The Fellowship of Joy

There is some satisfaction in a self-centered life. Some. Fleeting. There is some gratification in self-serving deeds. While we can still taste the thrill. And until it is gone. But a year from now, it is gone. A month from now, we have forgotten the flavor. We have lost the feeling. A moment from now, we want more. Build a house for a higher purpose. Build a place where inhabitants of earth can meet with divinity. Build a cause that gathers a community and makes them brothers and sister. Build a movement. The satisfaction lasts. The gratification endures. Haggai, what do you mean about our paneled houses and our gardens? What are you saying about our luxuries and leisure? The prophet is pleading and exhorting us to bring our devotion to a higher calling. Losing oneself in a greater purpose is finding oneself. Investing time in eternity is multiplying time. Joining hands with neighbor, friend, and stranger to make a place of meeting is an enduring thrill. Beyond thrill. A purposeful li...

Comfort Ye My People “Comfort ye my people …” - Isaiah 40:1-8   God speaks in advance of our need. He looks down the road and knows what we are going to face. He sees the challenges before we do. He experiences our pain before it ever comes to us. He understands our sorrows and frustrations. He anticipates our doubts and every temptation we will ever face.   He knows there will come a time when we need a word of comfort.   He knew such a time would come for His people and prompted Isaiah to comfort them. He knew that in the fullness of time that word of comfort would come as the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. Try to hear these words from Isaiah 40 sung by soloist in Handel’s “Messiah” as you read them and experience them as a love song from the Father.   Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. It is God Himself who speaks the word of comfort through Jesus Christ. He speaks and we echo His Word to a world in turmoil,   Sp...