Graceline is a monthly Newsletter which is published for Families and Friends of Grace Lutheran Church by the Sea. This page highlights select articles from the latest issue.
The Pastor's Gleanings
Praying through difficult times
Have you lost your confidence in prayer? Recently no one was listening to our church answering machine after it was rerouted by the lightning storm. Similarly in difficult or lonely times we can so lose our confidence that our inner being wonders: "Can you hear me now, God?"
The answer does not come from inside us… nor from our everyday experience with people who at most allow us five sentences before they disconnect or demand their own hearings.
If you think God hears us like that you will be surprised by the graciousness of his attention and responses to our needs. That good news was well-celebrated in the September 29th Portals of Prayer. I encourage you to read the source text of Romans 8:26-27 - confidence of the Holy Spirit interpreting our prayer needs when our words fail. And wonder of wonders, Isaiah 65:24 "Before you dial my number, the answer to your need will be on the way" (an Isler translation).
Also for God given confidence, bathe in the words of Psalm 103; scrub with Hebrews 12:1-12 and rinse with the closing and cleansing end of Romans chapter 8: "I am persuaded that nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus."
By the way, this is a thank-note to Graceline readers and supporters. I was bragging about you all this week in the process of having to say ―no‖ to the most recent (#25-26-27) requests by other charities. And I know most of you have to say no to a bunch of telemarketers from a host of charities.
But, I did not send the caller away with an empty thought of "Jesus Loves you;" rather, I reminded them that already at Grace By The Sea our loyal friends and members are regularly giving and working in many ways.
1. Book Bag project
2. Food for Thought
3. Ruthies Kitchen
4. OBX Food Pantry
5. Quilts for hospitalized soldiers
6. Quilts for hospitalized children
7. OBX Hotline
8. Habitat projects
9. Support of Hurricane Victims in LA
10. ICO community-wide aid
11. Homeless overnights (with Room at the Inn)
12. Building ramps for handicapped
13. Taking folks to Medical Appointments
14. Visiting the Sick
15. Meals on Wheels
16. Hospital Volunteers
17. Tutor Volunteers
18. Providing overnights for other church youth Groups, and Bikers
19. Supporting SPCA fund raisers
20. Supporting Cancer Society fundraising
21. Supported three missionary trips
22. LWML gift card to Military
23. Supporting Gideon Ministry
24. Food for the Poor-in Haiti
25. Many things that our members do without reporting them!
……Not a "Brag List" but a THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
In Christ, love
Pastor Al
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An Elder Shares His Thoughts
Experiencing His Peace
As I look around I see so many people in the midst of great unrest. It breaks my heart to see the effects of sin ravaging the lives of so many people. I see families in financial difficulties, health crises, marital difficulties, …..., the list goes on. Many families are experiencing these difficulties simultaneously!
Our lives ebb and flow through difficult times and joyous times. As we travel through this life let us remember that doing the Lord’s will brings us peace, especially in the hard times. Let us be aware of the Lord’s presence in our lives and seek His peace and will. Author Pink in his Exposition on the Sermon on the Mount explains doing His will as:
It means that I have surrendered my heart and will to the claims of Christ, so that I truly desire Him to reign over me and order my life. It means that I have subjected myself to His authority and that it is the prevailing bent of my mind and constant endeavor to please and honor Him in all things. It means that I genuinely aim to be both internally and externally conformed to His holy image and that it is my greatest grief when I do those things which displease Him. It means I truly seek that my thoughts, affections, and actions are regulated by His precepts. It is not a sinless obedience which is here in view, but a sincere one. It is not a forced one, but prompted by love. It is not merely an external compliance with the divine commands, but a “doing the will of God from the heart”. (Eph 6:6) (p. 383)
By doing the Lord’s will we are given a peace during the hard times. He is in control; He loves us; and we are carried by Him through this turbulence into an eternal existence with Him.
May You Experience His Peace,
Rob Lawson
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Sharing a Smile
After being interviewed by the
school administration, the prospective teacher said: 'Let me see if I've got
this right.
'You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive
behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor
their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.
'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and
sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal
pride..
'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and
fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a
job.
'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial
behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.
'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their
handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or
any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.
'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin
board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for
food stamps.
'You want me to do all this and then you tell me I CAN’T PRAY?
I dialed a number and got the following recording: 'I am not available right
now, but thank you for caring enough to call.
I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I
do not return your call you are one of
the changes.'
My wife and I had words, but I
didn't get to use mine.
Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.
Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
The irony of life is that, by the time, you're old enough to know your way
around, you're not going anywhere.
God made man before woman so as to give him time to think of an answer for her
first question.
I was always taught to respect my elders, but it keeps getting harder to
find one.
Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
The quote of the month is from Jay Leno:
'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe
thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the
threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to
take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'
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