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Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD! 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalm 130:1-6 Revised Standard Version)
Welcome to Thursday, dear Friend! Our prayers for you to enjoy the Lord's blessings on this day. I ask prayers for me as I will be preaching at our church in Gonzales at the 8:30 and 10:45 am services. Both are streamed live on YouTube, search FUMC-Gonzales on YouTube and you can link there if you're out of the area. If you're in the area, you're invited to join us in person. Prayers for the family of Billie Bruns. She passed away yesterday. Visitation will be Monday, March 27 at Seydler-Hill from 5-7pm. Her funeral service will be here at the church on Tuesday, March 28 at 10am. May God's comfort be with them is our prayer. Please pray for one another and prayers for the Church and the peace needed in the world.
Wait is a four-letter word to some people. The more inventions come our way to save us time, the less time we have. We are a phone-glued society and the phone is not known to save us time or grant us privacy. And waiting is more difficult if we need something or find that we're at the end of our rope and we don't know what to do. The psalmist found himself in such circumstances pretty often. Of course, he was a king and so the pressures of reigning over a people, especially the people of God, brought many pressures and strains to his life. While we may have enemies, none that compare to enemy armies that would show up on King David's door often. David, being a God-fearing man, knew to call on the Lord which he did often. And in keeping with the military threats he faced, he knew his patience had to be like the watchmen awaiting the arrival of morning. The dangers at night were difficult to see and the arrival of morning was a sign of hope. And so his message to his people is to wait for the Lord with hope. He knew that in the Lord there is needed steadfast love, and in God we find redemption without end. And in God we will all find redemption, for our sins are all forgiven.
There has to be in our daily routine, our making time to take a deep breath. To sit and reflect and count to ten. And with it a silent prayer for patience, peace, and asking God to grant us the pace for the living of this life. Our reflection should also be a mental parade of all the positive things that David mentions in this psalm. We will make it.
PRAYER: Loving God, for Your presence and peace we are thankful. Grant us calm and clear thinking as we face all that comes our way; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be a person of peace to others.
Receive my blessings of joy and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
