North Star News column
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Next Sunday is Trinity Sunday on the church’s calendar. This day, which always comes on the Sunday after Pentecost, is a day to ponder the divine mystery that there is one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Whole books have been written on how this can be; lengthy church councils and conferences have debated how best to describe this reality; and the unwieldy Athanasian Creed was written to proclaim it in public worship. St. Patrick famously used the shamrock with its three leaves to explain the Trinity to new Christians in Ireland. And yet, to mature Christians the Trinity remains a profound and beautiful mystery.
Saying that it is a mystery does not mean that it is a riddle or a puzzle. Neither is it a wall that human reason comes up against but an ocean in which the human soul swims. The one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all at once is so wonderful and magnificent that no human being can fully comprehend him. We will never fully understand the Trinity “till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise!” as the Methodist writer Charles Wesley put it so beautifully in the conclusion of his hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” Some people get a headache trying to explain the Trinity. God intends that meditation on the Trinity leads to being “lost in wonder, love, and praise.”
The better one gets to know God the more there is a sense of his unfathomable divine nature. Isaiah the prophet was told “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) St. Paul, in Romans 11:33, was led to exclaim, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord?”
The response of those who glimpse the depth and breadth of the nature of God is worship and praise. In Isaiah 6 the prophet has a vision of God’s divine presence where the angels sing God’s praise saying “holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” In Revelation 7 the apostle also has a vision of God’s divine presence where the elders, angels, and all creatures worship God saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
And so the people of God on earth observe Trinity Sunday by worshipping the God who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. There may be sermons and lectures that try to explain the divine mystery. There may be questions and quizzical expressions. But the most appropriate and satisfying thing to do on Trinity Sunday is to join the worshipping assembly in singing, “holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of thy glory; Hosanna in excelsis” and be “lost in wonder, love, and praise.”
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Pentecost Sunday
North Star News column
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Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, the day on which the church remembers a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus and celebrates the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of his disciples today. The story of the first Pentecost is recorded in Acts 2, but the story of Pentecost 2010 is yet to be written. What will the Holy Spirit prompt you to do? Where will the Holy Spirit lead you this year?
One thing is certain. The Holy Spirit will lead you to deeper faith in Jesus Christ. This is the first and primary work of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 12:3 says “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Martin Luther’s Small Catechism explains the third article of the creed in these words, “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept in the true faith.” If you believe in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit has been at work in your heart and is continuing to work in you, whether you are conscious of it or not. The Spirit may work silently or may use some strange instruments, events or people, but it is always the Spirit that creates and sustains faith.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit propels people to speak of the faith they have in their hearts. When the first disciples of Jesus saw him ascend into heaven they were told “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” {Acts 1:9) When the Holy Spirit came upon them mightily ten days later they went out into the streets to preach about Jesus to people from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:4) in their own native languages. This was part of the miracle of that Pentecost. Today the Holy Spirit is still moving people to put in a good word for Jesus, usually in their own native language. Some write books and some preach sermons while others simply demonstrate their faith in a few apt words or actions. Pray that you are open to the Spirit’s prompting so that you put in a good word for Jesus when given the opportunity.
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit helps us pray. In Romans 8:26 it says, “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” There certainly are times when we don’t know what to pray for or how to put our thoughts into sensible words, especially when events overwhelm us by their magnitude or intensity. At just those times, it is comforting to know that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, and sometimes is directing us to the right thoughts and the right words. What a comfort this is in the midst of illness, trauma, or death.
“Holy Spirit, truth divine, dawn upon this soul of mine; breath of God and inward light, wake my spirit, clear my sight.” (Samuel Longfellow)
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Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, the day on which the church remembers a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus and celebrates the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of his disciples today. The story of the first Pentecost is recorded in Acts 2, but the story of Pentecost 2010 is yet to be written. What will the Holy Spirit prompt you to do? Where will the Holy Spirit lead you this year?
