July/August 2022

We've never enjoyed cleaning bathrooms. I'm not one to shirk house work. I have no problem dusting, vacuuming, washing and folding laundry, doing dishes, mopping floors. Bathrooms however: that's a different story.

We all have tasks that rub us the wrong way; the ones that we gladly put off, or offer to trade away to someone else. No matter our personal preference or distaste, these tasks are often needful and necessary. Despite the living conditions of many of the half-feral young men I knew in the years after college, these are the type of things that HAVE to be done. They make for cleaner, healthier, more pleasant living spaces.

This summer, we will be hearing from several of the Old Testament prophets in our worship services: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Each of these prophets had a difficult task, one which they would gladly have given up for a chance to clean bathrooms or mow the lawn instead. They were called, by God, to remind the people of all the tasks they themselves had put off, overlooked, or outright shirked. As much as the people would have liked to ignore them, the prophets continually brought their attention back to the necessary and the needful.

Where in your lives is God calling you to take another look? To finally get around to: forgiving a friend or family member? Making amends for a wrongdoing of your own? Or simply taking more time in prayer and asking God to speak to you?

Whatever task lies before you, may you find the initiative to take that first difficult step, whether it is picking up a toilet brush, or picking up a phone. May God bless you as you give attention to the necessary and the needful, and may you find your life made richer in return.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jon