A Time and a Season

Summer is here! School is out and family vacations are on the agenda for many of us. Summer is traditionally a time for slowing down a bit; a time to relax a little more and rejuvenate our minds and bodies. Of course, this isn't as easy to accomplish as it was when we were kids but for me summer carries a reminder of a simpler time. In our churches, there is generally less activity during the summer months and the same is true of the Walk to Emmaus. In July, there will not be a newsletter or a community-wide Gathering but please don't let Emmaus slip from your thoughts. July would be a great opportunity for the Emmaus group in your church to have a local gathering and invite members of your congregation to come and learn a little about the Walk to Emmaus. We are now less than four months from Walk #79 so it is important to continue to pray and work to sponsor pilgrims. Preparations for the Walk are ongoing and team meetings will begin in July. If you are asked to serve please know that a lot of prayer has gone into the decision to make that call. Prayerfully consider answering yes. And as always, be in prayer for the teams that are forming, the pilgrims who will be attending, and this community.

This month there are a couple of events on the schedule. On June 17, the monthly Gathering will be held at Ft. Caroline United Methodist Church. This will be a great opportunity to share a meal, fellowship, and worship together before the July break. Then, on Saturday June 24, the community-wide leadership training will be held at Isle of Faith United Methodist Church. The time schedule is 8:30 am to 1:00 pm and it is open to anyone in the Emmaus community. This will be a good experience for all current and future weekend lay directors, assistant lay directors, spiritual directors, and anyone who is interested in learning more about what it takes to prepare for an Emmaus weekend.

I pray that each of you has a wonderful summer season and that you experience and appreciate all the blessings God has for you. Decolores!

Ernie Busack

Community Lay Director

 

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

Defined by Grace 

Do you remember the emotions you felt while on your  Emmaus Walk? I ask this because I believe one of the biggest hurdles that we face today, is the weight we carry, to look, or act a certain way in order to be accepted in society. We feel anything that contradicts these often-self-imposed standard, become our faults. Though if we are not careful, these standards become idols in and of themselves. Over time we buy into the lies of this world, and our standards begin haunting us into a burden to which we were not created to bare, because we can never meet up to such standards. The weight to which I am referring to, is almost palatable during a Chrysalis flight. The emotion I am referring to is the freeing of the weight or heaviness, when you start realizing the magnitude of God's grace in your life? I think it is imperative to our journey to tap into those feelings from time to time, as a reminder that you are defined by grace, not the world. The world is hard on us, and if we are not careful, we begin to see ourselves, using worldly standards. These standards tell us that we are not good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, and the list goes on. This is a lie from Satan. 

You did not choose God, you might not have even chosen yourself, but God has chosen you (John  15:16). Not only are we chosen by God, we are purchased at a great cost. The next time the enemy tells you that you are worthless, remind him that your worth has been sealed forever in Christ love and mercy on the cross. 

I can't speak for you, but I praise God that He does not love me based on my performance, religious effort, promises, family name or even my best intentions. In fact, in spite of your wounds, stains, imperfections and shame, He still chose you for himself. He chose you when you were dead in sin and couldn't even present yourself to Him as a worthy choice. 

God chose you because He saw His image in you, the divine stamp woven into the fabric of your being when He created His masterpiece in and through you. And He decided you were worth a rescue mission of love that would require the death of His own Son. And it is within this truth alone, that your value rests. By grace you are a loved son, a loved daughter, of the Most-High. Satan will continually try to remind us of who you used to be, but Christ tells you who, and whom you are. It is through your value to God, that He loved you enough to place you into His story, crush your sin through His innocent sacrifice, setting you free and redeeming you forever. God told me that someone needed to be reminded, that grace defines you. DeColores