Ah, morning. When the first light of a new day makes its way through the long windows at the back of the house and we can pause with a mug of coffee to acknowledge the source of all light and life.
God – as I said to my friend Gerard earlier today – has been really nailing it with the scripture selections this week! I know, the editors of The Upper Room Devotional Guide didn’t have us and our new situation specifically in mind when they selected the readings for the past few days, but there’s no doubting the fact that God is blessing us through the selections.
The Lord said to Moses, “I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16)
Yes, Rebekah and I feel very strongly that we have been brought to Wake Forest for “this very purpose,” and that purpose is clear: to tell the story of the Gospel of Love, and to encourage more people – both members of WFPC and others in the community at large – to greet each new day in the context of devotion, and to become more eloquent expressions of light and life in every aspect of their lives.
What we’re excited about is a simple goal, but Rebekah and I can’t imagine anything we could possibly be involved in that has more potential to make a radical difference in the community we now call home.
In love, and because of love – DEREK
Hey Derek, glad you are doing well up there. Saw this from a good buddy of mine, and here it is. Don’t forget the wrath…..The Bible is clear on two things. God is full of wrath and anger towards sin, and his judgements are just. He also has a tenacious love for those created in His image. The only way to balance this tension in preaching and teaching is to constantly point people to the cross of Christ. For that is the place where Gods fierce wrath and tenacious love meet.
No, I won’t forget the wrath. We just have to read the news reports from around the USA and the world to see how people consistently and sadly bring the wrath home with sickening regularity. So I’ll keep holding on to the love, and inviting people into the light. As C.S. Lewis so often pointed out, lost people create quite enough hell without God having to improve on it…
Yeah, I know a few lost folks myself. Some don’t even know it, and keep doing the same thing over and over. It’s a shame, I must admit. You were right about one thing down here, and that is Steve Rummage is awesome. The poor Baptists get a bad rap all the time, but I’ve found it to be very much in line with my faith journey. The guy who wrote that little piece from yesterday is so full of grace, and he’s a velvet brick. I get creeped out here and there with some of the flock, but I guess that’s true in any church. As long as I look to the Word, it doesn’t matter if they are wrong, or ill informed, you and I have the Word. Take care and all the best. Glad you don’t forget the wrath. LOL, G