APRIL REFLECTONS FROM PASTOR JESSIE

                                 “Just tell the devil, the old deceiver: ‘But I am baptized!
​          And I have the promise that God loves me and saves me. Get away from me.'” -Martin Luther

This is one of my very favorite Martin Luther quotes. It is a great thought as we transition from the reflective time of Lent to the celebration of Easter. Remember that you are baptized, marked with the cross of Christ forever. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. Luther’s overwhelming concern is how does he know that he is saved? That he is right with God? It was not until he was studying the Psalms and Romans that he understood that it is not what he does that makes him right with God. It is what God does.

God loves each one of us, and there is nothing you can do to change that. Baptism is an affirmation of God’s claiming us as God’s own. 
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). 

This newness of life seems to be bursting all around us this time of year. Creation is shaking off the dormancy of winter and exploding into blossoms. In the church sanctuary the baptismal font is filled with glass pebbles instead of water for the season of Lent. You are invited to take as many as you want to put in your pocket, or on your windowsill, or anywhere else you want to remind you that you are baptized. In a few weeks the font will once again be filled with water. Then you can splash in it and remember life abounds.

There are still storms to come. As I write this, the weather forecasters are teasing us with the probability of thunder and hail tomorrow, most likely when I am driving home in the evening. Maybe I should put one of those glass pebbles on the dashboard. Get away from me, fear and distress. God loves me and that overcomes everything.

​                   Peace be with you. May you continue to walk with confidence that God is with you.