MAC KIRK

Good Shepherd Sunday What are we afraid of? What makes us cringe? Can we overcome our fears? My fear is really loneliness for God, and I need to claim His promise to never leave me or forsake me, no matter what. Even death cannot defeat my life that is held by Christ. He is risen, and He is alive evermore, and He gives to us eternal life here and forever. " No one shall snatch them out of My hand" 10:28 " I give them eternal life" " They shall never perish" ( Be removed, be destroyed, cut off, to die with ruin) I can face my crippling fears. All things work together for good for my good and God's glory...whatever happens God is in it. He is our Good Shepherd. He leads us beside the still waters. There is life after death, with God and His people forever. Here I am to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. This is my the goal of the Christian to let all things be in His hands. Unfortunately we do not always feel this way. We are buffe

3rd S of Easter John 21 :1-14 Silence means rest, rest of body and mind in which we become available for him whose heart is greater than ours. That is very threatening; it is like giving up control over our actions and thoughts, allowing something creative to happen not by us but to us. Is it so amazing that we are so often tired and exhausted, trying to be masters of ourselves, wanting to grasp the ultimate meaning of our existence, struggling with our identity? Silence is that moment in which we not only stop the discussion with others but also the inner discussions with ourselves, in which we can breathe in freely and accept our identity as a gift. “Not I live, but He lives in me.” It is in this silence that the Spirit of God can pray in us and continue his creative work in us. . . . Without silence the Spirit will die in us and the creative energy of our life will float away and leave us alone, cold, and tired. Without silence we will lose our center and become the victim of th