By Mark Walz
It has been over two months since we as a church pledged to read the Bible everyday and memorize passages each week. For those of you participating, How is it going? Which of the passages for memorization has been your favorite so far? Mine has been Psalm 23. Though it was long, I felt its goodness as a I memorized and, in the weeks since, as I practiced it. There is a power in God’s Word that is hard to articulate, but by meditating upon it and memorizing it I have felt an encouragement and a closeness with God that increased. In turn, it has also increased my desire to read more and seek Him more. I hope and I pray that you too are being encouraged in similar ways as you read and memorize.
On that note, I want you to know that I am in this with you. I have not been perfect as I am sure you have not been perfect. (Not to worry; God is perfect for us!) But I am devoted to our pledge and to you. It is absolutely essential that we do this together for our own souls and for each other’s; for the growth of our faith and the growth of our church. Moses warned the Israelites as he was receiving the ten commandments to keep and guard their souls, “lest they forget what their eyes have seen.”
And what have we seen? We have seen our church provided with a place to worship. We have seen wonderful staff commit to our weekly gathering. And we have seen our people devote their lives to each other and to the vision of St Patrick’s, week-in and week-out. I know this is hard. Planting a church and starting a new worshiping community is not for the faint of heart. And so we press in to the nurturing of our souls and the building of this community.
One of the tangible ways we have done this has been this pledge we have taken together. This is part of that keeping Moses was referring to. He impressed upon the Israelites to let the Word of God sink into their hearts, “lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.” We pray every week that God would bless us and keep us, and this is our participation in that keeping. So keep at it!
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
In Christ
Mark