Good morning:
“You’ll thank me later.” Has anyone ever told you that? Did you believe them? When you wanted to drop chemistry in high school, did your parents refuse their permission and tell you, “You’ll thank us later”? Did an employer give you what appeared to be a terrible assignment and say, “You’ll see. This is good”?
Perhaps it happens most often with God. We have expectations and make plans for our lives. We decide how we would like the months and years to unfold. We dream of successes, joys, and problems quickly solved. But at times God has something else in mind. Instead of carefree days, the Lord sends difficulties and disappointments. Dreams evaporate. Plans collapse into ruins.
God says, “Don’t worry. You’ll thank me later.” “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11). The Psalm writer says, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (Ps. 119:71). Do you believe that?
We can trust God completely. Look at what He has already done for our salvation. He promised and sent His Son to be our righteousness and to take our punishment to the cross. He has called us out of unbelief into His family by baptism. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Even when we don’t see or understand the blessing in how the Lord is directing our lives, we can be sure that it’s there. So rather than waiting till later, let’s thank the Lord today for His continual loving care in every situation.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor
Services tomorrow are at 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. The 8:00 a.m. service will be live-streamed on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCga_B5unzZ3PtyfheVxoobg/videos?view=2
Please pre-register if you are planning to attend in person:
Messiah Lutheran Church Service signup.
From the Messiah Tech Committee…
Sunday Live Stream
The Tech Committee is ending our service with Ustream at the end of June. This month, the service will continue to be available on both YouTube and Ustream. Beginning the first Sunday of July (July 5th), the online service will no longer be available on Ustream. We ask that those of you still using Ustream try out the service on YouTube to make sure it will work for you. If you encounter any issues viewing the service on YouTube, or have any questions/concerns about the switch, please contact the Board of Education. They will relay any concerns to the appropriate Tech Committee members.
Messiah’s YouTube channel can be found at the address listed below. You can also find it by clicking the red YouTube icon on the top right corner of Messiah’s website. In addition, if you are viewing the service on a smart TV or other non-computer device, you can search in the YouTube app for “Messiah Lutheran Hales Corners”, our channel name.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCga_B5unzZ3PtyfheVxoobg/videos?view=2
