Greetings beloved family of Common Ground,
As I’ve had the time to read, study and meditate upon Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” it becomes apparent that this sermon by Jesus couldn’t be any timelier in our virus-ridden age. People will be watching us as followers of Jesus Christ in how we respond in this pandemic time. And Jesus’ sermon tells us how. We get to prove we’re true followers of Christ in demonstrating not only to others but more importantly to ourselves in who do we trust in times like this, who do we turn to in times like this? I know it sounds like an easy Sunday school answer, but we turn to Jesus, we trust in Christ and His saving gospel.
Jesus tells us in this wonderful sermon on the mount to pray to Him in difficult times (Matt. 6:5-13). We are to store our treasures in Christ’s eternal kingdom not in this temporal, fading-fast, virus-ridden world and our greatest treasure is Jesus Himself (Matt. 6:19-24). We are to cast our anxiety upon Him in these tough times (Matt. 6:25-32). We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and anything else is just icing on the cake, therefore STOP your worrying! (Matt. 6:33-34). We discover a heavenly Father who completely and perfectly loves us, no matter what. He gives to us bread to eat and not a stone, He gives to us fish to eat (sorry Pat Moore) and not a snake and if we as finite fallen beings know how to give good gifts to our children, then how much MORE will our Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him. God forever has our very best in mind (Matt. 7:7-12).
Yes, beloved, who are you trusting in and who are you turning to during these strange days? My prayer is that through it all Jesus would become sweeter than ever, His gospel more precious than ever, His love more cherished than ever and our love for one another more real than ever.
Can I count on you to pray with me this Holy week? Please pray for Chris R. who has tested positive for Covid-19. Pray for Katie as her mom died this week at age 87. Pray that our Good Friday and Easter Sunday would be understood and celebrated in the right heart and manner at each one of our locations. Pray that our all-powerful triune God would stop this virus soon. Pray that our great God of peace sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will do it (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
Please send me any prayer requests no matter how big or small so that we as a family of Common Ground can lift each up in holy, heartfelt, God-glorifying prayer!
Making Much of Jesus!!!
Pastor Gary