Thursday, March 21, 2013

Life’s Seasons

 

Read John 3:1-17
Jesus [said], “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
- John 3:3 (NRSV)
 
The day after my brother’s funeral, a “Nor’Easter” blizzard blew in with winds that whipped the snow into twisting funnels. That was in April. The following day I trudged through the cemetery. It all seemed surreal: my brother’s death, me at his grave, and mounds of snow burying the flowers. Where was spring — the season we associate with rebirth, regeneration, and resurrection? When my brother died, I entered a season of severe depression. I was 40 years old and didn’t attend church or even worship God. But God still heard my desperate cries for help.


 A desire to attend church came over me, and I began searching the telephone directory. I made an appointment with a pastor for grief/spiritual counseling. In compassion, God had led me there, and I entered a new season of life when I heard the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.




My life and my spirit were transformed. I was born again.

Our loving and merciful God “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4).
No matter what we’ve done, God offers each of us rebirth through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hope, redemption, and eternal life are God’s priceless gifts to us.

 Thought for the Day  No one is beyond the reach of God’s redeeming power.

Prayer

Thank you, loving God, for seeking us before we knew that we needed you. Amen.

Prayer focus   Someone grieving a recent death or about to
at