The Beacon
Blue Mound UMC MARCH 2023
Springtime is a time for new beginnings. It feels like the world starts to wake back up after wintertime. Gradually, things begin to green back up, and the sun shines a little brighter for a little longer. It’s the perfect time to do a little spring cleaning. When we think of spring cleaning, we usually think of things we need to do around our homes. The windows need washing, the garage could use a good cleaning, and the gutters need to be cleared before the heavy rain starts. I like to use this time to do some spring cleaning in my daily life too. What have I been doing that makes me feel resentful? What could I do to change that? What have I been doing that puts me in a place to be more loving to those around me? How do I do more of that?
Let’s get cleaning! Karan Muns
What Is Salvation? (Part Two)
Sometimes we talk about salvation in terms of God’s grace. Grace is simply God’s gift – it cannot be earned, but it’s something God gives to us freely out of love. One way we talk about God’s grace is as prevenient grace. Prevenient grace is the grace that goes before. Before we ever reach out to God, God reaches out to us. The Holy Spirit draws us to God, calling us into a loving, life-giving relationship with God, and creating within us a desire to know and love God. Unfortunately, people often stifle these desires, and soon forget that they were ever there. God does not force us into belief or faith. We have a choice to accept or reject the Holy Spirit’s prompting.
Saying yes to the Holy Spirit means we repent of our old way of living and accept God’s new ways of living. The word repent means not just feeling sorry for what we’ve done but orienting our lives toward God’s purposes.
God’s call on our lives demands a response. We can say yes to God, accept the salvation that we have through Jesus Christ, or we can say no to God and go on about our business. When we repent, when we say yes to God, we receive God’s justifying grace. The word justification means that God forgives all our sin and that we have full acceptance from God. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done in the past, no matter how badly you may think you have lived, God forgives you, and God accepts you.
If we say yes to God at the same time that we receive justifying grace, we also begin to receive God’s sanctifying grace. Sometimes we refer to this as being born again. Sanctifying is the work of the Holy Spirit that changes us from the inside out. We are made new by the Holy Spirit. You begin to become a new kind of person, with different ideas, wishes, hopes, and goals. This is what we mean when we talk about holiness. God changes us, giving us hearts and minds that naturally do God’s will, instead of rebelling against it.
This process of sanctification, this process of becoming holier, is a gradual process. We grow in the faith. We grow in our love for God, our understanding of God and the Christian life, our desire to live as God would have us live, and our ability to live in that way. The goal is that our will becomes one with God’s.
With God’s help, we can reach a point whereby we no longer sin intentionally. This is called Christian perfection of entire sanctification. The Holy Spirit can work within us to such an extent that we no longer willfully sin. Our wills align with God’s will. We should have faith in God and fully expect that the Holy Spirit will work this miracle within each of us who puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ.
I pray that you may come to understand and believe more and more with each passing day, just how special and loved by God you are!
Peace be with you, Buster
Celebrations
Birthday
08 Lydia Schertz
12 Teddy Reynolds
14 Reese Haisler
16 John Stenger
18 Carroll Barnett
22 Pat Allen
23 Aaron Klein
29 Jesse Miller
Michele Regan-Leaupepe
30 Vince Haisler
31 Elizabeth Snapp
Anniversary
08 Kelsy and Chaunsey Digby
28 Danny and Sandra Schertz
Jean Joins Our Blue Mound Family
March Calendar
05 Holy Communion
12 Second Sunday Lunch, Noon
Daylight Saving Time Begins
17 St. Patrick’s Day
20 First Day of Spring
25 Family Fellowship Night, 6:00 pm Fun, Games, and Food.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study each week 10 a.m.
Seekers Sunday Bible Study: 9:30 am, Sunday Worship: 10:45 am
Keep in Touch, Many More Things are Happening.
Saturday Night, March 11,
Don’t Forget to set your clocks one hour ahead.
BLUE MOUND UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
8421 N. Interstate 35, Denton, TX 76207-1537 940) 382-0825
Midway between Denton and Sanger at Exit 473
Sunday School: 9:30 am, Sunday Worship: 10:45 am
Website: www.bluemoundumc.org
Linda Boyer, Newsletter Editor
Need to contact Pastor Buster Noah?
Email: pastor@bluemoundumc.org
