Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on November 10, 2016  

44 Days Until My Head Explodes, Or Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

November 10, 2016 – 44 Days Until My Head Explodes, Or Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

scary-christmas-clown

“…since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  Hebrews 10:21-25

Well, this Christmas decoration wins the “scariest” prize. We have seen the recent phenomenon of people dressing as scary clowns showing up throughout this country and other countries for no other purpose than to be scary. There is enough in this world to scare us – we don’t need people adding to the list. For example, when I lived in Millersburg, I often would encounter terrible and scary fog as I crossed Peter’s Mountain. My familiarity with the road meant that I rarely had trouble finding home, though the mountain road made it interesting. But if I were to find myself shrouded in the same kind of fog in another town, or another mountain, I might have had a lot of trouble getting where I needed to go.

Something similar happens in the spiritual fog that can surround our lives. When clouds of doubt or shame or weariness threaten to scare us – and threatens to take our focus off G-d’s love for us, it can be easier to find our way back to G-d’s peace and guidance if it’s not the first time we’ve tried to find him. That’s why spiritual disciplines can be so important for our faith. Habits such as prayer, Bible reading, serving, meeting together for worship, and more can help us when life scares us and the fog of doubt envelops us. When you see a scary clown, just wave at them and keep going. And when life scares you, having a relationship with G-d will enable you to stay on the road of faith.

Pastor Dave