Be still and know

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today's Psalm is a favorite of mine for facing change, and aging is a change. No matter what happens, we can trust God to be with us and to guide us. Whether we listen to that guidance is up to us.

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 46:1-11

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, 

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

³though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 

the holy habitation of the Most High.

⁵God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; 

God will help it when the morning dawns.

⁶The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

⁸Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; 

he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God! 

I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”

¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

a time for everything

Good afternoon friends,
Today we start a week looking at aging and end of life questions as we prepare for a sermon on end of life perspectives. If there's anything you particularly would like me to focus on in my preparation for the sermon, feel free to send me an email or give me a call. Appropriately, I'm sending this from in front of a nursing home. It was comforting for me to see the staff and other residents welcome our patient back home after a hospital stay. Today we read a familiar passage reminding us that there is a time for everything. As much as our culture tries to deny or ignore it, we will all die someday. We can't change that, but if we accept and embrace it, I suspect there are blessings in every season.

God bless,
Sam

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ²a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; ³a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; ⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.