Good Morning All,
Mark 4:2; “He began to
teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:”
Everybody
loves a story. Telling stories is one of
the easiest and one of the most reliable ways to convey a message or a
teaching. Jesus loved to tell
stories. We call them parables but they
are common every day events with meaning.
The story of the sower, or the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and all
the others were gleaned from everyday life events of the people who were
listening to Jesus speak.
One of the reasons we like stories is because we all have stories. Stories put together the individual events of
our life and brings them to life in a kaleidoscope. We all have a story about us; the events that
shape and mold us into who we are. It
might have been a childhood illness, or the death of our parents when we were
young, it might have been military service or any of a number of events that
make up your story. The really amazing
thing is that all of our stories are connected together with the stories of
people who lived before us combine to make up human history.
That history was very bleak. It
is filled with corruption, with pain and brokenness, with loneliness and
sorrow. That was the human story, so
bleak that its gloom and pall are incredible.
So God stepped in and completely altered the story of mankind. With Jesus, the kingdom of God changed the
course of our lives. As the redeemed
children of God, our stories changed and we are now part of God’s story. Instead of traveling down the road of despair
and destruction, God has placed us into his story of redemption and salvation. God has taken us from the emptiness and the
hollowness that was our sinful existence and made us redeemed children, loved
by the Father, and kept by the Holy Spirit.
Our old story is one we should leave.
We should not see it as a chance to bring God into our story but rather
that we are moved into his story. We can
leave our story behind. The failures and
the pains of the past are just that; the past.
Our present is in God’s story and our future is in God’s story; so why
go back? God’s story is one of hope and
eternal life in the restored creation.
God’s story is one of peace. God’s
story is the complete opposite of the story we were in. So grab onto God’s story, one of hope and
salvation, make it your story by his grace.
Live with joy in the kingdom of God as it moves forward to the day of
the Lord when all is perfected and restored.
Gracious Father,
you gather us up and bring us into your marvelous kingdom of grace and
mercy. Keep us in your precious
arms. Guide us and guard us as we
continue on the journey which you have laid out for us. Be with those who are struggling and in pain
and seem to have lost their way. Send
them your Spirit of healing to each.
Guard and protect our families.
In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.