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Tuesday, December 30, 2008 |
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Arise! Shine!
By Pastor Eggebrecht @ 3:44 PM :: 196 Views :: Pastors Message
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The end of an old year, and beginning of a new one, is a great time for reflection. It is a time to remember the good, the bad, and the ugly of the last year. It is a time to be thankful for the many ways in which God has blessed. It is a time to see which way the path has wound, which turns it has made, and which direction it is now headed.
It is also a time to look ahead with hope. It is also a time to anticipate what blessings God may bestow in the days ahead. It is also a time to study and plan. It is also a time to set one's face toward goals, dreams, and objectives.
And it is a time to be thankful for the things that are most important: relationships with family, friends, and especially with God.
The great theologian and devotional writer, Henri Nouwen, once wrote: "All I want to say to you is, 'You are the beloved,' and all I hope is that you can hear these words as spoken to you with all the tenderness and force that love can hold. My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being."
I heartily echo those words to you today. Arise! Shine! "You are the beloved." God loves you. Jesus loves you. God's love has become incarnate in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit delivers that love to you in Word and Sacrament. Receive that love this year. Know that love this year. Share that love this year by being a pray-er, a bring-er, and a tell-er.
Enjoy this new year knowing that "You are the beloved."
Pray for our church, that this new year would bring renewal and growth. Bring others to worship at Mt. Calvary, so that they will know that they are God's "beloved.". Tell others about Jesus, who is God's only-begotten "Beloved," the One who gave His life on the cross. |
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