First of all I would like to thank Alice Paradis who every week checks, edits, and sends this letter to all who receive it (by the way, Broadway First in Winnipeg is the oldest church because First pre-dates the 100 year anniversary of the Broadway First Union… there are some close contenders but check with our friends in Winnipeg). I am grateful to Alice every week and especially as this is going out on a holiday.
Every year I suggest a scripture passage that I feel the Holy Spirit is challenging me with and is a verse that I feel we can share together.
I often comment on the passage or give a rationale why I have chosen it. This year I am going to do two things differently; I’m going to leave the commentary up to a dialogue between you and the Lord, there will be four passages instead of one and I will give a sentence theme to prompt your thinking.
Nehemiah 8:10 “…the joy of the Lord is my strength”. Comment: A clear mark of the presence of God in my life is his joy.
Micah 6:8 “…And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”. Comment: One of several, but clearly a primary calling of God.
John 3:16 and 17: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”. Comment: Our Lord tells us of the “both/and” of the gospel; personal relationship… a world that He seeks to reconcile to himself.
Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Comment: to repent and retreat of our paranoia and remember if God is for us…who can be against us with any affect at all?
What does the text say?
What does it say to me?
What does God call me to be in this scripture?
What does God call me to do in this passage?
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy Bell