Central Baptist Church of Westerly
16 Elm Street, Westerly, RI 02891
Phone: (401) 596-4929
Check out our blog at Central Baptist Life
16 Elm Street, Westerly, RI 02891
Phone: (401) 596-4929
Check out our blog at Central Baptist Life
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God has got you covered
October 16, 2019
Dear Friends,
It was an unseasonably nice day in late September. It was
one of those occasions where you just had to get out of the
house. It gave me the perfect excuse to take the afternoon
off and head up to the Big E, New England's great state
fair. I hopped in my Mustang convertible and hit the road
to Springfield, Massachusetts.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun was shining. I
grabbed my sunglasses and baseball cap and was good to
go. The traffic was light. The radio belted out tunes from
the oldies station. My calendar was clear and I didn't have
any place that I had to be. The day was mine to enjoy. Life
doesn't get better than that.
I love fairs. At the end of the day I got back in my car
satisfied with all that had taken place. It was a good day.
Then a strange thing happened. The sun started to go down.
The temperature began to drop. As I wove my way back
through Hartford and then eastward toward Rhode Island,
I turned on the heat. It was freezing. The heater couldn't
keep up with it. I crowded in closer to the heating vents
and hugged the steering wheel.
If I had someone else in the car, I might have stopped and
put the top up. But I'm stubborn. I wasn't going to give up
on this one. I wanted to enjoy my ride right up until the
end, even if I froze to death. By the time I got to Colchester
the thought hit me that all I needed to do was get a coffee
and pull my jacket out of the trunk.
I bundled up, caught my second wind, and made it all the
way home with the top down. When I started bragging to
my wife, she looked at me like I was crazy. Well, maybe I
was? Have you ever done something silly like this? Or
worse yet, have you ever done something wrong and
wondered why you did it afterwards?
The apostle Paul gives us the reason for it in his letter to
the Romans. In chapter seven he says although we want to
do good, there is something within us that tries to thwart
that. It is sin. We want to please God, and do what is right,
but sin wages war against us, takes us prisoner and leads us
to do the opposite. He nails it there.
I love what he says next, though. "Thanks be to God who
delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" We may not
be able to help ourselves, but Jesus can. In the silly things
of life, and in the more serious lapses, we can find forgiveness
and new life in Christ. He is the author of second chances.
He gives us hope that we can do better.
He covers us like a convertible top. Now that's something
to warm your heart on a cold day.
God bless! See you in church.
Cal
October 16, 2019
Dear Friends,
It was an unseasonably nice day in late September. It was
one of those occasions where you just had to get out of the
house. It gave me the perfect excuse to take the afternoon
off and head up to the Big E, New England's great state
fair. I hopped in my Mustang convertible and hit the road
to Springfield, Massachusetts.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun was shining. I
grabbed my sunglasses and baseball cap and was good to
go. The traffic was light. The radio belted out tunes from
the oldies station. My calendar was clear and I didn't have
any place that I had to be. The day was mine to enjoy. Life
doesn't get better than that.
I love fairs. At the end of the day I got back in my car
satisfied with all that had taken place. It was a good day.
Then a strange thing happened. The sun started to go down.
The temperature began to drop. As I wove my way back
through Hartford and then eastward toward Rhode Island,
I turned on the heat. It was freezing. The heater couldn't
keep up with it. I crowded in closer to the heating vents
and hugged the steering wheel.
If I had someone else in the car, I might have stopped and
put the top up. But I'm stubborn. I wasn't going to give up
on this one. I wanted to enjoy my ride right up until the
end, even if I froze to death. By the time I got to Colchester
the thought hit me that all I needed to do was get a coffee
and pull my jacket out of the trunk.
I bundled up, caught my second wind, and made it all the
way home with the top down. When I started bragging to
my wife, she looked at me like I was crazy. Well, maybe I
was? Have you ever done something silly like this? Or
worse yet, have you ever done something wrong and
wondered why you did it afterwards?
The apostle Paul gives us the reason for it in his letter to
the Romans. In chapter seven he says although we want to
do good, there is something within us that tries to thwart
that. It is sin. We want to please God, and do what is right,
but sin wages war against us, takes us prisoner and leads us
to do the opposite. He nails it there.
I love what he says next, though. "Thanks be to God who
delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" We may not
be able to help ourselves, but Jesus can. In the silly things
of life, and in the more serious lapses, we can find forgiveness
and new life in Christ. He is the author of second chances.
He gives us hope that we can do better.
He covers us like a convertible top. Now that's something
to warm your heart on a cold day.
God bless! See you in church.
Cal
| Pastor Cal Lord's Weekly Epistle |
| Pastor Cal's Weekly Epistle Every week Pastor Cal writes a weekly column for the Spirit Page of the Norwich Bulletin. He also sends it out to members and friends of the church via e-mail. E-mail him at calstigers@gmail.com if you want to be added to the weekly list. |
| Pastor Cal's Archived Epistles |