October is calling...

​And he that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” – Revelation 21:5
 
October is beckoning to you. Some of you hear the siren call of pumpkin spiced latte’s and candy corn. Others hear the voices of sports fans at the height of football season and the culmination of the baseball playoffs. Others hear the early and overplayed holiday music while you are still looking for decorations of orange and black, pumpkins and turkeys, corn husks and cobwebs.

For us in the north country, it calls to us with a voice that may seem different, unnoticed, undesired. A call of the sleep that is coming. A falling of leaves to the ground as trees give up their fruit to await another day and time. A calling of color to prepare us for some silence. For some cold. For extended darkness and waiting. A repose of the world, awaiting the snow as it’s blanket until warmth may come again.
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October is that place to hear the voice of God speaking through his creation of the newness that will come eventually, but until then there is a sleep that is to be anticipated. A voice speaking through all that is around you to tell you of the wait that is in store for new things. Living things. Better things.

October is a season and time to enjoy the transformation of all God has made, but to be reminded of the goodness of God in the work of his Word. A Word that spoke light into being and created all that exists. A Word that still speaks to you to call your heart and soul into being, as a child of God made for his glory, birthed from the dust, and made alive in the Spirit. A Word that holds two notes – death and resurrection. A dying of the old self and a making of the new self, all captured by the Word of God. As the leaves fall to the ground, so will we all (ashes to ashes and dust to dust) but with that sleep of death comes life eternal with a New Jerusalem, a new creation, a new heaven and earth.

As the month moves ahead, I ask you to consider all the opportunities to hear this Word to you - our weekly services, at confirmation, Bible studies, and circles. All of these are places to make sense of the world that sees leaves change and fall, snow come, darkness to follow, and a waiting for the newness of vegetation and light. In hearing God speak to you, you are able to see that in the darkest of days, your Savior comes to you as a baby in a manger. The winter months become long, but the pictures of fields as white as snow can tell you of the God who makes scarlet sins as white as those. Then, once the winters long nights have ended, here comes the Savior in Word and work to die on a cross only to be raised for your redemption. A Word spoken to you, promises made and decisions that are done in Jesus for you that have symbols and signs in this world that you might see a God who can speak to you. A God who calls to you, even in leaves and lack of light, to show forth his grace and favor. A God who calls saying – I make all things new.
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