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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Ready! Set! Go! And the race is on! Who will win? It’s most often the most prepared who is properly equipped and has trained. I learned this the hard way last week. Just because the beach weather was nice, didn’t mean I was ready for a 4-mile walk on the boardwalk. I hadn’t walked that far in a while. And having only dress shoes to walk in, I was not well equipped. It led to a mild case, thankfully, of shin splints … a painful reminder to be prepared with equipment and training for physical activity.

Okay, what’s that got to do with God’s Word? “Plenty,” says Paul in his 2nd letter to Timothy. God calls us to serve Him and His creation through our words and actions … and to “be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching … do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 3:2,5) 

But to be ready at all times requires proper equipment and preparation. Paul tells us where the equipping and preparation (or training) comes from, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) God’s Word equips and trains us for the good work of serving Him and His creation as His means to bring His mercy and grace to those in need of healing through faith in Jesus.

So let us remain diligent in our preparations, allowing God to equip us for this great work He’s called us into. Let us spend time throughout the week in His Word. To get equipped and trained, click these links to FLC’s Bible Studies and devotional resources or visit www.firstlutheranchurch.org. Then, so we might finish the work He’s given us to do with our lives, let us ask God to help us find the words to speak and things to do in His creation.

                                                                                In Christ’s Love,

                                                                                Pastor Jim