Happy Sabbath
Dear Friends,
Welcome back! I hope that y’all had an incredible feast like mine. We had such amazing spiritual food, and I hope I will be able to what vision I achieved alive and bring it into more focus in my life. It was nice to spend time with my family, former ABC classmates, old friends, and many new friends. I really miss them all. I am incredibly thankful that I have not been quite as bombarded with work as I’m sure many of you have been. I still have plenty of work to do in the week ahead, but it is not nearly as bad as it could have been. Thank you to all who contributed to the great feast experience.
I’ve included below something I wrote earlier and posted online. Some of you probably already read it, but I felt it captured a part of my feast experience quite well.
Bend was gorgeous, with the mountains in the distance and clear weather for most of the week. Basically, the clouds cleared as we started the feast, and then started to roll in as we left. It was such a blessing, even though it got quite chilly at some points.
We had so many incredible messages, but the one that stood out to me the most and really made me think about my Christian life was Mr. Welch's sermon about the pearl of great price and being a living prayer. What have I done to buy the pearl of great price, which has so graciously been offered to me from a very early age. Yes, I have grown up in the church and tried to obey God, accepted Christ's sacrifice for me and been baptized, and even gone to ABC. But have I truely given up all I have to buy it? What does that mean, and how should this affect my life. The way Mr. Welch explained it is that some people may be required to give up everything, but even if not, I must be willing to give everything up, and use what I still have to be a blessing to others. The biggest point that stood out for me though was the idea that when I accept Christ's sacrifice and become baptized, I am no longer the old man, but am new and I belong to God. In order to become a living prayer or a living sacrifice, I must treat everything around me, including myself, as belonging to God, as it does. I need to treat everyone the way God wants me to treat them, kind of a step above the golden rule. :) I could go on and on, but that is what I got out of the message, though not the exact summary of what was said. I could also include many other incredible messages we received, but I won't right now. Never before has the kingdom felt so real to me nor have I felt the Holy Spirit give me excitement, peace, and joy when I so despirately needed it, even after all of the mistakes I made. Thanks for reading.
Lotsa Love,
Mary
Last Week’s Scripture: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Is. 11:9
Scripture of the Week: “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call and the LORD will answer; you shall cry and He will say, ‘Here I am.’”
Welcome back! I hope that y’all had an incredible feast like mine. We had such amazing spiritual food, and I hope I will be able to what vision I achieved alive and bring it into more focus in my life. It was nice to spend time with my family, former ABC classmates, old friends, and many new friends. I really miss them all. I am incredibly thankful that I have not been quite as bombarded with work as I’m sure many of you have been. I still have plenty of work to do in the week ahead, but it is not nearly as bad as it could have been. Thank you to all who contributed to the great feast experience.
I’ve included below something I wrote earlier and posted online. Some of you probably already read it, but I felt it captured a part of my feast experience quite well.
Bend was gorgeous, with the mountains in the distance and clear weather for most of the week. Basically, the clouds cleared as we started the feast, and then started to roll in as we left. It was such a blessing, even though it got quite chilly at some points.
We had so many incredible messages, but the one that stood out to me the most and really made me think about my Christian life was Mr. Welch's sermon about the pearl of great price and being a living prayer. What have I done to buy the pearl of great price, which has so graciously been offered to me from a very early age. Yes, I have grown up in the church and tried to obey God, accepted Christ's sacrifice for me and been baptized, and even gone to ABC. But have I truely given up all I have to buy it? What does that mean, and how should this affect my life. The way Mr. Welch explained it is that some people may be required to give up everything, but even if not, I must be willing to give everything up, and use what I still have to be a blessing to others. The biggest point that stood out for me though was the idea that when I accept Christ's sacrifice and become baptized, I am no longer the old man, but am new and I belong to God. In order to become a living prayer or a living sacrifice, I must treat everything around me, including myself, as belonging to God, as it does. I need to treat everyone the way God wants me to treat them, kind of a step above the golden rule. :) I could go on and on, but that is what I got out of the message, though not the exact summary of what was said. I could also include many other incredible messages we received, but I won't right now. Never before has the kingdom felt so real to me nor have I felt the Holy Spirit give me excitement, peace, and joy when I so despirately needed it, even after all of the mistakes I made. Thanks for reading.
Lotsa Love,
Mary
Last Week’s Scripture: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Is. 11:9
Scripture of the Week: “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call and the LORD will answer; you shall cry and He will say, ‘Here I am.’”