One thing is certain. The Holy Spirit will lead you to deeper faith in Jesus Christ. This is the first and primary work of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 12:3 says “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Martin Luther’s Small Catechism explains the third article of the creed in these words, “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept in the true faith.” If you believe in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit has been at work in your heart and is continuing to work in you, whether you are conscious of it or not. The Spirit may work silently or may use some strange instruments, events or people, but it is always the Spirit that creates and sustains faith.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit propels people to speak of the faith they have in their hearts. When the first disciples of Jesus saw him ascend into heaven they were told “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” {Acts 1:9) When the Holy Spirit came upon them mightily ten days later they went out into the streets to preach about Jesus to people from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:4) in their own native languages. This was part of the miracle of that Pentecost. Today the Holy Spirit is still moving people to put in a good word for Jesus, usually in their own native language. Some write books and some preach sermons while others simply demonstrate their faith in a few apt words or actions. Pray that you are open to the Spirit’s prompting so that you put in a good word for Jesus when given the opportunity.
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit helps us pray. In Romans 8:26 it says, “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” There certainly are times when we don’t know what to pray for or how to put our thoughts into sensible words, especially when events overwhelm us by their magnitude or intensity. At just those times, it is comforting to know that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, and sometimes is directing us to the right thoughts and the right words. What a comfort this is in the midst of illness, trauma, or death.
“Holy Spirit, truth divine, dawn upon this soul of mine; breath of God and inward light, wake my spirit, clear my sight.” (Samuel Longfellow)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Synod Assembly Report
Pastor Gary and Ruth Halverson attended the 2010 Northwestern Minnesota Synod assembly May 14-15 at Concordia College of Moorhead MN. The theme of the assembly was “Life Overflowing” which was about stewardship based on a theology of abundance rather than a worry about scarcity. The synod is currently dealing with major budget shortfalls that led to terminating two full time positions in April. An emotional farewell tribute to the two employees, Erin Anderson and Michael Stein, was given at the Friday evening program. The downward trend in mission support through the synod has been going on for many years, but now has reached a critical stage.
On the brighter side, the music at the assembly was provided by “Dakota Road,” a praise band from South Dakota, which has produced many CDs and performed at many church events. They were lively and loud and very popular. Sample their music at www.dakotaroadmusic.com .
The keynote speaker was Mark Allen Powell who teaches at Trinity Lutheran Seminary of Columbus, Ohio and whose latest book is “”Giving to God: the Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life.” He was humorous and entertaining while challenging the synod members to live a generous life.
Sunitha Mortha spoke on behalf of the ELCA churchwide offices where she currently works and on behalf of our companion synod, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church of India, in which she was raised. She was an eloquent and calm voice from another part of the Lutheran Church. Her sari was beautiful.
One of the best parts of any synod assembly is connecting with Lutherans from many places, some near and some far. The Halverson’s sat at a table with people from Lake Bronson and Warroad. At the next table were Pastor Don and Esther Peterson, who served this parish in the 1970s and who send greetings to all. Also at that table was Pastor Paul Peterson who was raised in the First Lutheran parsonage and who has just moved from Beach ND to Audubon MN and also sends greetings to old friends in Karlstad. Pastors Cordell and Mary Carol Strug, formerly serving in Lake Bronson and Karlstad, were honored at the Friday evening program on their retirement. They were unable to be present as they have moved to Illinois. Also attending the assembly were Eleanor Dahlin’s son and daughter-in-law, Blaine & Molly, who belong to Redeemer Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls.
People’s Church of Bemidji was received as an official congregation of the ELCA. This church works with the poorest people in the community and has been worshipping and serving for some time. A new mission developer for a new congregation at Frazee MN was commissioned. Frazee is the largest town in the synod without an ELCA congregation. That’s Lutheran saturation!
Elections were held for voting members of the 2011 churchwide assembly and for several committees including Pastor Halverson elected to the synod consultation committee. A new secretary of the synod, Terrance Carlisle, was elected.
A full report on elections and resolutions is at www.nwmnsynod.org/ASSEMBLY but here is a summary. Resolutions to (1) Encourage support of the new mission at Frazee, (2) to encourage support of People’s Church of Bemidji, (3) encourage direct support of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Moorhead and Bemidji, and (4) to encourage congregations to give 10% of income in mission support to the synod/ELCA were adopted unanimously. A resolution to request the ELCA consider requiring a referendum by congregations for all important decisions by the churchwide assembly was defeated on a divided vote. A resolution to request that voting members of the churchwide assembly be elected as either “lay or rostered” instead of “lay or ordained” (it’s complicated) was passed on a divided vote. A resolution on the use of the word “adoption” was defeated on a divided vote. A resolution asking the state of Minnesota to limit interest charged to a maximum of 36% for all loans, especially payday loans, was passed overwhelmingly. All six MN synods were challenged to pass this resolution to protect the economically most vulnerable among us.
