GOD's Word for Today

09/07/2026

September 7, 2026 Bible study

09/07/2026

THIS WEEK AT KIRKVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH!
SEPTEMBER 6 WORSHIP

This Sunday morning of the Labor Day weekend we celebrated Holy Communion and pastor, Dr. Brian Homan taught on Matthew 18: 1-20 a message entitled, "The Measure of True Fellowship."

https://www.youtube.com/live/v3uMIkvS9xE?si=q38Uxrdkkj25oHMS



COMMUNITY BIBLE STUDY Mondays at 10am

In the lounge of the Towne Center Retirement Community



WALKING TOGETHER IN CHRIST, a small group interactive experience to help us deepen our walk with Christ. WEDNESDAYS at 6:30pm in the

2nd floor library at the Towne Center Retirement Community.



GROWING THE CHURCH!

FREE BREAKFAST on September 12, 8:30am at the Brickyard Café at Driver’s Village to learn about the new Global Methodist Church and our initiative to start a Global Methodist Church in Syracuse.

RSVP today! Speak with Jeff Haines to RSVP

Breakfast includes:

Blueberry roll-up pancakes with blueberry compote, real maple syrup and whipped cream;

Bacon and sausage links, fresh fruit salad, tiered platter of scones and a variety of muffins; tea, coffee, juice and water



WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP AND STUDY

Noon on Saturday, September 19 at the Towne Center Senior Community.

Lunch at noon costs $12.00 including salads, choice of entrees, desert and beverage. Following lunch we will begin a study entitled “Walking with Grace.” We plan this will be the first of regular monthly meetings.

To rsvp please text Lisa Wilson at (315)345-9581 or email at: [email protected]



JEFF STEINBERG CONCERT

Invite others to share the healing experience of Jeff’s humor, music and inspiration at THEATER at TOWN CENTER on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 at 3pm and at Kirkville church on Sunday the 11th at 10am.



SENIOR BOWLING! Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 am at Green Lakes Lanes in Fayetteville starting September 8. Speak to Carol Hough for details.

This morning of Labor Day weekend we celebrate Holy Communion and p...

09/04/2026

BRIDGING THE TRAP OF THE GENERATION GAP!

Good morning! Our reading for this September 4th is 1 Peter 5:1-5.

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ,"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (NIV)

Until this June of 2012 I had served as the Dean of our Licensing School for eleven years. The school prepared women and men for service as pastors or who were intending on furthering their education to respond to the call of becoming ordained Elders in the church. This passage might be one I would select to address with those students as it speaks to those who bear the responsibilities of leadership in the church.

The elders to which Peter speaks are not persons of age, though certainly we can presume they were called elders because they were older and more experienced with living the faith. In today’s world and ordained Elder does not have to be a person of age, even though there are fewer young persons seeking to serve the church as Elders. An Elder has to give evidence of maturity in the faith, has prepared educationally for service and given evidence of effectiveness in leadership. In the context of Peter’s time, he is speaking as an elder apostle to pastoral leaders who were most likely introduced to Christ through his leadership or that of other apostles. They were referred to as elders because they were among the first to come to Christ. The younger men are those who represent a second or third generation of believers and were thus less experienced in the practice of the Christian faith. It was from those more experienced with proven success living the faith who were chosen by the apostles to lead the church.

As with every generation there is an experience of a “generation gap” where a younger group of followers vie for leadership that is held by older persons. There can be loving hostility between generations, with the younger feeling the older is “out of touch” with the movements of the contemporary culture and church and have become more stuck in their ways. The older may well feel uncomfortable and less willing to accept change or take chances. Older leadership may be used to the power they possess and become less willing to share it and view the younger as impetuous and less proven to carry the responsibilities. It is encouraging to read how what we struggle with today is similar to struggles of the first generations of the church. As King Solomon wrote , “there is nothing new under the sun.”

