Fields United Methodist Church

Side by Side with Jesus.                                                  Pastor Tom Joyce

January 11, 2021

“I pray that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith as you are being grounded in love.”

Ephesians 3:16-17

While walking by the endless sea I had no answers to the challenges of our nation or the uncertainty of our times except for this; our God is a big God. Perhaps to many these few words are too simplistic for solving divisions among people, the Corona Virus or cancer but consider who God is for a moment. God is the creator of all that is and will be, the Alpha and the Omega. The sun will rise and set and the waves will continue to lap the shore. If God is big enough to create everything including us, wouldn’t it make sense that God is big enough offer a fresh response to the issues that to our human minds seem insurmountable? So, walking along the beach to one side I see buildings, transient in the grand scheme of things; nice but with time will fade away. But to the other side there is the sea, endless and magnificent. Jesus, the Son of God, calls us to “come, all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” There is hope, and that hope is in the incredible never-ending love of God. When we are grounded in the love of God through Jesus Christ we begin to see all life in a different way; enlightened by the love of God through Jesus. This is our faith, our hope, our joy, our strength. Ground yourself in the love of Jesus the Christ; be strengthened and resolved that we serve a big, big God that believes you are a big deal, no matter who you are and the same love that created you and all that is around you will enliven you and strengthen you with all you need not only to witness a more excellent way to live, bathed in grace and abounding in the love of God and neighbor but will offer you wisdom rise to and overcome the challenges of our day. Your faith in Jesus Christ is the most important and essential part of your life; may it ground you in the love of God and give you peace to simply witness a far more excellent way to live.

Rev. Tom Joyce