Each One is Precious
Hello Church,
CoaH Challenge Update
We are six weeks in and have completed 317 challenges. Praise God! The categories that have had the most activity are “Community” and “Service” which are tied at 61 completions each. It doesn’t surprise me that these two are at the top as all of us are craving contact with one another. After that is “Bible” with 48 challenges completed and then “Memorization” with 40 completed. Keep up the great work and remember to do these tasks prayerfully, devotionally, contemplatively, and worshipfully. Here’s a quick example. You just finished memorizing the theme verse, 2 Peter 3:18. Take it one step further by praying that verse back to God, like this. “Lord, help this verse to stay in my memory always and Holy Spirit, please make this verse pop up into my mind frequently. Now, Lord, I pray this verse to you. Help me by all the means you prescribe in the Bible, to grow in the knowledge and grace of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Thank you for reminding me that Jesus is not only my Saviour, He is equally my Lord. Amen.” You get the picture.
Devotion
One thing I started to do a few years ago was to write and mail out handwritten cards. Something as old as writing a card has now become novel because no one writes cards or letters anymore. We send texts and emails. We don’t even type out letters to send anymore. So, I thought I would start sending cards…to say thank you, or to encourage, or to console, or just to say that I’m thinking of them. It started out slow. One year I sent birthday cards to all our church officers, another year it was for their anniversaries. However, last year I took on my greatest card-writing endeavour. I set out to write birthday cards to all the children of our church members who were under 18 years of age. If your child didn’t get one, uhhh…it was…uhhh….lost in the mail. Seriously though, if your child didn’t get one, my apologies. It didn’t matter if the child was 2 years old and unable to read or 17 years old. I tried to write something original and personal to each child, to encourage them in their faith journey. I ended each card with these words, “Love, your pastor, Peter.” I ended each card that way because I wanted our children and parents to know that, in addition to our youth and children’s pastors, I, too, am their pastor. I am their family’s pastor. I love them. I care for their spiritual welfare. I pray for them.
Here are some interesting facts. When I wrote the first cards at the end of December 2019, my hand started to cramp while writing just one card. Now, I can write 5-10 cards in one sitting, no problem. In 2020 I wrote a total of 162 birthday cards. Every month, on average, I wrote around 10-15 cards. The month that had the most birthdays was July with 25…which of course begs the question…what is it about the month of October that…I’ll let you finish the thought, hehe.
Seriously though, writing to the children of our church reminded me that families are so important to God, they are essential in the formation of faith in our children. Also, it is never too early or too late to begin planting the seeds of faith in them. In addition, it reinforced to me how much our Lord Jesus loves children. It never ceases to amaze me that Jesus never shooed the children away, but welcomed them to put his hands on them, to bless them and pray for them. It’s equally amazing that he held up a child and told every grown up that unless you become like this little one, you will never enter the Kingdom of God.
A few weeks ago I was cleaning out the basement and came across our family’s children’s Bible. I thought we had thrown it away because I hadn’t seen it in many years. This Bible got a lot of use as you can see in the picture. Of all the stories in the Bible that I read to our kids, the one of Jesus blessing the children was my favorite. I got so excited and animated whenever I read that story, and to my recollection, my children loved it. May God continue to bless our children; may he bring them all to repent of their sins and rush into the loving arms of the Saviour; and may he watch over each one of them, now and always.
For 2021, I will be writing cards again. For whom? Well, you’ll have to check your mailboxes to find out.
Love, your pastor,
Peter