Greetings everyone!  I pray that all of you are well!  We in the Lutz household are doing fine, only by God’s grace.  You have heard it many times before and here it is again:  How’s the Lord Messing with You?  How is he getting your attention with His undeserved love?

            He is, you know!  In the midst of this COVID containment, He’s making Himself seen more now than ever.  He sure got my attention yesterday.  I was dropping something off at the rear of the church when I heard someone up front.  The door was open and there was a young lady, Janet.  She wanted to drop some wonderful foods she had purchased for the pantry.  I had an uplifting chat with her as she shared her story.  She was a nurse, giving care in the frontlines of the COVID battle.  She wanted to do more, though.  Helping the food pantry was her extra sacrifice to bless others.  It turns out that we had helped her during a difficult time by helping her with an electric bill.  Having been blessed through that challenge in her life, she wanted to bless others in this COVID challenge.  Wow, “thank you Lord for opening the eyes of my heart to see how You will bring us through and use each of us to make it happen!”

            I was reminded of a passage in God’s Word:  “Keep on loving each other as brothers (and sisters).  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”  (Heb. 13:1-2).  Such was the case for Abraham and Sarah, visited by angels in human form to bring word of hope, a son for them in their inability to have a child (Gen. 18)  In Jesus that son has become a blessing to all nations, especially us.  He has blessed us with forgiveness and forever life through what He has done on a cross and through an empty tomb!

            While God has used actual angels in human form to bring His message of grace, He also uses humans in angelic function to bring hope and blessing.  He used Janet to bring me a message of hope.  He’s using each of us as we reach out to others with our risen Jesus as our motivation.  He makes us those folks doing the work of angels!

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters!  Pastor Craig