“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
You, know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.”
Psalm 139:1-2
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are now in the season of Lent, which is a time of “spiritual discipline.” During Lent it is customary in the Lutheran tradition to commit ourselves to more than a Sunday observance of worship by incorporating Wednesday evenings into our lives as well. The hope is that we will begin setting our hearts and minds into the direction of God even more than we have in the past.
In our preparation for Easter and the celebration of the resurrection of Christ we walk through a time of introspection and prayer. This year our theme is:
“Busy: Reconnecting with our Unhurried God.”
We come on Ash Wednesday to be reminded that it is from dust we have come and to dust we will return. We repent of the ways we have left Christ out of our lives and promise to refocus our lives by inviting Christ in. There are practical ways we will be sharing to help in our “RECONNECTION” to God.
God does call to us to make conscious decisions to move away from sin, our busy schedules and slowing down to move closer to Jesus and others.
Our lives are cluttered with habits, some good, some not so good. Habits, especially those which tend to lead us away from the direction God wants us to be headed are the most difficult to break, yet, they can be broken and new habits formed with the help of the Holy Spirit.
During the next few weeks:
- Set aside a few minutes every day for quiet prayer.
- We encourage you to find a “prayer” chair or bench for your time with God.
- Don’t just talk during the prayer time… LISTEN. (This means STOP TALKING for a few minutes.)
- Set aside time for the WORD (Bible) to read in your devotions.
- Make WORSHIP a priority! Come on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings to worship in our community.
- Each day do something for someone else, but don’t tell anyone.
If we are able to commit to these simple, yet important, actions I believe we will be amazed at the spiritual growth we, as a congregation will begin to make. Why? Because by our commitment and action we are opening up ourselves to the Holy Spirit and when this happens… WATCH OUT!
Join us at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for soup and salad, followed by our worship at 7:00 p.m.
I look forward to our mutual spiritual growth during the weeks ahead knowing that God WILL bless us!
In Christ,
Pastor Barb
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