Greetings on a good Saturday! I’m glad to be with you as we close out the week in the Workshop.
This week we’ve prepared our Memorial Day message. Our theme is “Eternity”. Our Scripture comes from II Corinthians 5:1-9. Our focus verse is 5:1, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
As you know, on Saturday we “prepare with prayer”. Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor build it in vain.” Unless God is in the midst of our writing, our proclaiming, the listener’s hearing, and how we live the word in the world we are just going through the motions. Prayer centers us on how the Spirit would be working in and through all we have done to advance Christ’s Kingdom.
So what are we praying for this Saturday?
My hope is that this message would be used by God to bring hope to hearts. “Eternity” reminds us that those we memorialize this weekend, our own dear and departed ones and we ourselves have a “home in the heart of God”. Our earthly body is temporary (an “earthly tent”) but our spiritual body is our permanent residence (a “building from God”). In heaven there is a “perfection” (a “house is not made with hands”). There is a wholeness, freedom, a completion, a beauty that we don’t know on earth because of our limitations, afflictions, and conditions. This is a majesty and glory God gives.
I also pray that we take this hope to heart in ways that it would guide our daily living. “Eternity” is not simply then, it is now. The transcendent love of God would be transforming our life on earth in the present. God would be bringing a “little bit of heaven” through how we choose to serve and sacrifice in our days. We “walk by faith” today and follow our risen Christ! Prayer opens and aligns us to this leading of God.
For our church family and friends I am praying that all would have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. I hope that even in the midst of the “new normal” there would be some opportunity to connect with those you love.
This weekend I also am praying for folks in Michigan where the dams burst and in India and Bangladesh where the super cyclone hit. They have experienced a “double dose”, with the virus and natural disaster. May God strengthen them as they seek to rebuild their lives.
These are some of the prayers on my heart this Saturday. What are yours? The Bible invites us to “Cast your cares upon the Lord, for God cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7). We are invited to trust that Scripture as we lift up our lives and our world in faith.
Have a blessed time of prayer today. And I look forward to worshipping with you tomorrow. I know as we gather via the web we are together in Christ. I am grateful for that grace!
See you then!
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the privilege of prayer. We are grateful that in your love You open your Heart to our hearts. In that gift in Christ we can open our lives to Your eternal life. For that blessing and the hope it brings to our daily living we praise You, through Jesus Christ our Lord.