Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Walk with Me...

Christ and his disciples on the road to Emmanus by Jan Wildens

 “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything
he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.” 
(Genesis 39:2, NLT)

Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,

The morning sun wakes me up earlier each and every day. It is truly the season of summer. I can see a difference every day from our windows now, and sooner or later in July, the longest day of light will pass, which means our daylight will become shorter and shorter after the summer solstice. However, our green fields will not miss any blessings from the sunlight as they continue to grow until they reach the point of harvesting. Are we taking all the blessings from the daylight whether it is getting longer or shorter each and every day like the green fields for full harvesting?

In early June, Markesan Community celebrated June Dairy Days with music, fireworks, and parade. As you all know, this is my first year experiencing June Dairy Days since my family and I moved to Markesan last July. So, I walked to Pastor Yoder’s front yard on Manchester St. where all the Methodists were gathering to watch the parade together. 

Now guess what? As the people and parading cars passed right in front of me, they threw lots of candy and goodies. And I wondered, “Why do they throw those candies to me? Do I look like a child?” But I was so excited anyway! However, who is going to see this middle aged man with silver hair as a child? But the mystery was solved because I was sitting right next to Kendra, who loves candy. Actually, she collected two bucketfuls by herself! People threw candy to her, not to me. I learned that if you sit by yourself, you will not get anything. But to get candy during the parade, sit with the children. By the way, I enjoyed the parade and the fellowship on that day very much!

Now how about our spiritual journey? If we want to have blessings in our life, what can we do? Bible stories are not different from my parade experience. “You need to be with Someone Special!” One of these stories is about Joseph, who was sold as a slave by his jealous brothers. However, according to the Bible stories, because the Lord was with Joseph, he succeeded in everything he did, even as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. But that was not all. Even after he was thrown into the prison because of a false accusation, the Lord was still with him in the prison, showed him his faithful love, and caused everything he did to succeed... whatever he went through!

No wonder why King David later sang this song... 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want... Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod 
and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:1 & 4)

"The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want" by Jesse Seymour Irvine, 1872

Because God was with David, he did not fear anything! Instead, he was able to see blessings hidden in every situation. Now brothers and sisters in Christ, are you with the Lord in this season? Do you know our Lord is with us in every step we take? If not, Jesus invites us to join him today...

Walk with me, I will walk with you and build the land that God has planned 
where love shines through. And when you share your faith with me and work for 
life made new, the witness of your faithfulness calls me to walk with you.” 
(TFWS 2242, “Walk with Me” by John Rice, 1988)

Join me..


Grace and Peace, 
Pastor Kyochul