In The Wilderness
We heard a great message from Kacie Stratton, Executive Director of Harbor House Ministries yesterday. Kacie shared her testimony of how God called her into the ministry of helping those in need at a young age which eventually prepared her for her challenging role at Harbor House. Kacie shared that when God enters your heart God opens your eyes to the suffering in the world and the needs of others around you. God then draws us toward those who are suffering and equips us and works through us to meet the needs of the many who are suffering. Kacie expressed her deep appreciation for the support of PBPC and encouraged the church to continue to support this important ministry to so many families in need here in Oakland.
I have been traveling the past several weeks to various locations in California, Utah, Arizona, and Wisconsin visiting family and friends and several National Parks. I spent many a day hiking through wilderness areas throughout the Southwest and was reminded of Christ's time in the wilderness where he was tempted by the evil one. Sometimes God takes us through these desert experiences in our life where we feel a spiritual emptiness and an absence of God in our life. In spiritual life, a desert experience is the feeling of inner emptiness that comes from being somehow cut off from the Divine presence we long for. God allows these seasons in our life for a reason and this coming Sunday we will look at how we navigate through these wilderness experiences as we learn, grow, and spiritually mature from them. Our scripture for this coming Sunday is Luke 4:1-13.