I commend JOY!

20 Sep I commend JOY!

Hi everyone!

I hope your hatches are battened down good & tight and you’re ready for whichever way the wind blows over the next few days…sounds like we’re going to be wet again.

I’m praying for those for whom more water is burden more than a blessing at this point.

I’m also raising more than a few “thank you” prayers for each of you. We’ve become fairly flexible & adaptable over the last couple of years…moreso than ever and that’s proven to be a huge blessing in so many ways.  Just a couple of quick notes here…

1. Zoom Bible Study Catch-Up

Friday – September 23, 2022 @ 1:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88022194499  — Meeting ID: 880 2219 4499

2. Wagga Lake Run/Ride – This Sunday! 25^th September

We’ve got our water station at the corner of Lake Albert Road & Lakeside Drive. (just beyond the dog park)

We’ll start setting up at 9:00 a.m. so you should be able to park at the Guide Hall & walk down to our spot.

After the Run/Ride finishes around noon, we’ll re-convene in the Hall for worship and Lunch.

I’m going to bring a lawn chair to be able to take a break now and again while I’m at the water station…if we have lots of helpers we can take turns & not wear ourselves to a frazzle.

Let’s pray for a non-rainy race day too!

3. Many thanks to everyone who has jumped at the opportunity to help clear our things out of the Guide Hall while the floors are being re-done. After worship on the 16^th of October, we’re a swarm of worker ants clearing our gear to our varied homes & sheds for safekeeping so the Guides can get the workers in unhindered. We’ll keep you up-to-date on details…but we’ll need every set of hands we have!
4. LWF AGM – targeted for 23^rd If we’re not back in the Guide Hall by then, we’re looking at contingency plans and we’ll keep you posted on that too. Pray for diligent workers & no unforeseen hold-ups.

 

Finally…I’ve mentioned that I’ve been reading the Wisdom literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) of the Old Testament lately…part of my yearly journey in reading the Bible.

One thing that often strikes me as I read this part of God’s Word is that God grants us a large measure of choice in how we approach our lives. God invites us into his wisdom, his way of ordering & governing the world, as an invitation into life…filled with his provision presence & protection. To live responsive to & obedient to God’s way is to find life in its most abundant. This abundance is assured in Jesus, but we are invited to daily live into a growing closeness to him. We can still live guided & governed by our own desires & our own wisdom apart from life in the way & wisdom of Jesus…and experience great heartache.

In the midst of that, we also have a choice in our attitude toward living. Proverbs 15:15 – “For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.” Think about that…if you start your day expecting trial & difficulty, you might just find those things waiting for you. But to wake up each day anticipating God’s blessing & favour as his child…to pursue the day with a cheerful heart…is to enjoy a continual feast…there’s always something good to celebrate. Ecclesiastes 3:9 asks a great question: “What do people really get for all their hard work?” What’s the “payoff” in life? What’s the goal I’m living toward? What a great question! 3:11 says there’s a lot of life that is a mystery & we’ll never fully understand all God is doing…BUT 3:12 answers the original question: “I know that there is nothing better for people than to rejoice & do good while they live. People should eat & drink, & find satisfaction in the fruit of their labours for these are gifts from God.”

What do we get from our hard work? The opportunity to see the work & it’s results as gifts from God…we get to see God use our hands in our work & feel his joy in the products of our labour. Again, we can choose to see before us a continual feast, an ongoing festival of God’s goodness unleashed through our hands or we can simply slog it out day after day until we die. Ecclesiastes 8:15: “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat & drink & be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.”

 

So…in the days of this week…I commend joy. See God’s work in you as a feast of his goodness & an abundance of his blessing.

I’ll see you Sunday…expect to hear something more in this vein as we gather for our own feasting from God’s bountiful table.

John