If the circumstances fit then Peter’s advice should be as equally heeded. He tells the elders to care for the entire flock which includes even the younger Christians who may seem to be competing for leadership. Added to the normal pressures of leadership they must deal with the pressure for change and maintaining relevance in an ever changing world. It is easy to become protective and shut off to the critical voices within the church, leaving established leaders even more entrenched in their opinion and resistant to the voices of change. Peter admonishes them to exercise their leadership willingly and even joyfully to avoid a grudging demeanor which will only feed the discord between generations. They are warned not to exercise their authority with harshness, but remain eager, and I would include open, to serve the Lord in whatever manner may prove effective.

John Wesley writes how vile he felt when he first attempted to preach in the open fields and streets. He was raised and taught to preach in the confines of the church and the unfamiliar field preaching was foreign to him. Having been expelled from the church he had no option left to him but to take up preaching wherever he could and to his surprise the venture met with great success and became one of the benchmarks of the Wesleyan movement and the successful revival which it brought to England and America. It is surprising that Wesley would feel this way since his Lord taught in both formal setting and in the fields of the countryside. Like Wesley, we must learn that while novel approaches may feel uncomfortable, should they be sound theologically and effective practically, we should be open to different ways to advance the gospel and the cause of Christ. Our reward, Peter reminds us, comes from presenting a good example and cultivating the expansion of the faith.

Peter addresses the “younger men” as men because in the days of the early church, leadership was relegated to men. Times have changed as has leadership in the world and in the church being shared with our feminine counterparts. Peter’s advice fits both genders pertaining to leadership within the church. Peter, as an older leader himself, recognizes the tides of change facing the church. Once contending that the Lord’s return would be so immanent that there might not be a second generation of disciples, he now recognizes that his time is limited as is those who first embraced Christ. The mantle of leadership must be passed down as well as the ability to maintain the foundational teaching and practices which have formed the life of the church. Tradition provides a foundation and stability while ministry prompts innovation. Keeping a balance is essential for securing the future.

To the younger developing leaders, Peter reminds them to accept and respect the authority of the older and established leaders within the church. It may take great patience to move forward, but acknowledging the struggles and contributions older leaders have made is essential for obtaining their cooperation in forging the future. The resistance of the establishment can help to balance the rash temptation to fads, of change for change’s sake. The spiritual and emotional needs of every generation are the same though their modes of expression changes. The message and offering of Christ remains relevant in every age. Those pressing for innovation must recognize that one day they shall be the “old school” with younger leadership pressing them for innovations and power which they shall also be reluctant to share. Humility is the basis for sound leadership. It is the humility which recognizes that everyone has something valid to offer and it is Christ who is ultimately the head of the church, not us.

This may sound like a message for leaders in the church. It is, but struggles over leadership influence every member as people of different opinion will side with leaders representing their tastes and interests. Openness and respect from all of us is demanded by Christ. We are each to be leaders as we influence others around us and represent Christ. We must make certain we are representing Christ accurately by caring and encouraging the faith of those around us. It is after all, Christ’s Church, and not ours. Remembering this goes a long way to promote the love of Christ.

Selah! Dr. Brian Homan

09/03/2026

KEEPING HEART HEALTHY!
Good morning! Our reading for this September 3rd is 1 John 3:18-24.
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (NIV)

God is greater than our own heart. The reference to the heart has always been associated with the center of our emotions or affections rather than the physical heart muscle of human anatomy. Hearts appear everywhere on Valentine’s Day in particular, but always describing the emotions equated with love. I suppose the reason for this is the fact that the heart is in the center of the chest between the lungs. Emotions affect the hearts beating as well as our breathing. When excited or angry we experience a physical reaction and so in ages past the heart came to be thought of as the source of these emotions and longings rather than the response to them.

We know that what we refer to as our emotional heart really will be found in the brain. We should also recognize that emotions themselves are unreliable. We can feel something and believe something is true that is really not, which is precisely the reason we should not judge the truth by how we feel. The prophet Jeremiah wrote that “the heart is deceitful above all things; who can trust it.”(17.3) We each know of times when we have felt something to be true and right only to find out later after making some choice that we come to regret that we were wrong and led astray by emotion.

