LOVE, SHARE and SERVE in CHRIST
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Message from Mary.... This is the first time in over twenty-five years that I have not attended the Triennial Gathering of the Women of the ELCA. I was really feeling left out until I discovered I could be virtual part of the Gathering as it was streamed live on facebook. It allowed me to hear Bishop Mark Hanson’s address live. Bishop Hanson closed his presentation by saying that sometimes the acronym ELCA might also stand for Expectations Low Climbing Anxiety. He reminded us again that the focus of our ministry together must focus, not on the differences, but on our commonalities. He encouraged us have “High Expectations” of the Holy Spirit.
From”How Great is
Our God” Louie talks about how inconceivably BIG our God is.... How He spoke the universe into being... How He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire... etc., etc. He then talks about how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. He goes on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart....how our loving Creator is also our sustainer. Do you know what laminin is? Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see....Laminins are what hold us together..... LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. But the most spectacular thing about these laminins is what they LOOK LIKE. |
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Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it.... If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...
Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing. The glue that holds us together.... ALL of us... Is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind. 'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him, all things HOLD TOGETHER.' Colossians 1:15-17 Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... One cell to another... By the cross. You can never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!! *The "Laminin" clip from his message "How Great Is Our God" has been viewed over 3 million times on YouTube alone. Grace and Peace, ME |
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