Weekly Update// Pastor Will

Hi Asbury Family,

Recently I came across a passage that really resonated with me. It was from Jeremiah 17:7-8. The New Living Translation reads, “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” As you probably noticed, the beginning of the verses starts out with the word “but” so there’s something against which Jeremiah is contrasting in the previous verses. Those verses talk about those who don’t trust in the Lord, but instead place their trust in human strength. Jeremiah describes them as shrubs in the desert. It doesn’t sound very lush, does it?

As I’ve grown in my faith and had more life experience, I find myself appreciating the imagery that is used in the scriptures more and more. Examples like houses and buildings, rocks, or in this case, my favorite, plants. I’ll be honest with you all before we go further, I have the opposite of a green thumb. Just stop by my office and you can see two out of the three plants in my office are dying, but I digress. As I work to revive these plants, it helps me appreciate how the biblical authors spoke of them so often and how we are similar to them, especially regarding our faith. Returning to the verse in Jeremiah, I cannot help but think about all those who have been recently affected by the tornados. My guess is these are the times of drought or heat for them. They are likely struggling to see God and even questioning where he is in the midst of all this. I know I’ve been in a similar place. It’s a very difficult place to be, but when we place our trust in God, our roots run deep. We not only have the ability to stay upright, but we can tap into the water that sustains and carries us through. As Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7 of the wise and the foolish builders, the question is not if the storms will come, but when they come.  

Friends, as we continue to pray for those affected by the tornados, we will update you of anything else that comes our way to increase the efforts to relieve the suffering of those individuals. In the same manner, we continue to pray for Ukraine and everything happening there. We are continuing to give an offering to help those in both Ukraine and Poland. May God’s peace prevail.  

We hope you will join us for worship Sunday as Pastor Chris takes us through Jesus’ encounter with the Gerasene Demoniac found in Luke 8:22, 26-39. You can join us (in person or online) either at our Celebration Service at 9:30 am or our Traditional Service at 11:00 am. 

Have a blessed weekend!

Pastor Will