FAITH CONNECTION – FARMERSVILLE UMC
Ministry Updates for Monday, October 19th, 2020
Worship – October 25th, 9:30am Facebook Live, 11:00am In-Person
Please consider joining us in person. But please honor your own level of comfort given your understanding of the risks of the pandemic and your personal health. If you are coming to in-person worship, we ask that you help us prepare by making a reservation by noon on Thursday, using this link https://forms.gle/M4D6i7ZqjiREJCwD7 .
Scripture – Deuteronomy 30:15-16
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
Reflection – Choices
Wow. Life and prosperity versus death and adversity. Tough choice, right? Well, all kidding aside, the choice is harder than it looks on the surface.
It may feel like we must give up our freedom to do it ‘God’s way.’ And it is easier to give in to our personal desires which come naturally to us, rather than seek out God’s desires for us through scripture, worship, prayer and other acts of devotion and seeking. These do not come to us so naturally. Not without practice.
The scriptures are filled with choices like this one; Sin or self-control? Revenge or forgiveness? Heaven or Hell? On the surface, they also seem like easy choices, but upon closer inspection and reflection, we must do battle, even and especially with ourselves, to move toward that more obvious good.
I once heard a preacher say, ‘A good life is far more about our choices than our accomplishments.’ It is not a quote from the Bible, but scripture seems to support it.
I think about those words often. They have stuck with me for over 30 years. The hard choices I have made… to forgive, to persevere in difficulty, to believe in the best possible life God wants to give me, well, I have not regretted those choices, even when it seemed very hard to have that kind of faith.
As we move into election season, we have hard choices before us. But one of the most important decisions we will make is to maintain relationships and respect through our differing visions for the future of our communities, our state, our nation and our world.
May the peace of Christ dwell richly in your heart as you make all these decisions.
Prayer:
God of Life, we give you thanks that you call us into life. Not just a walking around and breathing life, but a life which connects us richly to you and to our neighbor through love. In this time in our communities and nation we are deciding on leaders. Give us wisdom to choose well, patience to endure what may feel like setbacks, and grace toward those who at time feel like adversaries. God, we pray for peace in our homes, our communities, our state, our nation, and our world. May it start with us making the good choice to trust in your will and your providence over our world. Amen