For Such A Time As This 041320 – Bill Cave
To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,
Happy Easter Week, everyone! May God’s blessings of life, new life, abundant life, and life eternal surround you and yours this week and always!
Living Cross Video:
In case you missed it, click here. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!
Let’s Do the Wave Video:
In case you missed it, click here. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!
Let’s Do the Wave Video Extended Invitation:
If you missed getting your wave into this video and want it added, please contact Bethany at bhoffer@palmyracob.org or call/text 937-417-5938 to set something up! If you do not live in Palmyra or are unable to come outside, we would love for you to send us a video clip/selfie/photo of you and your family waving to us! Send it to Bethany’s email address listed above. We will release an updated video in about two weeks. Join the fun!!
Reminder:
If you know someone who does not have email, please call them and offer to read this email to them and share this devotion with them. And, check in on how they are doing.
Today’s Devotion:
I am thankful to Bill Cave for providing today’s devotion. Pastor Bill reminds us to live each day to the fullest, even during difficult times. If you wish to respond to Pastor Bill directly, his email address is bcave@palmyracob.org.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture – Jeremiah 29: 4-7
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Thoughts:
Chapter 29 of the book of Jeremiah gives us the account of the Hebrew people being in exile in Babylon. They were faced with a new norm that involved being surrounded by people who not only spoke a different language and ate different food, but whose values were totally strange and unfamiliar. Living in a totally unfamiliar place, having to face the unknown and feeling that their circumstances were uncontrollable, the people believed it all to be unfair. There were feelings as well that they were alone and that God had perhaps abandoned them.
The coronavirus pandemic has created a new norm that is likewise strange and unfamiliar, presenting us with similar feelings of being in exile, of having to deal with circumstances that are unfamiliar and beyond our control. At times, it may feel like we are being forced to adapt to living in a strange and foreign place. To the extent that this new norm is like living in exile, it is certainly not fun. Like the Hebrew people being in exile in Babylon, we, too, did not consciously choose to have our familiar routines and way of life so abruptly and radically changed.
The prophet Jeremiah brings words of hope and encouragement in the midst of what certainly appeared to be a hopeless situation, words that spoke to the reality of being able to thrive and flourish even when in exile. Verses 4-7 of chapter 29 assure the Hebrew people that they are not helpless victims, that even when having to face the loneliest, darkest, and desolate of circumstances, even when in exile, the Lord is always present, ready to carry them through. This resonates with the question asked in Psalm 139, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (vs. 7). And Jesus himself spoke to this same hope when he said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28: 20).
Oh yes, my dear friends, I realize that living as though in exile, due to the circumstances forced upon us by the coronavirus, can leave us feeling alone and disconnected at times. But this is not the time to put our lives on hold simply because we don’t know how long we will be expected to practice social distancing and will need to shelter in place. Living as though we are in exile need not prevent us from living each day to the fullest. The prophet Jeremiah would remind us that God is right here with us, calling us, as John F. Westfall notes, “to start where we are, not where we wish we were.”
Prayer:
Loving God, help us to remember that each of our lives is more significant than the present circumstances that can easily overshadow us, that we are esteemed and valued for who we are. May we live each day, embracing the truth that You are the One who “carries us and cares for us.” Amen.
Happy Easter Week, everyone! May God’s blessings of life, new life, abundant life, and life eternal surround you and yours this week and always!
Living Cross Video:
In case you missed it, click here. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!
Let’s Do the Wave Video:
In case you missed it, click here. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!
Let’s Do the Wave Video Extended Invitation:
If you missed getting your wave into this video and want it added, please contact Bethany at bhoffer@palmyracob.org or call/text 937-417-5938 to set something up! If you do not live in Palmyra or are unable to come outside, we would love for you to send us a video clip/selfie/photo of you and your family waving to us! Send it to Bethany’s email address listed above. We will release an updated video in about two weeks. Join the fun!!
Reminder:
If you know someone who does not have email, please call them and offer to read this email to them and share this devotion with them. And, check in on how they are doing.
Today’s Devotion:
I am thankful to Bill Cave for providing today’s devotion. Pastor Bill reminds us to live each day to the fullest, even during difficult times. If you wish to respond to Pastor Bill directly, his email address is bcave@palmyracob.org.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture – Jeremiah 29: 4-7
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Thoughts:
Chapter 29 of the book of Jeremiah gives us the account of the Hebrew people being in exile in Babylon. They were faced with a new norm that involved being surrounded by people who not only spoke a different language and ate different food, but whose values were totally strange and unfamiliar. Living in a totally unfamiliar place, having to face the unknown and feeling that their circumstances were uncontrollable, the people believed it all to be unfair. There were feelings as well that they were alone and that God had perhaps abandoned them.
The coronavirus pandemic has created a new norm that is likewise strange and unfamiliar, presenting us with similar feelings of being in exile, of having to deal with circumstances that are unfamiliar and beyond our control. At times, it may feel like we are being forced to adapt to living in a strange and foreign place. To the extent that this new norm is like living in exile, it is certainly not fun. Like the Hebrew people being in exile in Babylon, we, too, did not consciously choose to have our familiar routines and way of life so abruptly and radically changed.
The prophet Jeremiah brings words of hope and encouragement in the midst of what certainly appeared to be a hopeless situation, words that spoke to the reality of being able to thrive and flourish even when in exile. Verses 4-7 of chapter 29 assure the Hebrew people that they are not helpless victims, that even when having to face the loneliest, darkest, and desolate of circumstances, even when in exile, the Lord is always present, ready to carry them through. This resonates with the question asked in Psalm 139, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (vs. 7). And Jesus himself spoke to this same hope when he said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28: 20).
Oh yes, my dear friends, I realize that living as though in exile, due to the circumstances forced upon us by the coronavirus, can leave us feeling alone and disconnected at times. But this is not the time to put our lives on hold simply because we don’t know how long we will be expected to practice social distancing and will need to shelter in place. Living as though we are in exile need not prevent us from living each day to the fullest. The prophet Jeremiah would remind us that God is right here with us, calling us, as John F. Westfall notes, “to start where we are, not where we wish we were.”
Prayer:
Loving God, help us to remember that each of our lives is more significant than the present circumstances that can easily overshadow us, that we are esteemed and valued for who we are. May we live each day, embracing the truth that You are the One who “carries us and cares for us.” Amen.
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