6-1-2019

Good Morning All,

         Hebrews 12:2; “We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.”

    Some of our high school youth group is going to Minneapolis in about six weeks.  I am sure there will be a push to go to Valley Fair while we are there.  This might not happen because the girls outnumber the boys so the Mall of America may be in our future.  Either way, there is a potential for a roller coaster or two.  Roller coasters have always fascinated me.  The simple and basic mechanics that are needed get multiplied in so many directions that it is amazing how they pull it off.  It is also interesting how people react to riding on a roller coaster.  Some can’t get enough and some can’t get far enough away. 

    One of the tricks to riding a roller coaster is to focus your eyesight on the car right ahead of you.  This allows your eye to stay on a fixed point and reduces the effect of everything going by in a blur.  Since your eye can focus on a spot that doesn’t move, you do not get as dizzy or light headed as you do when you look out to the places around you.  This is the same truth that applies to our faith as well.  Keeping our eyes focused on Jesus makes the ride easier to experience.

      When sin entered God’s perfect creation, chaos became the prime mover.  Random events with little, if any, logic to their occurrence became the dominant reality.  Soon, mankind was being bounced from one event to another and it was difficult to keep one’s bearings.  Our area has seen some of the wettest days we have seen in years.  The temps are cool and now it looks like we will go to hot in a few more days.  Markets go up and down like a yo-yo.  Add to that the personal costs of stress and worry added to other stresses of health of family and loved ones and it is easy to get dizzy in a hurry.  Yet we have a way to deal with these events.  We are given the blessing of knowing our salvation is sure in Jesus.  Knowing this, we need not fear the dizziness.  We can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus because he does not move, he does not change.  The love and grace of Jesus are a constant in a world that knows no other constant.

    In South Dakota, the old joke is “if you don’t like the weather wait a couple of days, it will change.”  As people of faith, we can look to Jesus and remember that nothing else matters except his love for us, shown by the empty cross and the empty tomb.  The only constant is this world is that everything changes.  The only constant we need is that Jesus never changes.

Gracious Father, in our world of confusion and sorrow you give us Jesus to cling to.  In this world of pain and suffering you give us hope in Jesus.  Guard us on our journey and keep us ever focused on Jesus.  Be with those who are in pain and are being tossed by the chaos of today.  Calm their hearts, lift up their spirits and strengthen their faith so they may know your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret