12-1-2019

Good Morning All,

       Isaiah 35:8; “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it.  It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.”

     I am not the world’s greatest bowlers.  I can keep it in my lane but only because the gutters stop the bowling ball from going into the other lanes.  I seldom get more than 75 or so.  I am not much of a bowler, but I did see a way to improve my score; there are blow up bumpers that they place in the gutters.  When you roll the ball, if it heads to the gutter; it bounces back into the alley and eventually must knock some pins down.  I figure I could double my score if I bowled like that.  Maybe next time I bowl, I will.

    There are times when it would be nice to have “bumpers” in life.  Maybe you are having a rough day and you snap at your spouse or children.  You regret it but it is out there.  It would be nice to bounce back into the regular lane.  Maybe you did something years ago and it just continues to fester.  Perhaps you lived a life where you didn’t make the best choices; you want to get back, at times you think you are back but every once in a while, the thoughts creep back and put us in the gutter.  It would be nice to avoid this.  If only we had a bumper to put us back on track.

    As Christians, we do have a bumper.  God has made the “Way of Holiness”.  He did this through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This cleared the path to God; it gave us the way to go.  God placed us on this path through the gift of Baptism.  At that time, he gave us the bumpers that we would need for life.  No matter what we did or do; God mercy keeps us on the path; he keeps us on the Way.  His grace brings us back.  Even when we, foolishly, try to go a different trail; God keeps calling us back to the right trail.  Our sins are forgiven, and God gives to us the desire to follow and to do his will.

    So now our desire is to stay on this path.  Our desire is to stay on the Way of Holiness.  We don’t seek to hurt or destroy.  We seek to love and to honor God with our life.  We do not have to let the past pull us back into the gutter.  God looks at us and at our future.   His desire is that we are all brought to salvation, to life eternal with him.  We only need to trust in this great promise; we only need to know that God has placed us on the Way of Holiness and that it is his desire to keep us there.  Trust that God only looks to your future.  He looks to it with love and gives you hope to see his grace.

 Wonderful Father, as we wait for Jesus to return, keep us safe, keep us holy.  Purify us by your mercy.  Lead us to love only you.  Help us to leave the past behind us.  Keep us from falling into the pain and sorrow that the devil wants us to live.  Lift us up and put us back on the Way.  Be with those who feel as though they are off the path and cannot return.  Give them the peace to know that your love conquers all.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret