September 2021

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this  book. But these are written so that you may come to believe*that Jesus is the Messiah,*the Son of  God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 

I had a rough week last week. Was it the worst? Absolutely not. I know tons of folks going  through much rougher stuff, but that doesn’t really help when you are struggling. So, I did what I  always recommend when someone is facing a rough time…I called my pastor.  

It was so good to hear his voice, to get advice, to have him listen, and to know that he under stands what I’m going through. One of the things that he reminded me of was that “The Gospel  is for you too, Jim!” I should know that, right? I preach all the time about how God loves us with  a no-matter-whatness that will withstand even death itself. And yet, somehow, it seems more  plausible to me sometimes that God is madly in love with the world and everyone in it…except  for me.  

Sometimes scripture reaches out of the Bible and snatches us up, and returns us to our senses. I  sometimes forget that when Jesus says “you” in the Bible, Jesus means YOU. You personally,  (Insert Name Here), are loved, forgiven, and saved by the death and resurrection of our Lord and  Savior Jesus Christ. Of course, it is never just YOU, but also Y’ALL, and yet that always in cludes YOU. 

Please remember this. If you need to be reminded, please call, text, email, or message. Your God  loves you so much, and so does your pastor… 

Peace be with you, 

Pastor Jim