no shackles bind us when we spread our wings of Surrender and Trust in the Lord. On these wings we mount up into God’s presence. Yet even the largest wings of a bird are of no help unless they are spread and used together. Surrender to God. Trust in God. Be active in your faith, stepping out boldly, and do not be tethered to the concerns of the world. Smith writes, “The mother eagle teaches her young to fly by making their nest so uncomfortable that they are forced to leave it and commit themselves to the unknown… And so God does with us. He stirs up our comfortable nests, pushing us over the edge, and we are forced to spread our wings… Read your trials in this light: Your wings are being developed!” The promise is sure: They that wait upon the Lord shall mount up with wings as eagles!