“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” – Luke 1:78

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light. – Ephesians 5:8

If we are not careful – or should I say “watchful” – we can be bamboozled by all the negative noise that surrounds us.

We look at the news, we hear what the politicians are saying, we read our favorite commentators, we allow our minds and spirits to be poisoned by the rantings of angry pundits, we accept baseless conclusions invented by self-appointed curators of other people’s opinions… and we can be persuaded to believe that this world is such a terrible place that (like the admonition stenciled over Dante’s mythological entrance to hell) we “abandon all hope….”

But that, my friends, is not good theology.

Alternatively, we could pay attention to what is going on at places like our local faith community – Howard Memorial Presbyterian Church – be encouraged and blessed, uplifted by the goodness and the promise that is all around.

Confirmation

To that end I have just agreed to be part of the team that is working with this year’s confirmation class. We have a solid group of seven young people who have expressed a desire to learn more about what it means to follow Jesus as a disciple, to profess their faith, and to join the church at the conclusion of the process.

Thirteen of us – teachers and mentors – have committed to be involved, and it makes my heart glad to sit around the table with these good folk as we plan for the fall.

Because – and this is both the main point of this post and one of my “pet” ideas when it comes to living as a practicing Christian – Rebekah and I are convinced that it is impossible to actually be a disciple unless we are actively engaged in supporting and affirming at least one other person in their journey as a follower of Jesus.

It begs the question, “Who are we consistently encouraging in their faith?”

Love Wins!

So please pray for our church, for the thirteen adults, and for the seven young people preparing for confirmation.

This is good news! This is the kind of day-to-day goodness and encouragement and belief and promise that will overcome all the nay-saying and the bitterness and the defeatism that is so prevalent.

Yes, I believe hope and grace will prevail. But it will prevail all the sooner if you join us. Won’t you? – DEREK