FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK
22 And
Jesus said,
“The Son of Man must
suffer many things and
be rejected by the elders and chief priests and
the teachers of the law, and he must be killed, and on
the third day be raised.”
23
Then he said to all, “Whoever wants to
be my disciple must
deny himself and
take up their cross
daily and follow me.
24 For
whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will save it.
25 What
good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet
lose or forfeit their very self? Luke 9:22-25
Greetings in the Name of Christ,
The New Year is already not so new anymore! The second
half of the school year is well underway, some New Year resolutions have already
been scratched, and schedules are filling up with activities, appointments, and
"to do" lists. Given the way that time slips away, Jesus' words are
important for us to dwell upon.
Jesus, in no uncertain terms, reveals His purpose in life:
He is to be rejected, killed, and raised from the dead. And He adds that
anyone who wants to be His disciple must take up his or her cross and follow.
For us, that means letting go of things that take us away from following Jesus.
It means sacrifice, effort, devotion, and commitment. It means filling
your calendar with the Word of God, prayer, the fellowship, and breaking of
bread with other believers (Acts 2:42). But it also means that because of
Jesus' death AND resurrection, this loss will lead to being saved, and this
forfeiting of the world leads to gain. Not worldly gain and accumulation
of wealth, but gain of joy, love, and certain hope of eternal life with Jesus.
As Lent arrives on February 22nd with Ash Wednesday, we will
have opportunities to worship at 7AM and 7:30 PM, as well as every Wednesday
through March 28th at 7:30 PM. During these times, we will focus on the
words and events of Jesus' life leading up to His death. The goal is to
fix our eyes on Jesus so that His life becomes bigger in our life, and our life
becomes smaller than His. But in doing so, our lives are enriched and set
for eternity!
God bless you, and I look forward to walking to the cross and
empty tomb with you.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Grunklee
