Pondering From the Pastor

As you read this newsletter, it will be the New Year, we are blessed to have been able to minister for 125 years within our own body and outside to the community, and around the world. The Lord has been faithful to Lake Eunice! It has been a wonderfully mild winter, but as I write this, a winter storm is looming. Hopefully, we won’t get too inundated with snow, but we know we live in western Minnesota, snow is likely to happen!

            I took a poll in church last weekend to see how many are making New Year’s resolutions, I didn’t see any hands go up, but if you could change one thing in your life for the coming year to improve things in your life, what would it be? I have a suggestion, I suggest that we don’t complain about anything for one month. The month suggested to start on this is February for obvious reasons. It is the shortest month of the year. If you choose to either start in February, or start right away, it is going to take some practice, but there is scriptural backing for this. Instead of complaining about things that we have little or no control over anyway, how about adding one more thing to our lives that will improve our quality of life, instead of complaining, how about starting to praise the Lord about anything and everything? More than a lot of other things, praising the Lord is guaranteed to improve our lives for the better and limit our complaining to almost nothing, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

            The scriptural references to this is found in Phil. 2:14-16, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” 1 Pet. 4:9-10 says, “Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” James 5:9 says, “Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold the Judge is standing right at the door.” That is just a couple of verses, there are many more to be found.

            What’s coming up in the New Year? From my perspective, I will begin preaching in James through the month of January, Barry Schroder’s new bible reading plan is James in January. If you remember last year we had Fire in February, where we read through a chapter of Acts a day. This month is James in January. Read it as much or as little as you want and as many times as you want. Our Wednesday Night Bible study will begin a study in the end times and Revelation starting January 9^th. As always, supper is at 6:30 and study at 7:00 p.m. See you there!      Pastor Dale