Prayer of Blessing

April 7, 2019 by Rich

May the angels of light
glisten for us this day.
May the sparks of God’s beauty
dance in the eyes of those we love.
May the universe
be on fire with Presence for us this day.
May the new sun’s rising
grace us with gratitude.
Let earth’s greenness shine
and its waters breathe with Spirit.
Let heaven’s winds stir the soil of our soul
and fresh awakenings rise within us.
May the almighty angels of light
glisten in all things this day.
May they summon us to reverence,
may they call us to life.
From Praying with the Earth by John Philip Newell

Does God give up on you because you’re old!

No and you shouldn’t either.

Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh. Exodus 7:7
Just take that in Moses was 80 and Aaron 83! And a rough estimate of Joshua’s age when starting his ministry is around 80! He entered the promised land and with God conquered the lands and then at 110 he died.

So, the challenge for you today is to decide will you rust out or go out with a bang. I have been a youth worker for over 30 years now and I have discovered that age doesn’t matter, it is not how you dress or how you speak, it is who you are. Young people need meaningful relationships and people who will empower them. Age doesn’t matter. Coolness doesn’t matter.

The best youth worker I met was a woman aged 74 who met with two young people and baked cakes with them. She was brilliant. She even baked fairy cakes with them. The surprise was that the two people were leaders of a large and violent gang and she took these two under her wing and baked fairy cakes with these gang leaders. They loved it and it didn’t matter to them that she was 74. I would not have thought that baking cakes would have brought about a transformation. She led both young people to Christ.

No God doesn’t give up on you, society might but you have work to do in God’s kingdom. He asks you to go not to rust!

As you leave this place
may the Living Lord go with you;
May he go behind you, to encourage you,
beside you, to befriend you,
above you, to watch over you,
beneath you, to lift you from your sorrows,
within you, to give you the gifts of faith, hope, and love,
and always before you, to show you the way. Amen