As a youth I had many opportunities to go into our Church sanctuary and find the Power of faith waiting there for me. What I remember finding was the Holy aroma of faith lived out in dutiful lives committed to Jesus. Back then our Church congregation would fill the huge sanctuary twice on Sunday mornings. And the congregational singing was glorious!
For Sunday lunch my family of five would drive up into the foothills of Sandia mountain in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to cook beans and hotdogs over an open fire and then we'd hike together all afternoon.
On Sunday evenings we'd pick up other kids on our way back to Church. When we, the youth, met for fellowship on Sunday nights, the Church basement reverberated with loud laughter, smelled of delicious chili suppers cooked by Marcella, and we were delighted to team up into groups to learn and discuss Biblical applications of how to put the Power of faith into action.
The Power of faith was practiced in loving each other and accepting each other into our community of faith. Very little meanness went on. Meanness just wasn't tolerated and we were shown ways to get along and how to appreciate each other. Appreciation is a choice.
Like back then, the Power of faith binds our lives together today-- whether we've known each other a long time or haven't spent much time together at all. For, it is the Power of faith that enables our dutiful lives-- to seek after God through Christ and each time find.
The Lord looks down from Heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God. Psalm 14:2
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