Good
Morning All!!
Exodus 18:23; “If you do this, God will
direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to
their place in peace.”
South
Dakota has some of the most beautiful lands in the world. The lushness of some, the starkness of some,
the grandeur of some cannot be denied.
Some of the prettiest land to see is in the Black Hills of South Dakota. A trip through Spearfish Canyon is worth it
anytime you can, especially in the fall when the colors are changing. My wife and I like to go through and toward
the north end is a small turnoff where there is a picnic area next to Spearfish
Creek. It is so incredibly quiet and
peaceful there. You can hear the stream,
sometimes the birds; you can watch a couple of squirrels that are looking for
free lunch; it is a refreshing rest area. We have taken our lunch there before; we have
taken a thermos of coffee and sat. It is
beautiful.
I can find a lot of peace in the Black
Hills. I don’t get there as often as I
would like but when I can get there I take advantage of the quiet and peacefulness
of the surrounding. The problem for me
is that I live in the eastern side of South Dakota and the Black Hills are in
the western side of South Dakota. In
order to get there, I have to cross the Missouri River and I have to go over
one of the bridges to do this. I am not
a big fan of bridges; they are one of my phobias but I know that if I want to
enjoy the beauty and the peacefulness of the Black Hills; I have to cross the
bridge.
In our life journey, we all seek and desire
peace. We want that place where we can
just sit and rest in the comfort of God’s arms.
Yet many times it is difficult; maybe you have never experienced that
peace. One thing is needful; you have to
cross the bridge and that bridge is the bridge of forgiveness. You have to forgive those people in your life
who have sinned against you. You will
never have peace if you harbor the anger, the hurt, the sadness and pain in
your heart that occurs when you do not forgive.
It can be truly said that the road to peace passes over the bridge of
forgiveness.
God has forgiven you through Jesus. This enables and empowers us to forgive. Yet forgiveness is a choice. You can hold onto the anger and the hurt but
you will forfeit the peace that God offers to us; you will forfeit the comforting
rest that peace gives us. We have peace
with God because He forgives us; we will only have peace with each other when
we forgive each other. We need to
forgive each hurtful word or action; it only hurts us when we hold onto the
pain. Take the journey to God’s peace
for you; it starts where you are right now, goes through the bridge of
forgiveness and leads to a place of peace.
Father
of all mercy, lead us to forgive. Lead
us by your Spirit to know your peace.
Guide us to understand that healing comes though forgiveness. Guide us to understand that the peace that we
have with you is found in forgiveness from you.
Guide us to see that peace with our fellow man is found in forgiveness
with each other. In the precious name of
Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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