A 2011 budget of $1,863,120 was approved. New 2011 salary compensation guidelines increased by 2.1% were approved.
There were 179 clergy and 360 lay voting members for a total of 539, plus about 90 visitors. There were more youth than in recent years, including two from Conference One who spoke to the assembly. Bishop Lawrence Wohlrabe presided over the assembly with a deft and sure hand while acknowledging the challenges the synod faces.
On the brighter side, the music at the assembly was provided by “Dakota Road,” a praise band from South Dakota, which has produced many CDs and performed at many church events. They were lively and loud and very popular. Sample their music at www.dakotaroadmusic.com .
The keynote speaker was Mark Allen Powell who teaches at Trinity Lutheran Seminary of Columbus, Ohio and whose latest book is “”Giving to God: the Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life.” He was humorous and entertaining while challenging the synod members to live a generous life.
Sunitha Mortha spoke on behalf of the ELCA churchwide offices where she currently works and on behalf of our companion synod, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church of India, in which she was raised. She was an eloquent and calm voice from another part of the Lutheran Church. Her sari was beautiful.
One of the best parts of any synod assembly is connecting with Lutherans from many places, some near and some far. The Halverson’s sat at a table with people from Lake Bronson and Warroad. At the next table were Pastor Don and Esther Peterson, who served this parish in the 1970s and who send greetings to all. Also at that table was Pastor Paul Peterson who was raised in the First Lutheran parsonage and who has just moved from Beach ND to Audubon MN and also sends greetings to old friends in Karlstad. Pastors Cordell and Mary Carol Strug, formerly serving in Lake Bronson and Karlstad, were honored at the Friday evening program on their retirement. They were unable to be present as they have moved to Illinois. Also attending the assembly were Eleanor Dahlin’s son and daughter-in-law, Blaine & Molly, who belong to Redeemer Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls.
People’s Church of Bemidji was received as an official congregation of the ELCA. This church works with the poorest people in the community and has been worshipping and serving for some time. A new mission developer for a new congregation at Frazee MN was commissioned. Frazee is the largest town in the synod without an ELCA congregation. That’s Lutheran saturation!
Elections were held for voting members of the 2011 churchwide assembly and for several committees including Pastor Halverson elected to the synod consultation committee. A new secretary of the synod, Terrance Carlisle, was elected.
A full report on elections and resolutions is at www.nwmnsynod.org/ASSEMBLY but here is a summary. Resolutions to (1) Encourage support of the new mission at Frazee, (2) to encourage support of People’s Church of Bemidji, (3) encourage direct support of Lutheran Campus Ministry at Moorhead and Bemidji, and (4) to encourage congregations to give 10% of income in mission support to the synod/ELCA were adopted unanimously. A resolution to request the ELCA consider requiring a referendum by congregations for all important decisions by the churchwide assembly was defeated on a divided vote. A resolution to request that voting members of the churchwide assembly be elected as either “lay or rostered” instead of “lay or ordained” (it’s complicated) was passed on a divided vote. A resolution on the use of the word “adoption” was defeated on a divided vote. A resolution asking the state of Minnesota to limit interest charged to a maximum of 36% for all loans, especially payday loans, was passed overwhelmingly. All six MN synods were challenged to pass this resolution to protect the economically most vulnerable among us.
A 2011 budget of $1,863,120 was approved. New 2011 salary compensation guidelines increased by 2.1% were approved.
There were 179 clergy and 360 lay voting members for a total of 539, plus about 90 visitors. There were more youth than in recent years, including two from Conference One who spoke to the assembly. Bishop Lawrence Wohlrabe presided over the assembly with a deft and sure hand while acknowledging the challenges the synod faces.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Ascension Day
North Star News column
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The day this issue of the North Star News is published is Ascension Day in the Christian Church. Ascension Day comes forty days after Easter Sunday, and thus is always on a Thursday. Acts 1:3 says “After his suffering [Jesus] presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” What happens next is very simple. Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, and the disciples saw him no more. This fact is confessed in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed with the simple statement “he ascended into heaven” and described in fuller detail in Luke 24 and Acts 1.
