John 16

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

In this world we will have troubles. That is about the understatement of the universe, isn't it! We do have troubles, don't we. A lot of times we talk to friends or neighbors and they might say something like, "I wish I had my life all together like you do!" When I hear that I just chuckle. That is the furthest thing from the truth.

Yes, I love the Lord. Yes, I know my future home is heaven. Yes, my family are all believers. But the honest truth is that I have troubles just like everybody else. I have a house and car payments. I have teenagers who sometimes get themselves into trouble. And yes, sometimes Cindy and I have barnburner arguments...

The Good News that we must ALL remember is that Jesus told us that we were going to have troubles, but for us to keep in mind that those troubles will someday be brushed away in heaven. So take heart, my friends, Jesus has overcome this world!

I'm looking forward to a full Friday. At 10:30 AM we will participate in Stations of the Cross. It will be a city-wide procession with a cross, remembering what Christ did for us on the Good Friday some 2000 years ago. The procession will begin at Hawley Alliance and move through town to the Hawley cemetery.

At noon we will participate in a Good Friday worship service at St. Andrews Catholic Church. This will be a time to ponder the last statements of our Lord Jesus Christ before He died on the cross.

At 7:00 PM we will have a special Good Friday service here at Hawley Alliance. Pastor Dylan will be leading us. We will observe the Lord's Supper as a part of the service. So it will be a full day. I pray that you take the time to take in some of the events, if not all of the events of the day.

God bless your Wednesday!