Praise the Lord for this new day. It is wonderful to be alive and to know that our Lord reigns. We will gather for our mid-week fellowship and study today at 6 PM followed by choir practice at 7:30 PM.
I love the wonderful passage that recorded in Joel 2. I have used this powerful passage in preaching and in my prayer time. It talks about restoration. Restoration... What a powerful word! Our God is a God of new beginnings, and a God of second chances. God is in the restoration business! Job experienced this. He lost everything, and the book records his struggles with himself and with God during that time of devastation. Then, at the end of the book, he had everything restored: his health, more land than he had before, more money, another wife, more kids. In Joel 2, we read about another great restoration.
It is going to be one of the beautiful and brilliant days. We all enjoy watching the sunrise. Sunrises are especially significant because they come after long, dark nights. Sunrise is that moment when the light touches the darkness and the light wins out. Sunrises are significant because they are signs of hope. In the midst of hopelessness a light shines. A sign of life comes to us in the midst of death. First it starts as a glimmer and then it becomes a blaze of light in the midst of darkness. Sometimes during those dark parts of our lives when all seems to be going wrong, when all hope seems gone, there is s sunrise. Suddenly in the darkness of our situation, there is a color and light in the distant sky. Then, in an instant, a bright light floods over the horizon dispelling the darkness. That is precisely what we need.
In the midst of that darkness Joel saw a light from heaven, much like a sunrise after a dark night. It was a hope for the people of Israel, and he preached that hope. Like Job, they were to have their material blessings restored. No longer would God allow these pagan insects to infest their land. No longer would they go hungry, but they would have plenty. However, this restoration promised in Joel even goes beyond that. God’s message through Joel is so much more. It is about spiritual blessings, as God’s spirit is poured out on human hearts. It is about the restoration of the whole of creation. We pray for this kind of ultimate restoration every Sunday when we say, “Our Father which art in heaven…thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” - and we wait for that time to come.
According to the picture in Joel, the kingdom of God affects the whole of creation. It is a restoration to the way things were in the beginning, back in that first garden. Remember that at first there was food enough for all, just there for the taking, because of God’s goodness. Then, because of his sin, Adam was told he would have to work and struggle in order to get enough to eat, though food had been freely given in the garden. Once again, out of the abundance of God’s graciousness, not because of any human effort, Joel saw that everyone would again eat plenty. Verse 26 points out that in the kingdom of God, which Joel saw as Israel restored, God said, “My people shall never again be put to shame.”
Remember that in the garden of Eden Adam and Eve were naked and they were not ashamed. They had no reason to hide from God or one another until they sinned. According to Joel, God would again wipe the slate clean, and people would be freed from the stain of shame to begin again. Another thing that Joel foresaw happening in this total restoration was a renewed closeness and intimacy between God and humanity, as he said in vs. 27: “you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel.”
God walked with Adam and Eve in that early garden. God moved in close and intimate relation with humanity. Sin broke that communion but, in salvation, God again walks in the midst of His people. That intimate relationship is restored in salvation. The promise of restoration went beyond what they could have anticipated, beyond what they imagined, and probably even beyond that which Joel imagined.
In our lives we need to be open to the new beginnings God brings to us, open to God’s leading, and open to whatever the restoration God has in mind of our lives, even if it is not quite what we imagine or expect. God's promise is that no matter how it comes, or when or what form it takes, or whether it is how or what we expect, restoration will come, just as surely as the sunrise follows the darkness. God is a God who restores, and a God of new beginnings.
Today we live in a dark world where people kill one another, and where wars and terrorism abound. It is a world where people are enslaved by drugs, abuse, materialism, and self-centeredness. Despite the bleakness of all of this, God’s word tells us that a light will break through the darkness because God is a God who restores. Morning is on the way. God has sent His Son to bring light into our life. God has sent his Holy Spirit to invade and possess our soul and give peace and joy. God has promised a day when all oppression and evil will cease. God has promised to be a God who restores… physically or spiritually, in this life or the next.
We are planning for a weekend Prayer Conference, beginning on Friday October 14. We are praying and trusting that the Lord would perform His deeds of mercy and grace. Those who live in the area join us. I am attaching a schedule for the weekend. Please pray for the event.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/pOzYcXaZY8k
PRAYER CONFERNCE:
Union Center United Methodist Church:
128, Maple Drive, Endicott, New York 13760
PRAYER CONFERNCE:
Friday October 14- THROUFGH Sunday October 16,2011
Need hope?
Need a reason to continue?
Need joy?
Need peace?
Need an answer?
Need rest?
" COME TO JESUS AND LIVE "
Need NEED LIFE?No matter what you need…
JESUS says “Call to Me & I will Answer!”
~ Jeremiah 33:3
Join us for a weekend of Hope, Joy, Peace & Life!!
Friday Oct. 14 – 6:00 pm: Opening session at Union Center UMC with Kelly Johnson from Two By Two Ministries
Saturday Oct. 15:
9 am – Noon at Union Center UMC: Open Prayer Time: A refreshing time of personal prayer and community prayer for any storm you’ve weathered. Prayer teams available to pray with those who desire it.
5:30pm – Community Dinner at Endicott First Methodist
6:30pm – Worship service with Kelly Johnson at Endicott First Methodist.
Sunday Oct. 16 – 8:30 & 11:00 am at Union Center UMC– Join us for morning worship with guest speaker Kelly Johnson.
***Please note our two locations for these events***
Union Center United Methodist Church is located at 128 Maple Dr. Endicott
Endicott First Methodist is located at 53 McKinley Ave. Endicott
For information please call 607-748-6329-748-1358 or 427-4359
If you are unable to come but have a need you’d like to have us pray for, please email it to umcgospel@aol.com or you can mail it to the Union Center UMC address listed above attn: Prayer Team
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment