Thought of the Day May 20, 2020



Deuteronomy 31:1-6
31 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Two thoughts come to mind when reading this passage. The first is the last sentence, which have seen as a theme all through this Easter Season. That being that God will never forsake us. The second is that after 40 years of leading his people in the desert Moses himself will not get to the promised land, but his people will.
This is the mark of an unselfish leader or an unselfish community, in that we may not personally reap the benefit of our work but that the people of the future will benefit. As a nation what we do today may not be of benefit today but will influence quality of life for future generations. Things like protecting the environment, replacing infrastructure, investing in public education, looking to the future rather than trying to imitate the past. And as the followers of Christ to teach the children, explore new ways to reach new people, and to live by the example of Jesus, not to ensure our place in heaven but to leave a better world for the future.
Peace and Blessings – Pastor Tom

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You Are Amazing

Image
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 You are amazing.       While watching a documentary on America; specifically, the United States. I started thinking how blessed we are not just to be living in the USA, but to be alive and alive anywhere. Between the fact that as a species in prehistoric times due to sickness and natural disasters, the human population  may have been down to fewer than 200,000. Then when you think about death from infant mortality rates throughout history, sickness, infection, injury, conflict, and war. It is amazing that any particular one of us are here today.       Just for my own family in the 20th century my grandfather was killed in a powder mill explosion. My father was five, had that happened five years before, well…. Then my other grandfather narrowly missed being crushed by an automobile size boul...
Read more

Mt. Zion - Orange UMC Online Worship March 22nd 2020

Mt. Zion - Orange United Methodist Charge Worship March 22nd 2020 Fourth Sunday in Lent Do No Harm        Do Good                                          Stay In Love With God   -John Wesley Link to video >>  https://youtu.be/FhKWQFMaEbk (Right Click on the URL and  open in a new window if you want to also follow along in the bulletin) Greetings INTROIT Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Thou art the potter I am the clay Mold me and make me after Thy will While I am waiting yielded and still Opening Prayer (Ephesians 5, John 9) Gracious God, who created us in God’s own image, we are grateful for all that you have done for us, for all that you are doing in us, and for all that you will do through us. Open our eyes to see your presence among us, moving in powerful ...
Read more

Thought for Today May 6th, 2020

Image
John 13:34-35 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” There are many situations where people can question whether a person is what they present themselves to be. Someone could ask a person wearing a fire department t shirt, “do you fight fires, or just have the t shirt” . Or back in the day a magazine advertisement that I used to find funny was “Be a model, or just look like one”. I used to imagine using that phrase in other ways, like maybe “Be a mechanical engineer, or just look like one” for college recruitment. Ok now you know how weird my mind works. But how about when we wear a cross, or a shirt that has something about Jesus on it. Or maybe we have a fish emblem on our car or maybe the cross, or a sticker that says “Honk if You Love Jesus” Are we loving like Jesus? Will the people that you en...
Read more