You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Sharing Corner’ category.
By Fred Van Tatenhove, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Retired
Asbury Theological Seminary
John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life and live it more abundantly.”
Have you embraced “life more abundantly?” In recent weeks I have been thinking about my journey with God, reflecting on how through Christ, my life has been blessed. I suspect it is part of entering into the mid period of my 70’s.
Abundant life! That is what the Lord wants for us. We receive it through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life. It is God’s grace given to us as we believe in Jesus and seek to live out his presence in us with others. The context of this “living out” is the world God created, right where we live, to live one day at a time. God has provided this “abundant life” through Christ. It’s the good news we see revealed in the Bible.
We turn to him, repent of our sin, embrace his forgiving grace, and learn to do his will.
One way God helps us experience this abundant life is through the community called the Church. The Church where we worship is not the limit of our world. We don’t just go to Church – we are the Church. Our goal is not merely to bring people to Church, but to bring people to Christ and bring Christ to them. This is what the Church does if it is healthy and alive.
We worship God and grow in his grace. We give generously out of what he is giving us. We serve creatively with our gifts and skills. We connect relationally with others in the name of Jesus.
God gives us what we need to share his abundant life that we have in him. He gives that through his word, through his abiding presence, through authentic relationships with other fellow believes, and through our personal encounter with the gospel. And God is always with us!
God doesn’t only empower us to endure in our life journey, he also will influence our journey. That influence is felt in his power working in us. It is what the Apostle Paul identified as the “fruit of the Spirit,” it is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Jesus came so that we can experience life abundantly. I take John 10:10 as a promise for all who believe in Him. That describes abundant life for me!
a list poem in honor of Aunt Mamie
by Linda Riggins 2010
DAUGHTERS
mama
prayed
best
friends
forever
sisters
innocence
protected
God
child
holy
woman
women
heart
dancing
voices
speak
rich
lives
eternal
joy
life
| Atlantic Ocean
Sybil Austin Skakle Beneath cloud-free skies, I’ve often seen you Your surface as calm as ocean can be Watched in awe your fury as thunderous Waves sent spray skyward I have tasted your brine upon my tender lips Buoyant in your arms under the hot sun Have watched the sea gulls soar above me Seen sun rise from horizon’s rosy edge And moon cast silver upon your dark face Listened to your lullaby, as I slumbered Shared with you joy, betrayal and sorrow Sought your comfort and counsel in trials Known your moods in summer, spring, winter, fall Your azure expanse reaches beyond view Your depths are like mysteries of Heaven Atlantic Ocean, heard at my birth, My remains at death will lie near your voice. This poem first appeared in A Celebration of Poets, Published by the International Library of Poetry, 1998 |
||
Righter Publishing Company, Inc., PO Box 105, Timberlake, North Carolina 27583
Abiding
Free in your love, Lord,
Is my place to be.
Lord, change everything
Unlovely you see.
Mold me in beauty
Secure in your will
Quieten my spirit
And keep my heart still.
Guard me from error.
Deliver from fear.
Please, may I find you
Revealed everywhere.
-Sybil Austin Skakle
July 23, 1982
Giant Ice-shrouded trees
shiver and shudder
as sun struggles against
the somber gray sky
Elongated cubes fall
from their branches
bouncing and dancing
littering the grass
with shiny glass shards-
translucent jewels -
soon melted to purchase
new clothes for spring
