Words from Colorado

17   Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.   18  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12: 17-18 Have you ever been Ghosted? I'm not writing about an eerie encounter with something other worldly, though if you ever have been Ghosted you will have your world rocked for sure! " Ghosting " is when someone you're dating ends ( Though it is not reserved just for dating relationships ) the relationship by cutting off all communication, without any explanation. … There are many psychological reasons why someone ghosts, but at its core,  ghosting   is avoidance and often stems from fear of conflict. As stated, it's not reserved to just dating relationships, I have experienced people I thought would be in my life forever, fade from my life like a sunset. Burning bright and beautiful for a short time, before the relationship goes dark I n a recent PsychCentral online article, I read: G

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3 Soon a New Year will arrive, 12 months untested, untried, and unknown to us but fully known to the Lord, this thought coming from the mind of the late Scottish Preacher Peter Marshall.  Peter died at the tender age of 46.  Heart problems in 1949 were simply beyond the reach of medical knowledge then. Today we live longer, and because of increased life spans, people have more opportunity to ponder, really consider the shortness of life, even for the most long tenured among us. I recently asked my mother who is 85 if her life has gone fast, she said a quick yes! We simply do not know how long we have, and the need to consider carefully the things that matter most is now, while there is time! I am thinking this December 24th afternoon of the ill fated Titanic, who on her maiden voyage sunk, the only thing that unsinkable ship did was sink as someone observed! I read this week: A

Back in 1963 singer, Andy Williams recorded "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the year" Is it? Not this year, certainly not this year! We have and are dealing with seclusion, masked faces, closed restaurants, and more importantly empty chairs at dinner tables all because of covid 19. Certainly, the people who used to eagerly sing along with that now Christmas classic are more reticent. For Americans, this year has been the hardest of recent memory. The oldest among us can reach back to World War 2  or further still to the Depression for comparisons. News then traveled slowly, news now screams at us from multiple screes and we long for quiet and hope.  In the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, we have both! He alone can quiet anxious hearts to sufficiently put one step in front of the other. And He personifies Hope, if you want to know what Hope looks like, look at Him!   In the book of Acts 17:28, Dr. Luke the traveling physician of the Apostle Paul states this about our Lord:  ‘In

 J esus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4: 13-14 In the Gospel of John chapter 4, Jesus meets the practical need of thirst, a woman who was used to being margina lized and kept at arm's length, (a woman who had experienced broken relationships and deep disappointment)would come down during the heat of the day, when no other person was around, to draw out life-sustaining water. In meeting Jesus, she finds someone who won’t ignore her, who in fact will offer her what her heart had always been longing for. I feel compelled to tell you, that He stands in front of you on this day after Thanksgiving to offer you the same thing...Himself! In Him, there is forgiveness, purpose, acceptance, and the moment by moment realization that your life has profound

I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; 56 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ 57 You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ 58 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life. Lamentations: 3:55-58 What an incredible reminder regarding Gods constant awareness of what we are currently going through! I am comforted, in knowing that the one who spoke this world into existence is attentive to every person who calls upon him! The phrase “You have taken up my cause” is especially insightful to me this morning ,  no matter where you are, no matter what is troubling you just now, you are of a concern, to the one who has unlimited power He has personally “Taken up Your Cause” in the light of that fresh reminder of Gods awareness, fears fade, and hope is restored! And this brand-new day, is full of promise and hope, and no matter how you feel at this moment, you are not alone, because “He has take

O n a Wednesday, a few years ago, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life. A call came into the Church I pastored in Wyoming, requesting someone to visit a woman dying of a terminal illness. I took the call and told her daughter I would be there within an hour. I walked in the home one hour later, meeting the daughter her Dad and the woman (In her late 50's) who was ill. She told me clearly and directly that she was dying. I asked her how can I help you? She looked me straight in the eye, and said I want to know how to be saved, and I want to be baptized I placed my hand on hers, and told her that as a teenager in North Carolina I heard the Gospel (Good News) that the Lord Jesus Christ would forgive me and save me if I repented from sin (Turn from) and trusted Him, and Him alone for my salvation. I shared several other verses that point to the Lordship of Christ, and how all humans need what He alone can provide. I asked her if she would like to give her life to