A Church with a Heart for our Community

June 16th Tuesday

Greetings to you in the beautiful, wonderful, and powerful name of Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! What a lovely morning in the Kingdom…there is something about sunshine, a blue sky, a gentle breeze, and the sound of a neighbourhood that encourages you to rejoice and give thanks to God.  Yes, this is the day that God created…and it is a job well-done! I trust that you have had a good weekend and Monday…and are hopeful about the week ahead. These are the last few days of “Spring”… it is challenging to think that we have spent a whole season confined to our homes. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to make you aware of His activity in your life and the many “little things” that He has blessed you with…and may He stir your heart with “hope” for the next  part of your journey.

One of the phrases I hear in conversations is…”I cannot wait to get back to normal!” Although I agree with that, I am not sure what “normal” is going to be. Already we know that ‘normal’ means a change in the way we worship…but at least we will get to gather with others and find added strength. I received an email from a friend in Spain and he described some of the ‘normal’ in the city of Barcelona…calm and quiet streets and marketplaces, open beaches with police supervision, eating together in groups of ten or less and 1.5 metres apart or a 100 euro fine, many old friends no longer there, and very few visitors at the usually busy attractions. Normal…as of today.

I have a sense that we have learned many things about ourselves over these last 90 plus days and I believe we have learned about our level of faith in God. Perhaps we have learned more about who God is and how He works in our life. God…has not ‘self-isolated’ from us and did not institute ‘social-distancing’ and did not limit quantities of His presence or availability.

As we begin to return to our “normal” I have a specific prayer – “O Lord help us not to forget the lessons we have learned during this pandemic … and help us not to lose that realisation that You are very practical … and help us to nurture the intimacy with You that we have experienced … and help us to appreciate the wonderful relationships that we have discovered with family and friends … and help us to keep praying for our leaders, our front-line workers, our service workers …and help us to be more grateful for the many aspects of our lives that we take for granted.”

Something to think about … have a blessed day!