6-20-2016

 Good Morning All!!   

           2 John 1:3; “Good will, mercy, and peace will be with us. They come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, who in truth and love is the Father’s Son”   

   In the mid 1970’s, there was a rock band named “Chicago”.  One of their hit songs was “I’ve been Searching so Long.”  The chorus goes like this: I've been searchin So long To find an answer Now I know my life has meaning.”  There were a lot of people who used to sing along with this song.  They would sing about finding the answer that they had been searching for so long.

    Just don’t ask them what they found the answer to be; it isn’t in the song.  There are some who view this song as one of the early statements that, in life, there is no one truth.  This song teaches that there are many truths and once you find your truth your life will have meaning.  Whatever you want the truth to be, once you have decided what it is then you will be happy and your life will have meaning.  Really??

    Look around and what do we see.  We see pain and lies.  The world tells you lies to feed into your own selfishness in order to create your own truth at the elimination of God; the one Truth.  The world tells us that sex outside of marriage is ok.  Meanwhile we are destroying the health of entire generations because of the diseases that result.  We hear the world tell us that if you are no longer “happy” in your marriage; then get out.  After all you need to be “happy” (whatever that is).  The world tells us whatever you need to do to succeed, you should do.  Lying, cheating and stealing are just “good business practices”.  All of this wrecks your health, both physical and spiritual, and leaves you empty.

    Yet we know how this hole is filled.  It is filled by the grace of God.  It is filled by the cross of Christ and polished by the empty tomb.  Those things which we search for, those things which have meaning; those come from God.  Good will, mercy and peace are with us and they are ours to share.  We receive these from God.  They are a gift to us, a bonus to go with our salvation.  These give us fulfillment here on earth.  These give meaning to life.  We show good will to our family and to our neighbors; placing their needs ahead of our wants.  We have peace with God and can live in peace with our neighbor.  We have mercy; so we can show mercy.  Showing mercy, forgiving our neighbor’s sin, is far easier than trying to keep track of them. 

    God gives us this because of what Jesus does.  Jesus is our Savior.  We need him desperately every day.  He comes to us as the One Eternal Truth.  He comes with the love of the Father.  Through Jesus, we have peace, we have hope, we have good will, and we have mercy.  Share it with those around you today.

   Dear Father, what the world claims to search for, you freely give to us through Jesus.  Give us the wisdom to see this one and only truth and the faith to cling to it.  Empower us to be the voice and the hands that deliver this to this broken world in which we live.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’ Peace,

Pastor Bret