Welcome to Calvary Lutheran Ministries
It hardly seems possible that we are on the verge of beginning a new year. It was once explained to me that the reason each year seems to pass so quickly is due to ratios. When you are five years old, a year goes slower because it is 1/5 of your life - at 10 it is quicker, even thought it is only 1/10 of your life - and so on until you reach the golden years of 50+, when each year seems to last about the blink of an eye.
And with each passing year there seems to be more and more one wants to accomplish and now less time to get it all done. I was looking at a list someone made of the 100 most exciting places to visit in a lifetime. I have seen about 20 of them, which means, if I visited 2 of the remaining places each year, I will have seen them all by my 99th birthday. By which time I doubt I would remember the 100 places, let alone where I put the list. As I thought about this, it brought to mind two important things. The first is the shortness of our life in this place. The Psalmist wrote that the Lord has put the boundary of 70 years on human life, 80 if He is gracious and we have the strength! (Psalm 90)
And the second important thing is priorities - what is the best way to enjoy the richness and blessing of life in this short period of time? How do we make the most of the time God has allotted to us in this place? Is it about visiting the 100 most beautiful places in the world? Is it about making a good living and being successful in the eyes of our family and world? Is it about being faithful to those we love and caring for them? Is it about making a difference in the world, leaving it a better place for our being here? Is it about living a full and prosperous life, enjoying each day to the max?
These are all potential priorities in our life and they may all be important and admirable - but are they the best way to enjoy our life? Let me challenge you to read the Book of Ecclesiastes, or at least the last (12th) chapter of it. After a lifetime of pondering the vanity (meaninglessness) of life, the author concludes with these words,
"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of humanity. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
Let’s enter into this new year of exciting potential with this resolve - to look for what God wants us to do in His kingdom - and then do it!
Beginning on January 4th at our Bible Study hour - I will be facilitating a 7-week marriage enrichment class, led by Dr. Gary Smalley, entitled, "I Promise." It will be followed by a live "Focus On Marriage" simulcast here at Calvary on February 28th from 8:30am- 3:30pm. Tickets are $50/couple. We need a few couples to help coordinate this. Please contact the church office if you are interested.
Pastor Jim Bothwell
Jan 2009