Pastor’s Encouragement

By Rev. Alan Williams

I mentioned last month that I wanted to share something about the four core values of the NALC.

The second is “mission driven.”  This is what the webpage says about it: We believe that the mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel and to make disciples for Christ. We believe that making disciples — in our congregations, in our communities and nations, and around the world — must be a priority of the Church in the present age.

How do we practically live out Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 to go therefore and make disciples?

When you read the rest of what he said that he would be with us always, that’s the first step. We need to believe and trust that He will do what He said He would. Secondly, most of us are not called to preach on a street corner.

But knowing Jesus is with us, we can pray for opportunities to share what He means to us and to pray for courage to share our stories.

Our stories are not debatable. They are our experience.

Non-believers might question our interpretation of our experience and call it happenstance. But then you use assertiveness to just say it again. After all, you are the authority of your experience.

Online, there are resources with Focus on the Family and Colson Institute to help you in your witness of what God has done for you.

Besides praying, think about and write down experiences you’ve had in your life – big and small – about how God has taken care of you.

One man I talked to blamed God for taking his wife from him and feels that she would be happier with him than in haven with the Lord. I encouraged him to pray about it, knowing that he probably wouldn’t get an answer till He was able to ask the Lord in heaven.

In August, I was coming home from a church council meeting at St. Peter. I do watch for deer but when I went down on that deep dip to the east of church, there was a deer standing right on the center line, lined up with the center line.

I was not going fast but crammed on the brakes and missed her by inches. All I could say was, “Thank you, God.” I saw 9 more deer on the way home, three on my own street, but none standing in the middle of the road.

I can think of bigger stories like one my brother told me about his granddaughter after she died. He said he saw her run up and hug her grandmother in heaven. That gave him peace.

I can think of guest preaching in Alberta, driving south from Flatbush to Fawcett with the temperatures in the minus 30’s.

Studs on tires don’t work well when it’s colder than -20.

Behind me and my family in our station wagon was an 18-wheeler driving the same 60 mph that I was. I didn’t see the black ice since it is invisible and started spinning in front of that semi, a full 360 degrees and then another 360 degrees when I came off the road on the street leading into the town where my next service was.

How can you call that happenstance?

So, remember:

1) Believe and trust in Jesus’ promise that He is with you and will help you through His Holy Spirit.

2) Pray for opportunities to share.

3) Think about and write down ways that God has saved you over the years. It might be from cancer through chemotherapy as well as prayer. It might be when your finances fell through, how God provided.

I’ve always found that He provides for us when we are doing His work or at least looking for opportunities to do so.

Two of the people I pray for connected to Holy Ghost Lutheran are young children with cancer. A friend of mine who has a healing ministry told me for years that he has prayed Psalm 91 and applied it to a sick person as well as his own family.

You can pray this Psalm as well.

Psalm 91:¹ Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. ² This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust him. ³ For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.  ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. ⁵ Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. ⁶ Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. ⁷ Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. ⁸ Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. ⁹ If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, ¹⁰ no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. ¹¹ For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. ¹² They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. ¹³ You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! ¹⁴ The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in My name. ¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. ¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

Finally, 4) Pray for courage. We are part of a vast army of the Lord and the worse thing we can do is sit on our hands.

God bless you as you consider these words.