Thy bountiful care
What tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
It shines in the light;
It streams from the hills,
It descends to the plain,
And sweetly distils
In the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust,
And feeble as frail,
In thee do we trust,
Nor find thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender!
How firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend.

Praise the Lord for His magnanimous love and limitless grace. The Lord blessed our recent stay in Boston. The Lord is faithful. We are so grateful for all His total provision during our stay. During our stay at Hope Lodge our paths crossed those of people of diverse backgrounds and needs. We met one young woman, a professional nurse, who was there for medical care. Born in Kazakhstan, she is a committed Christian, and her aunt who lives in Moscow was there as her care giver. Another couple we spent some time with was from Potsdam, NY. They shared that the husband got his degree from Clarkson University and she earned her degree from Potsdam State University. They are married and are blessed with children, grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. They shared that they grew up in the church as youth and stayed involved in local churches. It was great joy to hear from them that they were part of a small group of five married couples who met for fellowship and prayer, usually going out for dinner once every month, for 40 years. That is devotion and commitment. Another man we spent some time with was from the Poconos area in Pennsylvania. He shared that he is blessed with a beautiful family. He and his wife have three children and two grandchildren. Two of his children are involved in full time Christian ministry. One son works for Vanguard Investments (where our son-in- law Tom works). We also came across a mother and daughter, and I assumed that the mother was in for medical care. After talking with them we came to know that the daughter is there for medical care and the mother is there as the care giver. The daughter works at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

Every person we meet along life’s highway is loved by the Lord. Every person we encounter in this life has deep needs and the deepest longings which only Jesus our Lord does satisfy. During our stay at the Hope lodge Alice prepared homemade pizza and pastries and served the guests. I made some chicken curry and rice which I served to the staff and some of the guests. We spent some very blessed and sweet time with our grandchildren. Alice spent some time cooking and baking with them. We also spent some time with them and their parents going out for special meals at their favorite restaurants. Our drive home back to New York was beautiful. The weather was grand, the skies were blue, and the sun shone brightly. The drive on the Mass Pike, crossing the Berkshires and the western Mass is always exhilarating refreshing. The vehicle we drive crossing the Northeast is a 2000 Ford. As we were entering NY we saw flocks of Canadian geese blanketing the fields and open grounds. They were countless. It was a late afternoon scene and they were lost in awe and wonder with holy Honks offering evening praise to Jesus. As we drove along Interstate 88 I saw two eagles sitting by the road side unafraid. The Lord blessed us in His house yesterday with His presence and grace. Our people at the Marathon Methodist Church are beautiful and gracious, and very generous. They make our ministry here celebrative, affirming, and uplifting. It is indeed a wonderful joy serving the Lord along with those who love and serve Him with zeal and devotion. We are gearing up for a Super Bowl party with the youth on Sunday the 4th of February starting at 5:30 PM. The church is getting ready to host a Sweetheart Banquet on Saturday the17th of February at 6:00 PM. The menu will include some sumptuous entrées and decadent desserts followed by songs and hymns.

Praise the Lord that He is the Lord of the here and now; furthermore, He is the Lord of the Eternal City, the New Jerusalem. Praise the Lord for all His promises which are yes in Christ Jesus. We can count on His promises, for He is faithful trustworthy in every way and all the way. As we live on earth now we live with confidence and courage. We are called and propelled to live as stewards of the Kingdom, looking forward and beyond for the unfolding of His kingdom in full splendor and glory. According to His promises the best is yet to be.

”But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” I Corinthians 2:9

Imagine that someone very wealthy, with incredible power and influence, calls you up and asks you to take care of their entire estate for the whole summer: to mow the lawn, trim the hedges, clean the pool, and sacrifice your entire summer to help them. They tell you it would please them and it would be really worth it to you—that at the end of the summer you'd be paid $1,000 an hour and the entire estate would be transferred over into your name. What would that mean? It wouldn't remove the sacrifice, but it would instill motivation and hope in the midst of the sacrifice. But what if you had a bunch of friends who were always trying to convince you that the whole thing was a sham, that the owner was actually broke and there was no way he could give you any money, and that he didn't even own the house and it wasn't his to give? They keep telling you that they are certain of this and that you will receive nothing in the end. If this is true then you will wind up wasting your entire summer. Eventually the pressure of that thinking is going to affect your behavior. It will cause you to cut corners, to skip days, and maybe to give up on the whole thing altogether. This entire scenario is a metaphor for those of us who give all for the Kingdom of God.

The Lord illustrated this in one of His parables. Paraphrasing the words of St Paul, "Don't be deceived. It's not a sham. I saw Jesus alive! The owner exists; he owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10), and he's promised you that every sacrifice in his name will be rewarded 100-fold in the future." For Paul, the reason to invest in the future is because there is a future. His future bodily resurrection freed him from materialism and consumerism and focusing on the here and now. All the sacrifices were worth it because the Lord does care what we do, and the rewards in that day are going to be so amazing that it is going to be worth it all. That's why, at the end of the chapter, he says, "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (v. 58). What you do in this life really matters—it carries over into the next!

We are invited to "Look” — to wake up. Remember what Jesus has done. He paid for all our sins. He came, He saw, and He conquered sin and death. He is alive forevermore. When we experience His ineffable love we realize we don't have to run from our past. We can run to Him with our past, and when we trust in him, he not only will pardon us, but he will empower us. A new power will come into our lives for change and transformation. What a way to live! What a way to serve! Life is worth living.

https://youtu.be/LwGvfdtI2c0

Brown