We are almost there. We are on the very edge of 2013. So what! We are likely dragging all the baggage (emotionally, relationally, financially, etc.) we have accumulated over our past into another twelve months. And for many of us that baggage is getting harder and harder to carry. So what can we do about it? Let me give you some hope and maybe some help as well.
First, it may be time for you and I to deal with the burdens we bear. What do I mean? If you have something against another it may be time to forgive them. If someone has something against you of which you are aware it may be time to go to them and try and make it right. One of the greatest gifts of of being a Christian is living in the flow of the river of God’s grace. We don’t have to work for it, it is a gift that we are given when we welcome Jesus Christ into our lives. But just maybe we have forgotten who and where we are. We are sinners redeemed by the blood of the Lamb through the ever flowing fountain of his forgiveness. It may be time to get a new year washing in God’s love and forgiveness.
Second, this may be the season we need to seek a deeper healing from God. Most of us carry around with us deep wells of pain and hurt that have become toxic to us and others. These are wounds we have covered over but never really dealt with in a healthy way. These pools of pain drive our emotional life and keep us from living well. I am talking about the things that sabotage our relationships and keep us down. Life is never easy but often we make it harder by never dealing with our deepest emotional hurts. This may be the time to try and face these wounds and find the healing only God can provide.
Third, this may also be the time in our lives when we need to seek to live more and more in the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit and less and less in our own wisdom and strength. If we are truly born again as children of God we should be excited to learn how to live more like children of His Kingdom than children of this fallen world. But this requires us to want it and work for it. We don’t become more like Jesus by just wishing it were so. We are called to continue to walk with Him on the path of life as we join Him in His work in our families, our church, our work and our world. It is time we learned to truly walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
How can your church help you with all this?
First, be in worship. Make Sunday morning worship and classes your default setting. There are many things pulling on you for your time and attention. But one thing that will continue to help you grow in your faith is being active in God’s family.
Second, participate in the Daniel Fast. Each year we choose to offer the firstfruits of the year to God by fasting for twenty-one days. You don’t have to follow the Daniel Fast diet but choose to spend the time putting aside something that will prompt you to make a greater focus on God. Food is often the best way but for some of us it will be television or whatever. The point is to fast from something that will change your life pattern to make more room for God. This year the focus of the Daniel Fast is on prayer and fasting for healing and wholeness. This is our chance to get serious about become a more whole person.
Third, come to one or more the healing services we are offering on Wednesday nights in the month of January. Beginning on the ninth of the month we will be offering a focused opportunity to seek the Lord for His healing power in our lives. These will be patterened after the ritual for healing found in the United Methodist book of Worship. Healing has always been a part of the life of the church and we desire to make it more available at Pathfinder. A new year is about to begin. Don’t let it be just another year but a time of forgiveness, healing and growth.
Pastor Greg