Clothesline - Edition 228

By Rev. Elizabeth L. Nelson, Pastor

December 4, 2024  

We are just about to complete our 12-week bible study Experiencing God. One thing that has become quite clear throughout this study is this: We don’t decide what God wants us to do…our job is to look for what God is already doing and join him. I’ve been thinking a lot about that, and it seems to be coming clearer every day. Like last night…

First Monday of each month we have a gather in our home for a simple meal and “Faith Conversation”, as we call it. We have a box of cards with questions that we work with, but usually, anything goes. I know that God will be there, and we just have to wait to see what will happen. And last night we heard about a miracle in the life of a person who was with us for the first time. It’s not my story to tell, but suffice it to say it was a major healing where the only solution would have been major surgery, and the miracle was given to someone who was not even a believer! Those of us around the table were amazed to hear and see God at work among us, and we got to revel in His Glory!

And there was last Sunday. We enjoyed a Baby Shower for a lovely young woman. Originally from Nicaragua, she and her family have come to join us, and we couldn’t be happier. And simply because the Holy Spirit is alive and active within our church family, her husband told us they’ve never felt more welcomed. Imagine, a family from half-way around the world, joined with country folk, people from Jamaica and even northerners! And we come together because God himself was already at work among us.

And as we begin the season of Advent, again we see how God was already at work two thousand years ago to bring about the birth of his Son. It’s an amazing story where God uses ordinary people, angels, and His Spirit to bring about the most wonderful story ever told.

This past Sunday we started the story with Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. He was very old when his prayer to have a child was granted. And even when he doubted the angel’s message that he and Elizabeth would have a son, God’s work would not be thwarted.

I guess the bottom line for everything is God is at work. He gives us words of testimony. He brings hungry Christians into our lives. He blesses us with the retelling of the greatest story ever told. And all we have to do is watch…wait…and we will see miraculous things… and this is just the beginning!