There are times though that the heart is correct and the passions we feel, or the intuitive “gut feeling,” can spare us from harm and guide us. The difference comes in what it is that we love. Loving the wrong things can lead us down a path of painful consequences to choices we have made while the opposite can also be true, loving the right things can be liberating and life giving. Again, it is a matter of what we choose to love. Feelings come from varied influences. Understanding what makes us tick, or what moves us to feeling as we do can serve us well in determining what to love. We may well decide that a certain feeling is wrong, but still experience the emotion powerfully despite what we know is true.

It is due to the deceitfulness of emotions that we decide to follow our mind rather than our heart. I cringe over the advice I hear repeatedly given on television and the movies to “follow your heart.” I know that if I followed my heart I would be in jail, or living a severely dysfunctional life. Yet, when the heart is focused on the right things we are healthier. The deceitfulness of emotions is one reason why what we know as “the love chapter,” as 1 Corinthians 13 is called, excludes the emotional aspects of love for a description of the chosen actions that define love. The decision to trust one’s heart or not comes with maturity, which Paul’s description in Corinthians also proposes (vs. 11).

In our passage John states that God is greater than our hearts. I take this to mean two things. First, the love due God is greater than the love we can ever possess for Him and second, God’s love for us is greater than devotion we could ever muster toward God. In fact, when our heart, or emotions, are depressed or discouraged because of a failure in ourselves that we recognize, these in themselves do not determine how much God loves us. The fact that we may not feel good about ourselves does not alter the fact that God still loves us and is willing to work with what little we think we have to offer.

The acceptance that God’s love for us surpasses what we feel we deserve should put our hearts at rest, meaning that we may feel disconnected and far from God at any given point or place in life, but we can experience a peace from the knowledge that our feelings are only temporary and we can feel the closeness we desire to have with our Creator. It is at those times of greatest discouragement and distance that we are to focus on our behavior and choices over what we feel. If we follow the feelings of the moment we might surrender to doubt and lose faith. However, if we focus on the positive changes faith has made in us then we can feel confident that we can ignore our transient emotions and get on with doing and being the persons which make God and us proud.

However, if in examining why we feel so distant and unconnected from God is due to choices and behaviors we have made then our heart has been of great service. We can confess our sin, make changes with God’s help, ask from Him for the help we need, and be confident that intimacy can be restored. I would also say from personal experience that the relationship with God can be deepened through this process. This is the subject of the great prayer of King David we read in Psalm 139:23-24 . . . “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” The felt absences of God may well be in our imagination and failure to accept the grace offered us, or may be on the basis of some unconfessed sin.

If we are feeling under condemnation we must therefore take the time to inspect our life, correct anything that may contribute to our feeling guilty, or simply confess our having taken our eyes off of the love of God in Christ for us and are falsely condemning ourselves. To falsely condemn ourselves and refusal to accept the grace God offers is also a sin. Remember Jesus said that it is the truth that will set us free. We might also want to consider whether we are being spiritually oppressed in which case we will need spiritual help from a good counselor.

What we are looking for in our spiritual audit is our state of belief in Christ and the evidence of our love for others. If we uncover a struggle to love others as we should and as Christ has commanded, then we will have likely erected a barrier that separates us from Christ and give cause for our feelings of distance. So, check your heart against what you know is true; do what it takes to affirm the truth to yourself; and make certain you are living up to the truth in Christ you know. Doing this will keep you “heart healthy” and on track spiritually.

Selah! Dr. Brian Homan

09/01/2026

IMITATION IS THE GREATEST FLATTERY!

Good morning! God’s Word for this September 1st is I John 3:1-4.

1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

(NIV)

The love of God is so great because our heavenly Father has adopted us as His own children. God has taken us in as one of His own and loves us as much as He loves His own true Child, Jesus. That is hard to believe except that I have experienced the depth of his love for me. In my past I adopted a young girl as a single man and raised her for six years, most of them on my own until I met and married Kathy. Though Anna was not my own biological child I loved her as my own. We eventually reunited Anna with her birth mom which was best for her and good for us, though doing so was not an easy thing to do. All sorts of emotions are brought into play which I cannot delve into in the scope of this writing.

