How majestic is your name!

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8, NRSV)

Have you ever just took a walk in nature to observe the wonders of creation?

Have you ever stopped and looked at the stars at night and marveled at the wonder of the number?

Have you ever watched the waves rolling into the coast from the ocean and wondered about the awesome power of the sea?

The wonder of all of creation shouts how majestic is the creator of everything!

An even with all of the wonders of all of creation, God still cares about you!

He cares about you and wants to be near you!

How truly majestic is the creator of everything!

 

Mutual Encouragement ~ Newsletter ~ January 2014

Mutual encouragement…
I wonder what to type as I stare at a blank screen…
Should I do a biography and tell all about my life, my wife, my children?
Should I talk about all the hopes and dreams I have for the congregation in the coming year? This is the time to set our New Years Resolutions, and try to uphold them over the coming year…
Should I talk about how I have waited for this call to come from God and how ready we are as a family to be at the place God has for us?
You see to me that is the place where we connect. Beyond the fact that God has brought us together, we connect on a waiting. You were waiting for a while for your new pastor, me, to come into your scope of vision. And we as a family were waiting for y’all as a congregation to come into our scope of vision.
And that is what it is about. Us being mutually together in the mission of God in our little piece of the world. We are united in the cross and part of one body. Not that any of us has the better knowledge or more skills, but we are all in this together. That is why I love the beginning of the epistle to the Romans, because Paul says it so well, “so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:12)
You see I am the new called spiritual leader or pastor of St John’s Little Suamico, but we are all a part of the body and I will need your encouragement as I encourage you. We will mutually walk the path God has set before us and get the wonderful honor of doing His ministry with Him.
So let us fix our eyes upon Jesus and look forward to many years of walking together, mutually encouraging one another, and doing His will so that all the world may know of His love, grace, and mercy!

great light

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ (John 8:12-19, NRSV)

Have you ever noticed that when you light a match or a lighter, that the darkness seems to sink away?

darkness seems to be foreboding, and all encompassing, yet the smallest amount of light makes the darkness shrink away!

You have the light of the world dwelling inside of you! You have a great light shining from you to make the darkness run away screaming!

Be a wonderful beacon of hope shining in the darkness of this world, to show people the way to God and the saving relationship we all can have with Jesus!

Faith

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NRSV)

We live and watch for what we can not see…

We live by faith the assurance of things unseen. We can not lose heart because it seems like we are falling apart, and losing every battle here in this place. We must walk on and press on towards the goal, because even though we can not see the eternal, we will be fulfilled in the coming of our savior.

We are being made new every day and are being made more in the likeness of Jesus, so hold tight and know that we will be there one day…

Praise

I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, ‘Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely’; and he became their savior in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:7-9, NRSV)

The Lord has done great things for us. He has saved us from the wrath we deserve, by sending His son to dwell among us, and to be one of us. To know our lot and experience what we experience. He has given us more than any of us have deserved and saved us from our worst enemies: ourselves!

His steadfast love and mercy outshine our evil and He has given us more than we could ever ask for! Praise Him as He is worthy of our praise!