“Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look at the earth beneath, for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats, but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.”  Isaiah 51:6

This Scripture is one that we can easily get distracted by and lost in. I mean, “the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment” is heavy to hear. Especially as people who currently live on the earth, to die like gnats does not sound pleasant. However, despite the intense language here, this verse describes a beautiful thing: God’s salvation is forever and we will be delivered. This verse gives me hope, especially when things are tough. When I feel the frailty of the earth and heavens as we know it, when others disappoint me (and I disappoint myself); when death seems to be all around; when I feel the challenge of this season so deeply; when the days are quite cold and the night is so dark, it is good news to remember that God is our Deliverer and Savior and will never end. 

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We are officially in Lent, the season where we prepare our whole selves for the good news of Christ’s resurrection in Easter. At Hardinsburg, we have a couple of different places where we are reflecting on God’s good news, even when we feel clouded by the darkness.

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1 – Every Sunday in Lent during our “Prayers of the People”, we will share how we have seen God at work in the past week. I will walk amongst the congregation with a handheld microphone so those who feel led to share can. Consider raising your hand one Sunday to share about how you have seen God move in your life that week.

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2 – The “Walk in the Word” journey consists of moving 40 miles and a devotional booklet with 40 scriptures. There are 18 people in our church who have committed to taking up this Lenten practice. Maybe you want to try it for one day and see how God moves as you move.

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3 – The Savior book club is meeting at Green Valley II at 5 pm on Mondays (excluding March 9th) to discuss that week’s chapter. Consider joining this group, even for just a week, to glean from different perspectives of Christ’s self-giving love. This also is a part of our commitment to evangelism by being willing to reflect on God’s goodness in a public setting (and supports a local business)!

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4 – Pray. Pray for your Lenten journey. Pray for others’ Lenten journeys. Pray for our church. We all have dreams and hopes for our church, but have you ever prayed that God would move in that way? Consider asking God to speak to you in worship, to bring new faces in, and to move powerfully amongst those worshipping in person and online.

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It has been almost eight months since I’ve joined the mission and ministry at Hardinsburg United Methodist Church and I am grateful that God has sent me here. This Lent has only been further evidence that God has brought us together. May we be a people responsive to God’s direction and may we hold not to heaven or earth, but to God’s steadfast love, eternal salvation, and never-ending deliverance.

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To God be the glory,

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Rev. Tess Welch