Less conflicted though just as complicated Kathy and I have pseudo adopted several children over the past thirty years. The bonds may not have been formed legally, but are as intense as these children and youth came to live with us and be cared for by us. Knowing what I feel for them even now helps me to view the words of John differently. I know how the heart can get so caught up in another’s life. I do not say this to gain any acknowledgment for our generosity for we gained so much from opening our arms to these children. With the lasting affection which the barriers of distance, time and opportunity limit involvement now, comes also memory of pain and desire for other’s lives. To want for them what you hope their life will know is haunting and daunting.

To realize that our Creator opens not only His home, but His heart to one such as I, such as you, is beyond adequate expression. I know who I am, the inner conflicts of my mind and the tainted choices and actions I take. I am not at all deserving of such acceptance and belonging God gives me. In the light of God’s love I confess thinking and feeling that some of those I offered love to were not deserving of my attempts because of their lack of responsiveness; they simply made it difficult at times to keep my affection and desire. I must confess there have been fleeting moments when I have felt this way regarding by biological children. Recognizing these feelings causes me to feel guilt and appreciation for the love of my heavenly Father as I know I have given Him good reason to give up on me. Yet, He hasn’t, and though I strain to believe it, I yet do believe His promise never to leave or forsake me – or you.

Lavished is a wonderful word to describe how passionately God desires us. John says the reason the world does not recognize us as God’s children is because they have not known Him. As God’s children we should reflect the characteristics of our Father. Since they do not know Him personally and have not experienced this lavish love they cannot begin to comprehend His personality. We can talk about a person, but until you spend some time and know them you can never really know them. Knowledge about someone is not the same as knowing them. What is also sad is wondering if present unbelievers would recognize Him in us if they came to know His love?

Despite the fact that by the measurement of our affection and character our example falls far short of what should be expected in reflecting that of our heavenly Father, we remain in fact His beloved children. Truly knowing this how then should this effect our conversations regarding Dad with others? Should we not express our gratitude for that love and speak always of our Father’s greatness? Should we not reflect a humility and confession of not being deserving of His affection. Instead, we talk about God in rather distant terms and present ourselves as those specially honored and deserving of His affection over others. This leaves us open to accusation and criticism rightfully earned for we do not, indeed cannot, begin to claim to reflect a similar passion as our Father has shown to us and the world which does not now know Him.

This heartfelt humility which MUST accompany our profession of faith MUST also accompany a passion to live up to the image of the loving nature of our heavenly Father. As little children we should long to be like Dad, to love like Dad. Imitation is the greatest flattery and to be like our heavenly Father is the thing that I imagine brings the greatest pleasure to Him. But what I see of myself presently is far from who I want to be, but I know that I must try to be more a reflection of the Father which is best seen in His One, true and perfect Son, Jesus, who is what I should be like.

I am not there, but I have changed for the better over the years. I believe I learned to love better and I expect to grow even closer to reflecting the image of God’s love, of Christ’s love, in years ahead. As John says, I do not know what my life will be like, I cannot even imagine what I will be like after my death, and neither can you. But one thing I know which John so simply and adequately describes - when Christ appears, when you and I see Him face to face, we will attain our goal of being like Him. Only Jesus humanly reflects perfectly the character and personality of the Father, which brings joy to Him. And we have the hope that we will one day share His image.

What John says is that if we truly love God, we long to be like Jesus. Whoever possesses this hope of being like God in character will actively work at purifying their lives to be more like Christ in this life. This does not mean we do not have other desires, but that the predominant desire that drives all others is to do what we do and live as Christ modeled for us. John would later conclude that two things determine whether we are truly children of the Father – the desire to love as Christ and evidence of growth in loving others in our lives. May these be our goals today.

Selah! Pastor Brian Homan

08/31/2026

WON'T YOU JOIN ME FOR BREAKFAST!

There are many brands of churches representing Christianity. While most share the same core beliefs, each offers a unique take on the faith as does each individual church offers a unique personality and mission opportunity.

