Happy Wednesday! 

What and exciting day with the new Pope being elected. I watched as he spoke his first words to the 100,000 plus people gathered in the Vatican awaiting the announcement of the new leader. When he spoke I heard a humble priest ask those before him and around the world to pray for him. I listened as all of those people became quiet and the city went silent to pray for this one tasked with a serious job. There are many things that are unique about this new leader, but he seems to have the humbleness of heart to begin his ministry in prayer and to ask the great cloud of witnesses present with him to pray for him too. He has inherited a boat load of trouble, but if he has begun this journey in prayer I believe that as each new issue arises he will continue the practice of prayer. It sounds to me like he is off to a good start. My prayers are with Pope Francis I.

Prayer: Lord, you have called us to follow You. When You call us to follow You we are assured that You will lead us forward. Lord, never let us look back to where we were when we think it looks better than where we are going. You are our leader and guide. You turn our darkness into light even through the valley of the shadow of death. Let us glorify You by following where You lead, obediently trusting You each step of our journey. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“This [Jesus] spoke, signifying by what death [Peter] would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, he said to Him, ‘Follow me.”

John 21: 19

God always leads us forward.  Our journey may seem to be on a level plane, but I think God leads us as we are able to ascend the slopes of our lives by His leading and our abilities and willingness to trustingly act in obedience to the call to “follow me.”  Sometimes we are like those Hebrew people who struck out for the Promised Land and when the going got tough, Egypt started looking pretty good. All they knew was the life of slavery. They did not know how to embrace the freedom they had been given through the obedience demanded by God in their journey.

If you think about it we are all given a finite time here on this earth. The only reasonable way for us to move is forward. Our lives are journeys and Jesus is our guide. It is our responsibility to follow Jesus wherever He leads. There are times we are led where we do not want to go, but God, being our Savior, gets to lead us in the best possible path for our lives. When we feel unsure in the journey then it is our responsibility to call God for help. God will tenderly be with us each step of our journey. When we stay close to God we will move forward. And when the journey is in the dark remember the words of the Psalm 18: 28 “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

Take joy in the journey of hope remembering that home never disappoints. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

Please pray for Pastor Marc Hander. He was taken to the ER this morning with a serious viral infection. He is home now and in need of our prayers.  Pastor Marc was unable to lead mid-week services so Pastor Stan Meyer stepped in at the last minute. He did a wonderful job and we were all blessed with his sermon tonight.  Thanks, Pastor Stan.  Get well soon Pastor Marc.