Good Morning!
2 Corinthians 4:15; “All this is for your sake so that, as God’s
kindness overflows in the lives of many people, it will produce even more thanksgiving to the glory of God”.
Have you ever come into your house after a few hours of being
outside in the heat? Maybe you were weeding your garden or mowing the lawn on
one of those hot sticky days. Maybe you were doing those exercises that the
doctor wants you to do; maybe your job requires you to be outdoors. Even after
a short time outdoors, everything sticks to your body; your clothes, the dirt,
the dead grass, the bugs, everything just sticks to you. As everything sticks to you, you are aware of
how uncomfortable you are; you are hot, tired, sore and in need of some relief.
If you are like me, you
head straight for the shower. There is nothing like a nice cool shower on a hot
day to wash away some of the grime and to cool me off. As you drag yourself into the shower, you can
feel the heat just wash away and the grime seems to melt right off. You begin
to feel that “squeaky” clean sensation. You begin to feel refreshed.
This is how God’s grace
works in our life. We spend the day out in the hot sun and in the dusty grime
of life. The devil continually spews his venomous attacks. The heat of this
life is used by the devil to attack us, to make us uncomfortable, to attack the
peace and contentment that God gives us.
The devil takes advantage of every heat wave to try and cause us
discomfort. He takes each setback or struggle and tries to turn up the heat. He
takes life and tries to cause us discomfort.
He then throws in the
grime of doubt and despair to make our discomfort even greater. It wears us
down; it takes the energy out of us. We are tired, hot, weary, and beaten
down. It might be a job setback or a
health setback or a relationship problem or any of a number of other events
that cause us pain and sadness.
Yet God comes to us
with his kindness flowing over us like a refreshing shower or a dip in a cool
pool of water. It cleanses us and refreshes us. It gives us hope. It overflows
in our lives and in our souls. God gives to us the certainty of tomorrow. We
never have to worry about tomorrow because God will take care of it. We only
need to trust in him for his mercy. We only need to be refreshed by his
wondrous overflowing river of grace.
As this grace overflows
us, it pours out into the loves of those around us. It flows out to those whom
we meet who are hot and grimy, who are tired and in need of rest. God uses you
and he uses me to bring this life restoring water to those around us who are in
need. God pours out his mercy to the people around us through us. He doesn’t
have to, but this is the way that he chooses to do it. God pours out his river
of grace through people, like you and me, who make up his Church. So that
thanksgiving may come from many to the glory of God.
Dearest Father, your
mercies run over us like a flowing river, and we are blessed by you through
this loving gift. Wash away our dirt and our grime and give us your peace. Be
with those who are especially in need of your mercy, in need of your
overflowing kindness. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
God’ Peace,
Pastor Bret
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