March 15, 2022
Hello, church family and friends!
What a joy these weeks have been. So many good conversations, times in prayer, Bible study, meeting old friends and making new ones. There have been difficult things, too, but even in those God has been present and active.
It seems weird, maybe, to talk about joy in the midst of worry and struggle. We have to experience it to understand it, I think. Because it isn’t the same as happiness. It isn’t the same as that thrill we feel when something especially wonderful happens. It’s deeper than that, at least in the Biblical sense of joy. The joy that God provides isn’t subject to changing circumstances. We find that it increases, even, in times of struggle. I’m not sure how to describe it, but to me it’s this powerful sense of connectedness to God and human beings and even the earth…like the feeling of being deeply in love, after a lifetime together. Broad and high and deep, tender and strong at the same time.
I find I’m aware of it in those moments when I have to rely on God even more than usual. Like, when I’m sitting with someone who is hurting. Or when I have to tell someone a hard thing. Or when I have to seek forgiveness. It’s there, too, when I’m able to fill someone’s gas tank, or fill their cupboards with groceries, or laugh with someone who really needs a good laugh. And it’s there when babies are born, and when new hope and faith is born, and when we move from this life to the next. Jesus calls it “abundant life.” It’s what I think of when Jesus talks about the solid foundation we build on, and when he calls himself the Living Water.
We’ve been talking together in worship about the Living Water of Jesus. The water of birth and baptism, God parting the waters, Jesus calming the storm, the still water that refreshes, all of it. So this meditation by Rev Steven Charleston, the retired Episcopal bishop and Native American spiritual leader, really touched my heart.
surface. In even the most confusing times of our lives we can find God's direction, moving unseen around us just beneath the surface. We are never adrift in life. We are not forgotten or ignored. Even when we are struggling to make sense of things, when we seem to have no control over our circumstances, there is a spiritual current that surrounds us, the power of the Spirit, drawing us toward healing, forgiveness, wisdom: the safe shore of love. Ride the current beneath you. Trust God to show you the way."
As you seek the Lord in a new way this season through whatever spiritual practices you have chosen, I pray that you drink deeply of the Living Water and gain a sense of true joy. Trust God to show you the way.
Thankful for the fount of every blessing,
Worship Any and Everywhere!
DEEP WATERS 3: Troubled Waters
“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” Isaiah 43:2
One of the most powerful stories in the Gospels (and there are a whole lot of powerful stories) is the story of the woman who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, and anoints them with costly perfume. There is a lot that is suprising and wonderful about that story. You’ll find it in Luke 7, and also in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12. We’ll consider together the deep, deep gratitude and great love she expresses here, and see where God is speaking to us through her story.
If you are worshiping with us from home, either via the radio broadcast or video, we are so glad! If we can pray for you, or if there is anything you need, we would love to do that. You can call the church office at 775-423-4714, or you can call Pastor Dawn on her cell phone any time, 775-671-5553.
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