Salt Bay Reflections

     Friday I had the opportunity to act upon an invitation by a brother named Chuck to spend part of a weekend with him and some Canadian saints seeking the Lord Jesus in a cottage on a bay of the Atlantic in Maine. Long drive with the last twenty-five miles harder than the previous 225. By 4PM I had pulled into the driveway to spend the next hour and a half watching the tide roll in. Nearly imperceptible at first, it gradually changed until the waves were actually curling and crashing down on the outcrops of stone. After a lifetime of usually stress filled work, I am thankful to have time to reflect on the God's creation.
    Chuck, Mike, and his wife Anne pulled in about ten. We spoke quite awhile until I finally called it quits about midnight. They are seasoned saints, people who have walked with Christ for decades, experienced the vicissitudes of triumph and failure, and kept on following Jesus. We prayed and spoke, reminisced and encouraged. Saturday morning took one of the most pleasant walks I have ever had.
     One of the more memorable discussions that Chuck & I had centered around the need to have Christ's compassion for those who are perishing without Him. I had prayed for this years earlier when He showed me that I didn't have that compassion. I thank God for using Chuck to remind me to keep praying for His heart for the lost. Saturday evening Chuck patched in a sister named Val on a conference call, and we spoke about what we were all sensing on the horizon- a collapse and resultant devastation of the US & world economic and political systems. I believe God is saying to "prepare," not so much physically or materially but spiritually in joyful welcome of those who will be desperate in that scenario.
     Got up at 4:44 Sunday morning, and drove South to participate in our monthly Celebration outreach, which begins with at least an hour of prayer. JR, Mary, Adele & Jose helped facilitate worship, and we had visitors from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and Brazil. Met a brother named Trent, whom I had heard much good about, and his family. His appearance and exuberance brought back memories of the Jesus People days. Our brother Matt preached the love of God powerfully with translation into Portuguese by JR and Belle.
     Coming home I received a call from a veteran of the Cross named Doug. We find great joy in God's painstaking work in us over many years to bring us to a place of humility where we can finally give from what God has revealed to us.