It is tough starting a new week. After
a weekend of relaxation and praising the Lord, suddenly you find yourself
surrounded by the world and it is not a pretty picture, or an easy situation.
Yesterday, I was between worship and
the reality of the weekend almost being over.
My sermon was drawn from the Genesis
account of Noah and the flood coupled with the Mark account of Jesus' baptism
and I Peter's reflection on baptism.
I no sooner came home than I checked
into Mozambique to see how that country was faring in the wake of the massive
flood devastation it suffered.
Past, present and future all came
together for me. How God can use water in so many ways. First as an agent of
destruction for sin, and then as an outward sign of an inner grace, a
precursor of the cleansing of our sin.
The death toll in Mozambique is nearly
up to 500 lives. It could have been more. In a world of sin, we all could have
been washed away. But God made a covenant with us he would never do that
again. And now, through the blood of His son Jesus Christ, we all are washed
cleaner than even the most pure spring waters could achieve.
In Mozambique, God did not destroy, He
saved. Thousands of lives could have been lost, but God saved them all. Some
literally, plucking some of His children from the swirling waters, and some
eternally, when He brought some of them home with Him.
We can still extend our help to those
most devastated by the floods in Mozambique.
Bishop William DeVeaux will be going
to Mozambique shortly. It is in his Episcopal District. Let's not send him
there empty handed. Let your pocket show your brothers and sisters in
Mozambique where your heart is.
You can get the relief fund address
and current information at A.M.E. Today (http://www.ame-today.com) but if you do not get a chance to
wander the web today, do not let that stop your giving. The mailing address
for the relief fund is:
The 18th District Mozambique Relief
Fund,
8860 Woodland Drive,
Silver Spring, Md 20910
