Fields United Methodist Church

Jesus Along the Way: Words of Hope and Grace.                       By Pastor Tom Joyce

August 13, 2020

“Look, the virgin shall bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.”          Matthew 1:23

God’s love for you has no bounds; God’s love for you is without condition, it just is. Yet there are times when loneliness and isolation that seems to go along with our “pandemic” life lately gives us pause and we begin to ask ourselves, “does God really care about me, especially now?”  The Christmas story is a story of hope and grace, hope fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, “God with us,” and grace realized in the affirmation that God “so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16) God came to us through Jesus Christ at a time of great uncertainty; nothing much has changed in the past 2,000 years or so; our lives are challenged more than ever but the promise of the presence of God through Jesus Christ is confirmed through the birth of Jesus Christ with the exclamation point of the resurrection celebrating salvation to all who believe and know Jesus along the way as Lord and Savior.  God is with you at this very moment, no matter where you find yourself and no matter how bad life seems to be, God is with you. I took a long walk with many thoughts going through my head, some good others just things causing me concern. Then I started to think about all the amazing gifts I have received over the years, not the least of which is faith, which turned my mind from the stuff of life to the celebration of life offered through Jesus. When your mind begins to wonder, when worry and anxiety begins to creep in, focus on Jesus. Focus on the love God has shared with you from the time of your conception. The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus is proof that God will never let you go; never, never, never.

Rev. Tom Joyce, pastor

Fields United Methodist Church