Letter from the Elders
July 23th, 2023
Dear Beloved,
Hold on to what you have until He comes!
Stay faithful – stay true – just keep swimming –
Brothers and sisters, stay faithful to the one who cannot be anything other than faithful to you, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Stay faithful to Him – to His Word – to His Way.
Husbands, stay faithful to your wives! Wives stay faithful to your husbands! The journey is long, especially on some days. Carol and I know. We have walked together for more than 50 years. Through some hard things and through many blessings. And we can say that the reward of faithfulness is found both in the prize that awaits as well as in the joy of the journey. That prize in both cases is Jesus Himself, our Morning Star. Stay faithful!
Young people, stay faithful to the commitment that you made, to the promise of faith that you gave the day you were baptized into Christ. Do not swerve away into sexual sin, do not wander from the path of truth, do not be ashamed, ever, of your crucified Savior. Stay faithful to Him, and set an example to us all in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Remember that even when you do not know all of the answers. Remember that He knows all things – and He asks you to trust Him. Stay faithful to Him!
My fellow seniors, stay faithful to the Savior that has brought you all this distance! Remember that He is guiding you home! The hand in your hand, it is His hand. The voice you hear, it is His voice. We walk now in this world, but soon, very soon, we will walk with Him in white. You know it is worth it… Stay faithful – stay true – keep on swimming – Don’t check out, until He calls you!
We, your elders, desire more than anything else to stay faithful to him. Have we always done this perfectly well? No, try as we might, we are far from perfect. But we point to the One who is perfect. We, your elders, like all of you, and as Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 1, we have received mercy for this reason, that in us, as in you, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who are to believe in Him for eternal life.
Sometimes, on our better days, we can almost see Him. At those times, it is as if the vertical blinds of heaven tilt ever so slightly, and we catch a glimpse of the glory that awaits… Oh my!
Our word to you? Stay faithful – stay true – keep swimming!
And remember… “Hold on to what you have” for He is coming!
“Now unto the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
Amen…”
