December 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Pay attention!!!! If you want abundant life, if you want peace that surpasses all intellectual understanding, if you want to be stunned at the ways God moves, pay attention! The Spirit of the Living God, the Spirit of creation and conviction, the Spirit of transformation, is always moving, and speaks to us, if we will listen.

What does the Spirit of God’s voice sound like, you might ask? I can only say from experience, it’s like a whisper, like the stillest small voice that I have had to be silent to hear. I “feel” it through a gentle nudging, in an inescapable notion, a sense of being pressed between the shoulder blades, in a bone-deep knowing that can’t be explained, only acted upon.

When we pay attention to that voice, when we follow what it compels us to do, amazing things happen. A note is sent, a text received, a word spoken, an act obeyed, a conversation had, at just the right moment. Our faith grows stronger roots, and not only are we “built” up, but so are the others you were called to reach out to, to serve, to connect with.

It happens all the time. And when we act as we are so compelled to do, it’s as if the veil between us and heaven is somehow more transparent, even lifted, to reveal God’s awesome 24-7 presence.

Over the last few days, with so many in the congregation going through some really difficult and frightening times, I have witnessed this again and again. I know everyone of you can attest to the same. We need to share our stories with one another so that we might coalesce and be unified.

Hear these words from Scripture:

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21

“Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:11; Matthew 10:20 and Luke 12:12)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
May we find that place of sacred silence within ourselves, where we allow nothing else to intrude; may the invisible be made visible as we listen and follow the Holy Spirit’s voice.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

With Overwhelming Love,
Pastor Sherry