The Global Methodist Church is the new boy on the block. Planters Field invites you to join us for a free breakfast to learn about the Global Methodist Church, a new and biblical expression of Methodism.

We solicit your prayers and to spread the word as our vision is to plant a Global Methodist church in Syracuse where presently there is none. We shall be meeting at the Brickyard Café located at Driver’s Village in Cicero on Saturday, September 12 at 8:30am. Please rsvp by return to email [email protected] or call me at 315-345-6534.

Blessings!

Pastor Brian Homan

08/31/2026

August 31, 2026

08/28/2026

ARE YOU DRINKING FROM THE SPRING OF LIVING WATER?
Good morning! God’s Word for 28th of August is John 7:37-39.

37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
(NIV)

Jesus told the Samaritan woman he engaged at a well that he could give her water that would not run out or dry up. In other places in both the Old and New Testament water is the imagery used to describe the abundance a relationship with God could provide to our lives. Here we are finally told what the living water is, the Holy Spirit. This is the same water offered the Samaritan woman at the well promising a greater source of satisfaction beyond what physical water or any provision of what we think we need could provide. This living water is superior to that water which flowed from the rock when Moses struck it to satisfy the physical thirst of the Hebrews in the wilderness. It is the “water of salvation” that the prophet Isaiah referred to that he said would come from God and result in joy despite the struggle God’s people had to endure.

The Holy Spirit is the presence of God, the internal realization of the continued companionship of Christ with us every day. Though we cannot now see Christ as we cannot see a tangible God, yet Christ’s real unseen, immaterial presence abides with those who by faith accept the potential and are open to receive the reality of the gift. John would later inform us, particularly in chapters 14 and 15 of his gospel account, of the purpose and the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Despite whatever trial we must endure we can know acceptance, discover a companionship, comprehend guidance, access a power beyond our capability, and realize a hope to overcome the painful realities of life as we live through them. The Holy Spirit quenches our thirst for more to life than we experience, reveals a purpose behind what we must endure and do, and confirms the truth for what we hope for in life and after death. The Holy Spirit provides us with the assurance of our salvation presently and our ultimate salvation after death.

Jesus states that this living water, which is the Spirit, shall flow as a stream from within us means that it must flow out from us to bless others and the world outside of ourselves. Christians bring blessing to the world they touch and to others. If we are to examine ourselves, would we conclude we are a blessing to others who encounter or know us? The presence of Christ should flow out from us fostering an environment of joy, of peace and of hopefulness as Christ brought to those who encountered Him in His earthly ministry. While He is not tangibly present in physical form today, due to His resurrection and the imparting of His Spirit to those who follow Him, He makes Himself and the benefits of His truth known in the present.

While we certainly read of the activity of the Spirit of God in circumstances and in certain people before Jesus ever walked the earth, and even during Jesus’ earthly ministry, it was selectively deployed. The difference with the work of the Spirit post Jesus’ resurrection and ascension is that the Spirit is present and accessible to every believer at any time and in any situation.

How should we recognize this living water or the Holy Spirit? First, those possessing the Spirit are confident of their forgiveness and salvation. Second, they are filled with the joy from thankfulness for the grace of God shown them and are inspired to live righteously. They recognize the gift of their life and see beyond their trials and experiences to claim a greater purpose or grand design that brought them to where they are at the moment and who they can become. Last, they feel filled with compassion for others and called to use their lives and giftedness to bless others for Christ.

Seeing these things and acting in compliance to the truth revealed to and in them breaks us from the ordinary to living intentionally. We can experience satisfaction that comes from recognizing our lives, past, present and future fulfill a purpose. We do not just live and breathe, work and play, only to die. Life is more than we tangibly experience; it can have a depth and richness we could never know beyond our knowing without Christ. Faith in Christ quenches the unseen and inner thirst of our spirit.

Christ is the living water. He lives yet today and is available to us if we choose to come to Him to drink of the life giving water He offers us. While the living water is available to all the enjoyment of the Spirit is always conditional upon our decision to come. Are you thirsty? Without acknowledging a thirst we will never come and unless we come He can never satisfy nor shall we be satisfied.

