It's already August

As I sit down to write my August newsletter, I am struck with the fact that within the past 48 hours my inbox seems to fill with testimonies of His Grace. In the life of my sister, purified, who now finds pure joy to have gone through the painful laceration of divorce as it brought her closer to Him, or a friend in a field of repentance as she literally is surrounded by the rice fields stuck in a remote area in the Philippines, faced with her idolatry and pride, now rejoices. This world is filled with sorrow, yet a believer is always rejoicing. I think about that again. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing… (Ps 71:20)

My thoughts then go to Minneapolis, MN with the collapse of Interstate 35 Bridge over the Mississippi River and the acute shock that has hit the Twin Cities. A cause for another email that pops into my inbox spoken from a Minnesotan working a mile away from the bridge to impart an interpretation of the disaster that comes from a view of reality that is radically oriented on God. He states something worse than the collapse of the 35W Bridge, is that ALL have sinned and deserve death. His interpretation of the collapse of this bridge is that “he is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever”. (Rom 6:23a)

God is our sustainer from birth. He gives and takes away. We are all dependent on his mercy- if the sun endures, if rain shall come, if our abundance of food is sustained. Are we prepared against the enemy of this world- death? There is a hope for the forgiveness of sins, a hope for eternal life.(Rom. 6:23b) As my two sisters in the Lord sing praises to Him (2 Cor. 7:10), they are living testimony of God’s mercy (2 Peter 3:9); now living, we have time to turn from sin, unbelief, and eternal destruction. (Rom. 2:4) We may be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. (2 Cor. 6:10)

Tomorrow, I will go see the Bourne Ultimatum with my brother for his 36th birthday. Ironically, I am homonymly reminded (there’s got to be an adverbial form of homonym) in the movie title that we are all Born with an Ultimatum: to believe or not to believe, a final decision to make with penalties to ensue. He saves all who trust in Him.