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3689 Main Street,
PO Box 68 Walworth, NY 14568 315.986.1288 |
We hope you will join us -
Morning Worship - 10 am on the Church Street lawn! |
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR HELP WITH ASSISTED LIVING? Follow these links for information from Aging and Senior Care Resources for Communities in New York:
www.caring.com/senior-living/assisted-living/new-york OR www.caring.com/medicare/ |
Message for August 9, 2020 Have you ever planted anything? I’m sure most of you, perhaps all of you, have done so at one time or another. And when you did, it was for a specific purpose. If you planted grass seed it was in order to have a nice lawn. If vegetables, it was for harvesting food. Perhaps a tree to obtain shade from the hot son. Regardless of what you might have planted, it served a purpose. You just don’t go around planting things for the heck of it. With that in mind, consider the following Scripture from the book of Isaiah. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3 The above passage is a prophecy foretelling the ministry of Jesus. He Himself read it from the book of Isaiah to Jewish people in a Synagogue in Luke 4, although only the first half of it, after which He indicated that the prophecy has been fulfilled in their sight. But He stopped after the phrase “acceptable year of the Lord”. Nevertheless, the rest of the Isaiah passage also applies to Him as well, but also to us. Did you know that you and I are plantings of the Lord? And like all other plantings, we have been planted to serve a purpose, which is to grow into trees of righteousness? Perhaps you don’t view yourself that way, but that’s nonetheless true. Like a natural tree, we have been rooted here in this part of the world at this particular point in time in order to glorify our Creator God. “And as there are many varieties of trees, so there are many varieties of us. Each of us is different, and we glorify God in our own unique ways, as He has given us varying skills and talents. Yet, although different, we are to remain one in purpose, and that is to use those gifts and talents according to His will and the leading of the Holy Spirit that we might bear much fruit, and so glorify Him (John 15:8). If you’ve ever questioned, saying “what is my purpose in life?”, this is it! No matter what else you might be called to do or be, there is no higher purpose than to glorify our awesome God. There’s also something else you need to know, and that is in order to become a tree of righteousness, as this passage tells us, you will receive comfort, consolation, and oil of joy when mourning (to lift our spirits up to rejoice again), beauty for ashes (meaning goodness out of bad situations), and a garment of praise when feeling downcast or discouraged. These blessings are yours freely as plantings of the Lord, fruitful trees of righteousness. And you are, because the Lord says you are. May you grow tall and strong in Him! Blessings of grace, peace, and love, Pastor Joe |