Today I read of 16 people being injured at a Sikh temple in Austria. This was followed by more violence among castes in India at their place of worship. Then I read about a religious leader in Iran who leans on a rifle while he preaches. I am certainly glad to be where I am. It seems so strange that violence is such a part of religion in so many places in our world.
We have other things to wrestle with. We don't have such violent disagreements over worship practices or beliefs that we have to come to church armed. We struggle with more subtle things.
We have many distractions that keep us from making the full impact we could. We are free - we are able to travel freely - we have many opportunities to do many things - we run the risk of allowing many good things to crowd out the best thing - our relationship with the Lord - our service to the Lord - our worship of the Lord.
We find ourselves being pulled in so many directions it is hard to keep track of where we need to be next. Life is full of joy and opportunity. Then we look around and discover that we seem to have allowed our zeal for Christ to grow cool.
We did not come to church armed today. I am thankful! As a matter of fact we had a really good day. The baptism at 11:00 was a blessing. At 9:30 Rachel Riddel sang "Anything But Ordinary." We were blessed.
There is so much to celebrate. So much to be thankful for. On this Memorial weekend we pause to remember those who have gone before us - especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country and defense of freedom.
We gathered and worshipped. We sang the songs of faith. We prayed. We heard the Word read and proclaimed. Things were much different here than they were in Austria, India and Iran. We are blessed. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too.
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