Welcome to fall!  As I write this, it is pouring rain…finally.  Many of us have been praying for the fall rains to start in the Northwest as so many have been suffering from the wildfires this fall. 

Psalm 147: 8 says,

“He [God] covers the sky with clouds;
    he supplies the earth with rain
    and makes grass grow on the hills.”

Truly, rain is a blessing from God, something He causes to fall on the “righteous and the unrighteous” (Mt. 5:45).  And God certainly knows that our nation and the Pacific Northwest is filled with both the righteous and the unrighteous.  The goodness of God falls undeservingly on both of us.  As a result, the righteous are also called to bless and show kindness to the unrighteous as a reflection of the nature of Jesus Christ at work in and around us.  

Even as I praise God for the rain today, I know that it comes at an inconvenient time for several of our men who are lovingly serving someone else today by cleaning out their renter-junked-up yard.  I’m sure the rain is making this already somewhat unpleasant act of service just that much more unpleasant.  So, THANK YOU, brothers, for pressing forward with this unpleasant task at an unpleasant time just because you love our Lord Jesus and His people.  We are all blessed by your faithfulness.

Isn’t this really how life is?  It comes as a mixture of blessings and unpleasantries, joys and sufferings.   The challenge is to embrace all of it in a way that brings honor to the Lord who is allowing…and walking with us through…all of it.  That’s what Romans 8 is going to address with us this Sunday.  If you find your life a mixture of trials and blessings, God has a message for you this weekend.  I encourage you not to miss it.

Speaking of this weekend, MEN, don’t forget tomorrow’s Men’s Breakfast at the HUB at 8:00 a.m.  Yes, we’ll have the same great bacon, pancakes and scrambled eggs as usual.  And our own Kevin Gill will be sharing the Word with us as we experience fellowship God offers each of us as we experience being brothers in spiritual arms. 

Finally, if you have found yourself concerned with the direction and events of our nation of late, let me invite you to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT…tomorrow.  From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., churches of Spokane and North Idaho are inviting us to join them at the Stateline Speedway for a prayer celebration for repentance and spiritual renewal.  So grab your umbrella and seat cushion, pick up a few friends and family members and come on out to pray for our nation.  This local two-hour event is timed to coincide with The Return national prayer event tonight and tomorrow in Washington, D.C. (which some of our own Mosaic family is attending this weekend in person).  You can watch the national event live-streamed from D.C. by going to www.thereturn.org and you can join us in person tomorrow.  Here is the summary about tomorrow:

When:  September 26, 2020 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Where: Stateline Speedway, 1349 N. Beck Rd, Post Falls, Idaho

Why:    National healing begins with our sincere prayer and personal repentance.

What will happen at the event? A call for repentance using worship, prayer, and messages of encouragement brought by local pastors: John Repsold, Tim Remington, Jonathan (JO) Owens, and Carl Hampsch.

Who should come? You! Anyone interested in hope, healing, renewal, repentance and revival.

May this fall bring the greatest spiritual awakening and revival any of us have seen in our lifetimes.  “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on…us!” 

Prayerfully,

Pastor John