*Photo: Houlton Riverfront Park (January 2024)
Peace to you.
I once heard a story about a young man who was struggling. He had come to faith in Christ, but he just found himself drifting away, drifting in doubts and difficulties and losing his faith. And he went to see a wise older man, who lived in a cottage, and there was a fire, a coal fire. This young man told the older man about what was going on in his life. The older man didn’t say anything. But he just went to the fire and he took a red-hot coal, with tongs, out of the fire, and he put it on the hearth. And as the young man talked, he just allowed that coal to go from red-hot to black, dark. And then he got the tongs again and he put the coal back in the fire, and within a few minutes, the coal was red-hot again. He didn’t need to say anything. The young man left knowing exactly why his faith had gone dull (Alpha Course, “What About the Church?”).
I was the young man. There was a time when I was struggling and drifting away from God and his church. It was summertime, but spiritually I was in the midst of the winter season - cold, dry, numb. There was a small group of people, patiently waiting, loving, and walking along with me. Slowly and steadily, I was eventually able to get back on the path again.
No matter where you are on life's journey, you are loved. You are welcome here in God's place. You are invited to join us for our worship service this Sunday. Hodgdon and Mars Hill church families gather at 9 am, and the Houlton family at 11 am. You can also worship with us online via the church's Facebook Live:
- Hodgdon UMC
- Houlton UMC: YouTube I Facebook
- Mars Hill UMC
May God bless you and keep you. God's sustaining grace be with you each day.
In Christ,
Pastor Victor
Pastor Victor
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