#4 Thoughts from the back deck...

#4 Thoughts from the back deck... 




Attached are two photos. One is from my time in Alaska serving the Lord in that beautiful place. The Dahl Sheep and Mountain Goats are a common sight when you know what to look for.
The other photo is from our school chapel this morning. Today, 50 3rd-grade kids received their Bibles, surrounded by their parents or grandparents.
This morning, I read this verse from Psalm 94:18-19, "When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul." (ESV)
It is a rare thing to see a Dahl Sheep or Mountain Goat lose its footing and fall. They are comfortable walking on very narrow cliff edges. Young ones bounce and play, sleep, and nurse from their mother on slivers of rock so narrow our shoe width hangs over.
You and I, as we walk through life, walk on a very narrow path. There is no salvation without Jesus. That can be a scary thing, and we all can ask ourselves questions like:
"Am I doing enough?"
"Does Jesus walk with me?"
"What happens if I slip up and go off the path?"
"Will my next sin condemn me and separate me from Jesus?"
"Will Jesus really forgive me...for everything!?"
My foot has slipped many times, every day! Yet I don't fall to my death. The one who lifts you up is the one who holds you up- always! Our strength does not come from within us but comes from outside of us. The Holy Spirit, in Baptism, comes and takes up residence in our life. Jesus grasps us and holds us to eternity.
These young people and their parents hold in their hands the story of God's steadfast love for them and for you. When your foot slips. When you struggle. When the path seems too narrow to walk upon. When the questions pile up...that same Word is the lamp and light that brings cheer to your soul. So walk confidently because Jesus has you.







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