"There is but one choice: to rise to the task of the age.
Very soon, only too soon, your country will stand in need of not just exceptional men but of great men. Find them in your souls. Find them in your hearts. Find them in the depths of your country."
If you are attending Interchurch Holiness Convention stop by Schmul Publishing booth to purchase a copy of Forgiving and Forgiven.
You may also order at Schmul Publishing or contacting me.
Follow to the judgment hall,
view the Lord of life arraigned;
O the wormwood and the gall!
O the pangs his soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;
learn of him to bear the cross.
James Montgomery (1771-1854)
Hymn 171
Go to dark Gethsemane,
ye that feel the tempter's power;
Your Redeemer's conflict see,
Watch with him one bitter hour;
turn not from his griefs away,
learn of Jesus Christ to pray.
Pastors, on this Maundy Thursday, we are in awe of the humble service which Christ demonstrated by stooping to wash feet, but ultimately in His submitting to death on a cross. We honor Him as we follow His example of humble service to others, even those who cause us pain.
"No one need live in spiritual and personal defeat. A life of victory over sin and circumstance is accessible to all."
—Dallas Willard, 'Renovation of the Heart'
Pastors, let us always remember, God is still in control of the situation, even when it appears otherwise.
“For each [of Pharaoh’s] men cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.” -Exodus 7:12 ESV
Pastors, thank you for carrying burdens unseen and unknown by others, for those in your care. Against the backdrop of what you know is Truth, you observe some making decisions that you know will result in their detriment. And you pray and hope desperately for them. And it hurts!