Blessings! Dr. Brian Homan

08/26/2026

DRINKING FROM THE WELL OF TODAY'S SALVATION!

Good morning! Our Word for this day is Isaiah 12. 1-6.

In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.



In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;

let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." (NIV)

I’d like to focus on the expression “In that day” used by the prophet in his writing of this passage. The expression is found throughout the writing of the prophets. The day to which the prophet refers is a specific time when the people’s trouble would be past. He is speaking in the voice of a singular person while he is describing an attitude that should be embraced by God’s people looking forward to a time when they would be delivered from their physical captivity to a foreign power as a nation and returned to their home land they had been dispossessed from. Our deliverance may not be to dominance by a foreign power but of other challenges and addictions which rob us presently of joy and peace.

That day does not refer to refer to freedom from captivity but a corporate restoration which would put them back on track to following God as the chosen people of God. The expression helps us to remember that there were other days, a time when God had gathered them and led them to a land promised them and a state of blessed living if they remained faithful to the covenant God had established with them. There were other days or times when once they had known joy that they forgot and neglected their relationship with God and the values they were to incorporate into life as a people known by the world as “God’s special people.” The expression reminds us of better days and worse times, all of which were determined by the choices the nation of Israel made and of the choices we have also made.

We should also clarify that the days which they should regret, which brought them down as a nation, were not the result solely of bad politics though certainly the political situation became corrupted. The days they should regret address the state of the culture including the sinful attitudes and choices of the population in general which contributed to the deterioration of the moral climate and decline of the nation. This does not mean that everyone necessarily failed their spiritual responsibilities, but we are dragged along with cultures rebellion of righteousness. We as individuals suffer from the moral directions of our culture even if we are less guilty simply by our living in the culture.

The moral failure of a nation naturally fed into the political crises of the day which God used to bring about their fall as a people, where everyone, righteous or not suffered. Yet this national defeat and the circumstance of exile and captivity was intended by God to restore their sanity in terms of longing to follow God and eventually could restore them to their homeland and put them on track as the God’s people. This restoration is portrayed in the statement that they would once again “draw water from the wells of salvation,” by faithfully following God which would bring with it God’s blessings.

Their story is also our story. While it is true that the collective values of a nation direct the course of a nation, so it does with an individual’s life. If we would be focused to “drink from the wells of salvation” or the resources God provides us for living our life in faithful obedience to his values, our lives would be strengthened and healthier, and we would know greater personal blessing. This does not mean that faithfulness to God assures physical blessing all the time. For we know that even the good suffer. The potential of our circumstance is always limited by the state of our world which is broken and separated from God. There will always be natural evils as earthquakes, tsunamis and pandemics which we will have to contend with. We will always struggle with the human evil of as wars and terrorism and more localized conflicts closer to home, even within our families.

While life is generally better by living faithfully with God, we should not expect life to be perfect. However, those who know the truth regarding blessedness can always choose to draw from the resources God provides to mitigate our human and situational struggle to discover a joy and blessedness to be known only by those who live close to God. There is much we do not have control over and not every bad thing comes our way because we have personally failed God, though as a race we have. There is to be expected both sorrow and struggle indiscriminately known by us all and a way that leads to greater joy we can choose.

While we can expect from life both days of trial and joy, we can enhance our experience of joy by “drawing from the waters of salvation” every day. See, we do have choices that save our life. Though the day Isaiah points to is the ultimate time when God shall stop this madness and heal His creation, God has made a way through Christ to save us from our sin and deliver us from a direction that leads to personal destruction. God saves us through Christ and continues to save our lives by revealing the “Way of Christ” for us to follow in life which will bring greater joy in life and lead us to that day when all that obstructs and limits our experience of joyful living is removed forever.

Today, let us draw from the wells of our salvation and live more fully the life we were meant to live. Let is live in the midst of struggle, our physical captivity, with hope that the day when we shall return home shall come. In that day there shall be joy, but there remains a joy in the journey of our life when we follow God’s way.

Blessings! Dr. Brian Homan