July 2, 2013
Dear Church Family,
Like many of you, I was
deeply saddened to hear the news of nineteen courageous fire fighters who
tragically lost their lives attempting to fight raging wild fires in the state
of Arizona this week. As the area was evacuated and hundreds moved away from
the fire, these brave servants went to the fire in hopes of saving homes,
wildlife, and people.
I am writing today to call
our church family to be in deep prayer for the families who lost their loved
ones through this event that has caused so much destruction and suffering. My
heart breaks for these families. Please pray that God will heal their hearts,
in his time.
I was reminded of couple
of Scripture passages found in the book of Isaiah, Chapter 43 and in the book
of Daniel, respectively: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with
you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When
you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you
ablaze." Although this Scripture passage speaks about the eternal
protection and safety of our souls in God's loving arms, it gave me moments of
pause and reminded me of the fragile nature of our lives and how fleeting are
the days of our lives on this earth. We are reminded in the book of Daniel, we
are to place our trust in God's goodness, mercy and eternal faithfulness, which
endures forever, regardless of tragic of circumstances in life. Our faith
is often tested by fire (figuratively and sometimes even literally).
Beth Moore in one of
her studies says, when God’s people face fiery trials there are three ways to
handle it: 1) We can delivered from the fire and our faith is built; 2) We can
be delivered through fire and our faith is refined; and/or 3) We can be
delivered by fire straight into God’s arms and our faith is perfected!
May God give us the
grace to live our lives as those who are ready to die, and when our lives here
on this earth are done, may we go forth to live eternally with God, as those
who have courageously gone before us.
Please join me in
prayer for the families of the fallen heroes. If you are led to give monetary
donations you may consider giving to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
(NFFF), C/O. Yarnell Hill Fallen Fire Fighters Fund, P O Box Drawer 498,
Emmitsburg, MD 21727. This is a non-profit organization that offers programs to
honor U.S. fallen fire fighters and assist their families and co-workers. You
may also give directly to our church with this special designation and we will
make sure your gifts are sent to the families.
Have a safe and blessed
holiday weekend.
Lead Pastor
West Des Moines United
Methodist Church
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