It’s been an exciting and full Summer. With youth events, and plant sales, and Annual Conference, and family visits and events, participating in the summer musical at the Reif, holidays.... Already we find ourselves past midsummer. As of writing this we are in the midst of planning the Rummage Sale, VBC, and the Youth trip to the cities. Families still have Summer Sport Camps, vacations to go on, fishing and camping weekends...it can seem at times that events or special occasions we’ve been anticipating seem to fly right past us. One can look at their child and wonder “where all the years went”.
It’s important to stay in the moment. God is always with us, and Jesus reminds us that his Spirit will never leave us. That makes each moment and every occasion sacred; full of the presence of God. Even if it might be a moment or an event of crisis, or loss, or pain. God is with you in that moment – during the distressful event. That’s the promise of God’s steadfastness! God is faithful even when we are faithless, even when we are broken, or scared, or angry, or whatever.
With this truth we can see that God can redeem or overcome or reconcile all the moments in our lives. We need to be present in each moment through each day. Daily commit ourselves to Christ; turn over each decision, each action, each encounter. Find the Divine in all the occasions and opportunities that come your way each day. Being a disciple is a daily (if not moment by moment) choice. “Do I participate in God’s Kingdom in this moment, with this decision”? What is the next right thing I need to do? Which choice is the one that most reflects Grace? These are some of the questions to focus on and keep in the back of your mind as you move through the day. I have a friend who always asks himself, “Who does this day belong to today”? “Jesus or me? Each day he decides to live the day for Christ!
As we move through each day focusing on God’s presence, we can discover more beauty in the world and the people around us. We can live into the moments of our lives and find that the events of our days are more gift than obstacle, more blessed than cursed, more vital than drab.
We’re moving into the next season of our lives together as a congregation. Did you know we average over 35 simulcast views each Sunday. The majority of those are multiple viewers (usually a couple, but we have folks who gather with friends to watch our worship on Sunday mornings. Meaning we have somewhere around 50 to 60 people worshipping with us on beyond the folk in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings? Do you know our “in sanctuary” worship attendance this summer is above average pre-covid summer attendance? Have you noticed the increased number of kids sharing children’s moment in worship? Our support of the 12 Step ministries continues to grow along with outreach through Divorce Care. I hope you saw or heard about how wonderfully successful our new Plant Sale was. God is at work in the life of GRUMC! The Holy Spirit is moving through the members of our congregation in powerful, exciting and life changing ways!
Now we’re in the season after the day of Pentecost: the Birth of the Church! What new doors will God’s Spirit be opening for us? What new opportunities and blessings are in store – especially if we’re expectant and watching for the next new thing God is doing even in the next day, next moment of our lives?
Be God’s, Pastor Jim
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