Ascension Day is a bit like a victory celebration that comes some days after the victory is won. Many of you watched the inspiring Olympic games from Vancouver this winter. Athletes who had trained for years and years in obscure places around the globe came together to test their skills against other athletes. For some of them, especially the skiers, the contest took place on one day out on the mountainside, but the victory ceremony took place a day or even a few days later down in the city. At the victory celebration the gold medal was placed around the neck of the victor as he or she ascended to the top place on the Olympic stand to hear his or her national anthem played and receive the applause of the people.
Jesus lived thirty years of his life in the obscurity of Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and the rest of the family. Then for three years he carried on a public ministry, which began with a contest with the evil one during the wilderness temptation. As he died on the cross, it looked like the forces of evil that had been contending against him all through the three years had won. But three days later he was raised from the dead, the victor over sin, death, and everything that would oppose God’s good and gracious will. Death had been trying to get Jesus from the day King Herod sent his troops to kill all the little boys of Bethlehem, but on Easter Sunday Jesus finally and convincingly defeated it’s power. The contest was over, and Jesus had won.
Ascension Day is the day he celebrated that victory. “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father” as we say in the Apostles’ Creed. When we observe Ascension Day, whether it is on the fortieth day of Easter or the next Sunday, we are joining in the applause for the gold medal winner, Jesus Christ. We are celebrating the victory he has won for us, his people.
In Philippians 2:9 it says, “therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” To that, let us all say “amen” today.
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The day this issue of the North Star News is published is Ascension Day in the Christian Church. Ascension Day comes forty days after Easter Sunday, and thus is always on a Thursday. Acts 1:3 says “After his suffering [Jesus] presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” What happens next is very simple. Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, and the disciples saw him no more. This fact is confessed in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed with the simple statement “he ascended into heaven” and described in fuller detail in Luke 24 and Acts 1.
Ascension Day is a bit like a victory celebration that comes some days after the victory is won. Many of you watched the inspiring Olympic games from Vancouver this winter. Athletes who had trained for years and years in obscure places around the globe came together to test their skills against other athletes. For some of them, especially the skiers, the contest took place on one day out on the mountainside, but the victory ceremony took place a day or even a few days later down in the city. At the victory celebration the gold medal was placed around the neck of the victor as he or she ascended to the top place on the Olympic stand to hear his or her national anthem played and receive the applause of the people.
Jesus lived thirty years of his life in the obscurity of Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and the rest of the family. Then for three years he carried on a public ministry, which began with a contest with the evil one during the wilderness temptation. As he died on the cross, it looked like the forces of evil that had been contending against him all through the three years had won. But three days later he was raised from the dead, the victor over sin, death, and everything that would oppose God’s good and gracious will. Death had been trying to get Jesus from the day King Herod sent his troops to kill all the little boys of Bethlehem, but on Easter Sunday Jesus finally and convincingly defeated it’s power. The contest was over, and Jesus had won.
Ascension Day is the day he celebrated that victory. “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father” as we say in the Apostles’ Creed. When we observe Ascension Day, whether it is on the fortieth day of Easter or the next Sunday, we are joining in the applause for the gold medal winner, Jesus Christ. We are celebrating the victory he has won for us, his people.
In Philippians 2:9 it says, “therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” To that, let us all say “amen” today.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Newsletter May 2010
Bereft. That is how the disciples of Jesus were feeling forty days after Easter when he ascended into heaven. The one some of them had followed for three years, speaking and listening to him on a daily basis, was now gone from their sight. The one who had risen from the dead and appeared to them in the upper room, on the seashore, and on the road would do so no more. They were bereft of the most amazing person they had ever known.
Then they began to remember what he had said to them before those awesome days of triumph and tragedy that we call Holy Week. In John 14:3 he said, “….I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” And in John 14:18 he said, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.” And in John 14:28 he said, “if you loved me you would rejoice that I am going to the Father.”
The mystery of Ascension Day is that although Jesus has ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, he is still with us through his spirit, in his Word, and in the holy sacraments. The conclusion of the Gospel according to Luke is the account of the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven, but the conclusion of the Gospel according to Matthew is the declaration, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.” Both are true at the same time.
