Finishing Well

 Greetings! May the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, comfort each us in all our troubles, that we may be able to comfort others who are in any trouble, by the comfort which we ourselves have received of God (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

The Apostle Paul gave profound testimony of spiritual victory as he saw the day of his martyrdom approaching: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). This, of course, was a Holy Spirit inspired testimony of the abounding victorious power of God’s amazing grace! Though the context of Paul’s testimony was the imminent end of his earthly sojourn, it certainly does not mean that we cannot apply this conviction to many of life’s milestones. God’s grace is able to cause us to be spiritually effective throughout all of our walk with Him. Let us continue to walk in and anticipate Heaven’s supply as we serve our King!

The past two Sundays I have had the privilege of worshiping with our Gaylord Church. There was a precious sense of God’s comfort and sustaining grace as we grieved together in the passing of Michael Hoult. Please continue to keep Pastor Mark and Brenda Hoult and our Gaylord Church in prayer as they journey this hard road together.

Following are some other urgent prayer needs across our district. Please keep each of these special concerns in your prayers.

• Please remember Rev. Ross and Judy Corne in your prayers. Rev. Ross Corne’s son passed away last week. He was 58.
• Please pray for Rev. Bryan and Dorcus Cheever, pastoral family at our Boyne City congregation. Dorcus underwent cancer surgery last Friday. The surgery went well and we are awaiting the pathology report to determine if further treatment is needed.
• Please pray for Rev. Sam and Corliss Blakely, pastoral family at our Oscoda Church. Corliss underwent knee replacement surgery last week. The surgery went well and she has been able to return home. However, she suffered a fall this morning and has had bouts of dizziness.
• Please pray for our pastors and church leaders as they prepare for the year end reporting, etc.

These are exciting days in Kingdom service for our Lord. Remember our Lord’s command to His servants: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

In Our Savior’s Service Together!
Rev. Dan Gilmore