Skip to main content

Being Lifted and Carried by Christ.

"In his love and in his pity
he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old."

John Wesley felt lifted and carried by Christ.

Wesley, upon returning from Georgia feeling discouraged and depressed, attended a prayer meeting in Aldersgate Street where he heard Luther's preface to Romans.

Wesley described having a heartwarming experience because he heard an assurance that his sins had been forgiven and that God loved him, even him.

"I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
(John Wesley, May 24, 1738)

The Aldersgate, redeeming, life changing event, became the foundation of the Methodist Movement and a re-awakening of Wesley's faith and relationship to God.

Mike felt lifted and carried by Christ.

For years Mike had been struggling with the addictive powers of alcoholism leading him down paths he regretted traveling, and straining his marriage, family, and finances.

Mike hit bottom after a weekend bender when he came home near dawn on to find his wife had left, taken their son, and was getting a divorce. 

A friend took him to AA where he learned it is possible get on the road to recovery so he made that choice.

At one of the meetings, he realized God loved him unconditionally, even though he needed to change.

For him that was a redeeming, life-saving awareness of hope and worth and the re-awakening of Mike's faith and relationship to God.

In that re-awakening, Mike heard God's call to pastoral ministry.

What Isaiah wrote, what Wesley felt, what Mike experienced, is true for anyone going through a rough spot in life:
One can be lifted and carried by Christ.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grantchester's Warning

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, the owner would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (from Luke 12:32-40 ) I regularly watch Grantchester; a murder mystery set in 1950s England. The main characters are a local detective and an Anglican priest who, as a team, solve mysteries set in the town. Two aspects of Grantchester impress me. First, the simplicity of the 1950’s police communications done by a landline phone and not cell phone. Second, the simplicity of daily life with little television and fewer possessions allowing the characters to focus on their vocation of detective and priest. This simplicity is more than a nostalgic return to the “good old days”. Instead, it’s a Shaker type of simplicity where austerity allows freedom from distractions to focus on worship and community. Today’s distraction-filled world has seemingly countless activ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ruler of All Earthly Kings

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. (from Rev. 1:4-8 ) About 17 years ago I wrote a letter to the people in the United Church of Underhill. The purpose of the letter was to explain I was retiring at the end of the Conference Year. I felt the time had come for me personally to move on and for the church to grow with a new pastor. I secured a moving company while the church formed a search committee as we both prepared for the inevitable. This is the nature of the book of Revelation, as recorded in 1:4: “John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia.” This is Revelation’s context: it was written for the benefit of particular people at a particular time for their particular situation. John’s letter narrates a drama about God’s imminent invasion of the “kingdom of this world” ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus, Deliverance, and Demons

"Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (from Luke 8:26-39 ) Astrid is a streaming program I often watch. The plot is a basic cops and robbers action until the criminal is caught. The uniqueness of the program is Astrid, who is on the Autism spectrum, is brilliant at solving puzzles including connecting clues to solve the crime. Watching this program has given me a more profound insight to people living with this condition and their acceptance in society. My first-hand experience with children on the Spectrum was driving a Special Needs school bus for 6 years. With this experience, I can imagine the life the possessed man was experiencing, especially living among the tombs, bound with chains and shackles, having to live in the wilds. It was no wonder he cried for mercy. Jesus, with his power and mercy, cast the demons out and even...
Post a Comment
Read more