There are times when some of us feel bereft as if we were sailing alone on the sea of life. Perhaps co- workers and colleagues move on to other jobs and other places. Perhaps a husband or wife is lost as a marriage ends through death or divorce. Perhaps the years roll on and a person loses almost everyone from their generation. Not so long ago I was shown the picture of a large wedding party as the elderly owner of the picture said, “they are all gone except for this one and me.” On another occasion a much younger person spoke of feeling left behind as one friend after another moved away to advance themselves in their job or in their education.
Some of this is a natural part of the course of life. People come and go in our lives. If we live long enough we will certainly experience loss and the heartache that comes with it. If we stay in one place long enough, we will see others leave, and may at times feel quite lonely. Psalm 102:7 speaks of this feeling when it says, “I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.”
But Jesus taught that God has his eye on the sparrow so that not one of them falls to the ground without the Father knowing it. (Matthew 10:29-31) And Jesus promised that he would never abandon us. Hebrews 13:5 quotes Jesus as saying, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” In this topsy turvy world, it is a great comfort to know that Jesus is always there for us. The familiar poem by Mary Stevenson continues to comfort people with the assurance that at no hour are they bereft of the power and presence of Jesus..
FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
One night a man had a dream he was walking along the beach with the LORD.Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.For each scene he noticed two sets offootprints in the sand: one belongingto him, and the other to the LORD.When the last scene of his life flashed before him,he looked back at the footprints in the sand.He noticed that many times along the path ofhis life there was only one set of footprints.He also noticed that it happened at the verylowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and hequestioned the LORD about it."LORD, you said that once I decided to followyou, you'd walk with me all the way.But I have noticed that during the mosttroublesome times in my life,there is only one set of footprints.I don't understand why whenI needed you most you would leave me."The LORD replied:"My son, my precious child,I love you and I would never leave you.During your times of trial and suffering,when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
Pastor Gary Halverson
Then they began to remember what he had said to them before those awesome days of triumph and tragedy that we call Holy Week. In John 14:3 he said, “….I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” And in John 14:18 he said, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.” And in John 14:28 he said, “if you loved me you would rejoice that I am going to the Father.”
The mystery of Ascension Day is that although Jesus has ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, he is still with us through his spirit, in his Word, and in the holy sacraments. The conclusion of the Gospel according to Luke is the account of the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven, but the conclusion of the Gospel according to Matthew is the declaration, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.” Both are true at the same time.
There are times when some of us feel bereft as if we were sailing alone on the sea of life. Perhaps co- workers and colleagues move on to other jobs and other places. Perhaps a husband or wife is lost as a marriage ends through death or divorce. Perhaps the years roll on and a person loses almost everyone from their generation. Not so long ago I was shown the picture of a large wedding party as the elderly owner of the picture said, “they are all gone except for this one and me.” On another occasion a much younger person spoke of feeling left behind as one friend after another moved away to advance themselves in their job or in their education.
Some of this is a natural part of the course of life. People come and go in our lives. If we live long enough we will certainly experience loss and the heartache that comes with it. If we stay in one place long enough, we will see others leave, and may at times feel quite lonely. Psalm 102:7 speaks of this feeling when it says, “I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.”
But Jesus taught that God has his eye on the sparrow so that not one of them falls to the ground without the Father knowing it. (Matthew 10:29-31) And Jesus promised that he would never abandon us. Hebrews 13:5 quotes Jesus as saying, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” In this topsy turvy world, it is a great comfort to know that Jesus is always there for us. The familiar poem by Mary Stevenson continues to comfort people with the assurance that at no hour are they bereft of the power and presence of Jesus..
FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
One night a man had a dream he was walking along the beach with the LORD.Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.For each scene he noticed two sets offootprints in the sand: one belongingto him, and the other to the LORD.When the last scene of his life flashed before him,he looked back at the footprints in the sand.He noticed that many times along the path ofhis life there was only one set of footprints.He also noticed that it happened at the verylowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and hequestioned the LORD about it."LORD, you said that once I decided to followyou, you'd walk with me all the way.But I have noticed that during the mosttroublesome times in my life,there is only one set of footprints.I don't understand why whenI needed you most you would leave me."The LORD replied:"My son, my precious child,I love you and I would never leave you.During your times of trial and suffering,when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
Pastor Gary Halverson
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