Welcome to Calvary Lutheran Ministries
One of my favorite Bible passages in Scripture when it comes to my life is from the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 29, verses 11-13. The prophet is addressing a nation that has been totally defeated, Jerusalem is in ruins, and the people have been relocated hundreds of miles away from their homes. And he writes these words from God; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
From an objective worldly perspective, the future looks anything but promising. Whenever I ponder the challenges of ministry and/or the challenges of life I remember these incredible words. There have been times in both my ministry and personal life when things looked anything but promising, smooth, pleasant, or easy. For the past several months (Pat will be gone for a year on July 9th) I have gone through much soul-searching, wondering, praying and struggling with these words and how they could possibly apply to what I was going through. I could identify with the nation of Israel whose whole world had suddenly and drastically changed! How could there be a hope or a future when your life changes so?
The answer lies in the wondrous mercy and grace of God as we seek Him in prayer, in sorrow, in confusion and in despair. We discover that He truly is the God who not only knows our situation because of Jesus’ life with and among us, but one who can and will do something about it. He can work good out of unpleasant, challenging and difficult circumstances! He can provide a hopeful, prosperous future when things look dark and bleak!
In the struggles and uncertainties of the past months, God provided a new friend for me who is an old friend (since the age of 8) of Pat’s. Her name is Kathy Cook and we have grown in this relationship from friend to confidant to fiancé. We are planning a small private wedding to take place on the 16th of August.
As for the future of Calvary, I know God will use us to accomplish His work in this community. He has provided us with our staffing needs, He has provided us the resources necessary to carry on and He has placed each one of you in this church for a reason – a good, prosperous and hopeful future together seeking Him and working with Him to achieve His purpose and work of salvation to all people. It’s a beautiful plan, I hope you join in making it a reality.
Summer Bible Class
We will be holding a Bible Class this summer that starts at 8:00am. I will be leading this class and addressing our need to be more disciplined in our faith life. Topics to be covered include – devotional life (reading, studying and praying) – relationships (marriage and family) – and - stewardship (time, talent and treasure).
Pastor Jim Bothwell