February 2017
In God’s Hands
I am writing this article the day before my surgery and I know what is going to happen—I will be safe in the hands of my Lord. Does that mean the surgery will go according to plan and be successful? That I don’t know but I do know I will be safe in the hands of my Lord.
Many people have said “Good Luck” to me in the days leading up to my surgery. I do not believe in “luck.” I believe my Heavenly Father has every detail about my life under His control. When I am backing up from a parking spot and fail to see another vehicle coming towards me until the very last second, I believe my Lord protected me from danger and harm. Well, you say, what about those times when we are backing up from that parking spot and we don’t see the approaching vehicle until it’s too late—where was God then? He was protecting me from a more serious accident and personal harm.
Yes, there are times when we do end up in a dangerous situation and someone does get hurt. That is what happens in our lives due to sin. There are consequences for our actions and the actions of others. Sometimes the worst does take place. But you can know for sure God is still watching over you and protecting you.
Enough about what I think; this is what the Lord says: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”(Psalm 50:15)“Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”(Philippians 4:6)
God promises to hear us when we pray and bring our needs before Him. As we pray to Him, we should always thank Him for His loving care and answers to our pleas. Because we know God will hear us, we can rest assured that He will handle everything. The Lord’s answers may not always be our first choice of how things are to be handled but God knows what is best for us.
I pray that when you are reading this my medical situation will be over and resolved. I most certainly know that I will be safe in my Lord’s hands. It’s a great place to be and it’s His gift to us!
Pastor Herring
Stewardship Moment—
Have a Heart
February: the month devoted to love. Stores are filled with heat-shaped boxes of candy and heart-shaped cards and vases of flowers with heart-shaped gift tags. All this is available for the consumer so that he can find the appropriate expression of his devotion to his loved one. If that expression of love has been preceded by a year of thoughtful and loving words and deeds, it is welcomed and cherished by the recipient. If not, it is just an empty ritual, done out of duty rather than true devotion.
Our relationship to the Lord is similar. He, too, desires our sincere devotion, not empty lip service. “And the Lord said: ‘… this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me’”(Isaiah 29:13).
Stewardship is serving, helping, giving, but love is the basis for stewardship. Without love, our good deeds are empty and without merit. The first act of true stewardship is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”(Deuteronomy 6:5). Jesus called this the most important commandment (Mark 12:29). With that love for the Lord in us, we are enabled to be good stewards. Then we can do acts of good stewardship, acts of true devotion. We are enabled to …
☧“Give to Him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to Him”(Deuteronomy 15:10).
☧“Do [His] statutes and rules with all your heart and with all your soul”(Deuteronomy 26:16).
☧“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality”(Romans 12:13).
☧“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
God, through Ezekiel, promised, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to be careful to obey My rules”(Ezekiel 36:26-27). This promise He has fulfilled in His Son, Jesus, Who has followed His Father’s decrees and kept His laws for us. As we strive to live fruitful lives of stewardship, at the same time we rest in Christ Who has been the perfect steward for us.
Pastor Herring
Ladies Guild
January Meeting
The women voted to buy new communion linens for the church.
The Veterans Hospital of Fayetteville have requested lap quilts 3 feet by 4 feet (material or crocheted or knitted) for veteran patients who are confined to wheelchairs. The ladies are asking for help with this project. If any of you can help to make these or provide materials for the quilts. If you don’t sew or crochet or knit you can provide a donation of money or any material you may have laying around. If you give money we can buy what we need. We decided to try and have these quilts made by April l.
The hats that Paula, Glenna and Bernie made for the Food Bank were very popular. They were all gone in one day. The clients at the Food Bank thought they were beautiful and very useful.
Everyone is invited to the Valentine dinner which will be February 15th (6 p.m.) at the Club house in Holiday Island. There is a sign-up at the back of the church.
The ladies decided to have a Rummage/Craft sale/Bake sale April 29-30. Please start collecting items while you do your spring cleaning. Think also about what you want to bake. We need to check with Pastor Herring when we can start bringing stuff. Guessing it will be after Easter.
Our next Ladies Guild Meeting will be February 22 at 1:30. The date was changed due to the Valentine Party.
Be sure to read Reformation Thoughts by Rev. Myles Schultz
Thoughts
From
The
Board
OfElders
Not long ago, a letter to the editor said (in effect): You Christians do not follow all the laws in the Bible but you pick-and-chose, so why do you complain when we chose differently? This sounds reasonable when you know neither Christian teaching nor the Bible. But I have heard this idea often.
The Lutheran Study Bible on page 130 quotes Philip Melanchthon: “There are three general divisions of the Mosaic law: the moral laws, the ceremonial, and the civil or judicial laws. . . The ceremonial laws of Moses and the civil laws are not commanded to the other nations, nor are they binding upon us. They were given to the people of Israel for that time in order that the political structure might continue for a definite period time, so that there might be a specific place in which the Christ should be born and reveal Himself, be proclaimed, and become the sacrifice and openly complete the work of our eternal life. . . The moral laws have been summarized by God in a remarkable way on one small table which is called the Decalog [Ten Words]”
Ceremonial laws regulated worship for Old Testament Israel. This set them apart from others and pointed them to the true God while helping hold the line from which the Savior would come. The sacrifices were to point to The sacrifice the Savior would make for us.
We are told to worship and we are to keep the true God and His Savior Jesus Christ central. While this sets us apart from world religions, it looks back not forward to the Savior. Christ fulfilled all the Old Testament regulations which were to point forward.
Civil laws were for Israel to preserve the line for the coming Savior. As Christians, however, we are to respect and obey the Government under which we live. We follow its laws as long as they do not contradict Scripture. God does require this from us. Pray for our leaders. (Romans 13:1-8)
Moral laws still apply and our Lord not only affirmed this and even strengthen their application (see the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5 – 7). While ceremonial and civil laws may have some similarities to the old, it is because they come through a gracious and loving God. Thank Him!