When the way forward is shrouded in fog and mist and the road ahead is unclear and uncertain. Remember, there is a way through to the other side.

Friends, in Christ, we are not defined by our worst moments. 

I am such a weak hypocrite most days. And yet, I am Ross … beloved Son of God, justified brother of Christ, a messenger of the gospel of the Kingdom. It is almost too much to contemplate. 

Here’s the good news of an incarnated God. He is with you in the midst of all of it. In school runs, board meetings, meet the teacher nights, football schedules, takeout drive throughs, morning coffee runs, stressful budget meetings, mounting laundry, stacking homework, complex schedules … all of it. There isn’t an element of your life that is somehow too earthy, too human, too flesh and bone for the God who showed the world who He is by manifesting in the midst of very real lives.

People are incredible. People are also the worst. What a wonderfully, messy, potential and risk-riddled endeavor it is to be a human being. 

Don’t just try to make it to summer. Ask God to help you stand firm in the faith to the end. And remember, that in a manic society of busy activity, one of the most counter-cultural things that the people of God can do is to stand still together in an ancient assembly and hold fast to some unchanging truths.

God sent an angel because He knew that Elijah was facing something that was beyond his own strength. God knew the limitations of Elijah’s capabilities and so sent him what he needed at just the right moment. And what did he need? He needed some carbs, a cold drink, and a good nap. Sometimes, in our flesh, that is what we really need.

As you encounter your own delays, and as you encounter your own “do not knows,” let us not be like the people of Israel who turned to the short term comfort of self-made gods. Embrace delay as an opportunity to wait on and to wait for the LORD. He always seems late, but He is always on time. Embrace limitation of knowledge as an opportunity to lean in to the wisdom of God and to trust Him that He knows what is best for you even when you can’t see it.

These are my prayers for us as a church in the years ahead, however many of them the Lord allows. I pray that you would be filled with the knowledge of His will. I pray that you would walk in grace in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him and bearing fruit in good works! I pray that you would be strengthened with all power from God, and that His power would sustain you for endurance and patience and supernatural joy which overflows in hearts full of thanksgiving. I pray that you would remember, and believe, and be certain that He has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints, and I pray that this would liberate and motivate you to live for Him!

Every Thursday I write a pastoral letter to my congregation, hoping that it helps us to pay attention to the reality of God together in the midst busy and distracting weeks.

This one is about family mantras, John’s first epistle, and our favorite Australian dog cartoon.

In the day to day distraction of life, I tend to forget that I am going to die.

In the day to day distraction of life, I also tend to forget that I will be resurrected to live forever.

The reminder of those two realities helps me to remember that I shouldn’t waste time!