Greetings, Glen Mar!

I hope you all have had a wonderful week! It was so good to be in worship with many of you online and in person this past Sunday! My family and I want to thank you for your warm welcome. We are so excited to be at Glen Mar!

My excitement has been sustained this week as I have watched so many children, youth, young adults, and adults walking, and sometimes running, through the halls and learning in our classrooms at Vacation Bible School. Throughout the week, their joyful little voices have proclaimed the theme phrase that we can always “Trust Jesus!” What a great message for us adults, too, who too often find ourselves in challenging situations and forget that statement. Whether we are facing diagnoses, dealing with family disagreements, or simply recognizing that we live in a world that seems so out of control, we can and should remember to “Trust Jesus!”

Still, maybe you’re wondering, “Well, that sounds good, but how can I do that?” Well, to trust Jesus, we must begin by intentionally remembering one of Jesus’ commands. In John 14:1, in Jesus’ farewell discourse, Jesus tells his followers, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and also trust in me (NLT).” Through this command, Jesus reminds them, and us, to trust him even as we face life’s challenges. Believing in him is good and right, but trusting him is taking belief to the next level! So, trust Jesus with your situation. Invite him into it. Ask him to meet you wherever you find yourself today.

Then, take the next step and live into that trust. What does that look like, you might ask? Living into that trust is simply taking the next faith-filled step! Get the tests, sit down with the family member(s), or pray for the brother, sister, mother, or father with whom you are disagreeing, and intentionally remember that God is in control of the world and everything in it, for it was created through and for Jesus in the first place (Col 1:16). Trusting Jesus implies acting on that trust. Each day, we trust that the chair will hold us when we sit in it. In a different but similar way, when we trust Jesus, we are believing that he will hold us as we face whatever situation is before us. Take the next faith-filled action and trust Jesus.

Finally, we can rest in Jesus when we trust him. Just this morning, I read Psalm 46, and it reminded me that “God is a very present help in trouble” and names some of the troubles we might face in this life, both figuratively and actually, “mountains shaking…waters roaring…and the nations being in an uproar…” Even with all that turmoil, the Psalmist declares in verses 7 and 11, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” As we will hear in Sunday’s reading, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God,” and thus he is our refuge as well. In other translations, instead of refuge, the term is “fortress.” When we realize that Jesus is our refuge and fortress, we can rest in him more easily because we know that even as the storms rage around us, he holds us and protects us. We truly can trust Jesus!

I hope to see you on Sunday when we will hear the VBS children sing and dance for us and remind us to trust Jesus. I know I need this reminder from time to time. How about you?

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Chris