Greetings. The summer has been flying by. It's hard to believe that we
are nearly in August. I hope that each of you has been having a peaceful
and relatively relaxing summer. I pray that it has been a time of personal
and spiritual growth as well.
Every time I prepare for a sermon or Bible study, I learn something new.
This is what has come to mind in my preparations of the last few weeks,
especially in light of the awful acts of terror that have occurred in so
many parts of the world. As Lutherans, we sometimes rely so much on
God's grace, we forget about our part in spreading God's love throughout
our world. It's like the ELCA tag line, "God's work. Our hands." It's not a
matter of grace or works, but for God's people it's both.
On a recent Saturday night I had the opportunity to visit with, and
compare notes with a good friend and colleague. We both felt called to
preach the gospel on the Lord's Prayer and we could not get away from
the fact that in that passage, Jesus was calling us to action--not to just
pray all day, as important as prayer is. Our conversation made Ray and
me think of a favorite song called "Do Something" by Matthew West,
which speaks so well to this subject. This is the You Tube link for the
song: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b_RjndG0IX8. My favorite part is
the end of the first verse that is followed by the chorus:
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”
He said, “I did, I created you”
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something.
As I shared on Sunday the 24th , it's not prayer or work- it's both
harmoniously working together. It's like the saying, "Be careful what you
pray for," because we just may be the answer to the prayers we're
praying for someone else.
Speaking of prayer, I hope you have been able to take advantage of the
healing services we have whenever there's a fifth Sunday in the month.
Our most recent was Sunday, July 31. If you have not been able to
attend for some reason, but want prayer, please give me a call or email
me and we will get together. As Jesus taught his disciples, "So I say to
you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and
the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and
everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door
will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10). Let our busyness be that which has
eternal consequences--spreading good news of God's love in our world
in the midst of despair.
God bless each and every one of you!
Pastor Ivy
Pastor's Message
August 2016
