There is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Dear Friends in Christ,
As the Bible tells us there is a time and a season for everything under heaven. For me it’s time to retire after a final season at St. John’s that lasted five years. Holly and I want to say a very heartfelt “thank you” to all of you. We have grown to love you and appreciate all the ministry and support of the congregation at St. John’s. Pastors don’t retire in the ususal sense, we continue to serve the Lord and I feel called to fill in as a Supply Pastor occasionally. So when a Pastor is on vacation or gets sick I can fill in for a Sunday anywhere in our NALC region and that includes St. John’s. I am looking forward to taking a few months off before I make any commitments though.
If you take a look at the first eight verses of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 you might recognize the lyrics from the 60’s folk song, “Turn, Turn, Turn.” That’s where the words of that song come from. The point that is being made is that God has a plan for every person. He provides times of life and work for us to do. All the experiences in these verses are appropriate at certain times. Our goal is to discover, accept, and appreciate God’s perfect timing. Your ability to enjoy life or your work depends on your attitude in understanding what God intends for it.
We can find satisfaction in what we do and find pleasure in life when we realize they come from God and follow His guidelines for living. Each day is a gift from God and there is no guarantee of tomorrow. Meaning and purpose come from knowing Jesus Christ and being thankful and serving God. Yet, we will never be fully content with the pursuits and pleasures of this world. God has placed eternity in our hearts and that means our full and final destiny will not be seen until we are in heaven someday.
Until that day we have plenty of living to do. So let’s live for God and to the praise of His glory.
Amen
Thank you again and May God bless you,
Pastor Dan and Holly Schaefer