Wildflower Writes

" It's Friday, but Sunday's coming ." This phrase comes from the sermon of an African American Baptist preacher, S.M. Lockridge, who rubbed shoulders with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Billy Graham. The gist of the sermon was, like Good Friday, when believers watched their Savior go through torture and death, it felt like everything they lived for was gone. All their dreams for salvation died, as Jesus breathed His last. Sometimes we get to those points in our lives of utter dark ness and despair. We don't know where to turn or what to do next, and we would give anything to escape the pain. But Sunday's coming. In God's timing, Jesus returned to earth to comfort and instruct His believers, and give them hope for the future. In His timing, your blackest, darkest times will see the glow of a new horizon, It's hard to have faith in the waiting, but God has proven over and over that He is faithful. He loves you and He will see you through to Sunday. ...

When my sister and I were deciding where to spend the Sunday morning before Christmas, she suggested Grace Community Church in Goshen. I said as long as there were lights and Christmas music, I'd be happy. I was not disappointed. The main sanctuary was beautifully decorated for the season. And even though the music was worshipful and engaging, the message is what hit home. The speaker admonished us not to take the miracle of the season for granted, and took us into the perspective of Mary, a young peasant girl in a small town with simple expectations from life: marry, have a family, keep a household. Then an angel comes a-knockin'. Imagine the mixture of excitement, wonder, and trepidation upon seeing an angel, hearing that she was favored by God, and that she would be pregnant... by the Holy Spirit. Of course God chose the best mom for Jesus. Of course she was spiritually strong and faithful. Yet, she was still human. Imagine Mary trying to explain the situation to her ...