Peace Presbyterian Church

“Going Deeper and Deeper”

As we begin the month of January, we also begin the year of 2006. As we celebrate the gift of New Year’s, we can be grateful for the gift of new life in Christ, knowing that God is not done with us yet, that we are still works in progress. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation! The old has gone, the new has come!” We don’t have to stay stuck in the ruts of our lives; rather we can have new hope and new joy, if we are willing to trust and to believe in God.

It is customary in the New Year’s season to make resolutions. These resolutions can be superficial ones or deep ones. In this New Year, I encourage each of us to make spiritual resolutions of how we plan to go deeper and deeper into our relationships with Jesus Christ. God yearns for a more intimate relationship with each of us, and God has also put an ache and hunger in each of our souls that can only be met and quenched by His Spirit.

Our God is a God who blesses us with new life. In Lamentations 3:23-5, we see that “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.” Our God is a loving, life giving, compassionate and faithful God, whose mercy can be enjoyed in a new way each day. We can enjoy new life, if we are willing to wait on Him, hope in Him and seek Him.

The active presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives compels us to move deeper into our relationship with God, and to never be satisfied with how much we have experienced thus far. As Paul says, in Philippians 3:12-4, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on to the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heaven-ward in Christ Jesus.” As believers, we are called to look forward and to strain forward, rather than to look backwards, in order to see how God is at work in our lives. We need to always be open to growing in our faith, as the Holy Spirit renews us and gives us new life. Let us set our sights on the cross, and on how we can be more like Jesus, in each moment of our lives, in each relationship of our lives.

In the New Year, let us embrace the new life we can have in Christ. Let us move deeper and deeper into our relationship with Christ. Praise God for how His mercies are new every morning!

Love in Christ,
Pastor Brian

04 Jan. 2006

Go to Archive to read past Pastor’s Pages.

Our Beliefs is a new section that will be filled in as items are approved. You may already view Pastor Brian’s Personal Statement of Faith.

Posted 13th Jan. 2006

All of the members and friends of Peace Presbyterian Church were both shocked and saddened by the tragic and senseless death of a young man, Robert Francisco Maisonet, so near our church. There are no easy or obvious answers to why such tragedies happen. In times like this, we are called to pray: for the family and friends of Robert; for whoever did this, for God to convict them and to soften their hearts; for the families and friends of the offenders; for the cycle of violence in our community to stop; for the police who are investigating this crime to find whoever did this; for all those who have been impacted by this crime; for each of us to feel the peace and presence of God in our own hearts. Let us also pray for God’s presence and power to be made manifest in our community, so that we will see anew our need for His presence and protection, His peace and His love.
-- Pastor Brian