Fields United Methodist Church

Side by Side with Jesus.                                     Pastor Tom Joyce

March 10, 2021

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus is more than a slogan, more than just a good guy with great ideas for healthy living; he is God’s Son, the “first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev. 21:6) In other words, Jesus is the “image of the invisible God,” your creator and your redeemer. A relationship with Jesus is like celebrating spring after a long, cold winter. When the weather changes and the warmth of the sun and light rain awakens the trees and flowers from deep sleep, there is an excitement, a feeling of freedom from having to shovel snow, walking on ice, and experiencing less daylight to light our way; everything it seems has become new!  When you accept Jesus not only as your Lord but as your Savior, you also accept the cleansing power that wipes clean those things in your life that just brings you down, like anger, doubt, and sin that accumulates over time making life difficult and hard to navigate. Just as the season of spring ushers in a new fresh season, Jesus ushers in new fresh life not only now but forever! There is hope where there once was hopelessness, joy where there once was misery, peace where there was once war; all things become new when you are “in Christ.” As the world awakens from slumber and as followers of Jesus look to the celebration of new life at Easter, take the time today to open your heart and soul to even a closer relationship with Jesus through prayer, loving God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving your neighbor like you never loved them before.  Faith is all about taking yourself out of the center of your life and putting “in Christ,” making all things new.  It may be hard sometimes to see what is “new” in the midst of life’s challenges, but God never stops loving you. God is there, always has been, always will be, and that is a promise fulfilled in Jesus.  As the hymn by Natalie Sleeth sings, “In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” (“Hymn of Promise”) The season of new life is now! Accept Jesus! Celebrate Jesus! Witness Jesus!

Rev. Tom Joyce