Words from Rev Marc Fraser
April 2025
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
Psalm 125:1
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” is a quote by John Lennon. This quote has been changed and modified over the years but the core theme of the quote has largely been maintained. Life is a daily experience even if we are looking forward to other bigger things. This is true in the positive and the negative. When we are sick, we look toward being home and healthy. When we are on holiday, we dread going back to “life”, or our average daily activities. But if John Lennon wanted us to focus on the daily act of living, can we look toward another John on how to fill our days with living?
John son of Zebbee was the last disciple of Jesus Christ. John ended his life living in Ephesus far from his first home on the shores of the lake of Galilee. He saw the crucifixion, the resurrection, and coming of the Holy Spirit. John saw Jesus walk on water, transfiguration and feed the multitudes. John was one of the first disciples and was the last disciple living. John preached the Good News for over 33 years after the Easter resurrection. At the end of his days he proclaimed the love of God as he witnessed walking with Jesus Christ.
Disciple John continually maintained the message of faithfully living with God to enrich our lives. To be the miracle Jesus has redeemed and allow the wonder of life as a Spirit touched child of our Heavenly Father. For your daily life is a blessing to God, worthy of all praise and prayer. So do not be afraid to live life daily and do not allow the future to be clouded by dreams, or fears but in the faithfulness of journey with God alone. Here are words from another John to inspire your day. “Let me do all the good I can, to all the people I can, as often as I can, for I shall not pass this way again.” John Wesley.
Blessings
Rev Marc
March 2025
A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Isaiah 40:3
On March 5th we will be on the Lenten journey with the celebration of
Ash Wednesday. Following the example of our Lord Jesus, we turn our
face toward Jerusalem and the events of Holy Week. Lenten is a time for
each of us to look inside our soul, heart and life to prepare for the
sacrifice of our Lord and the wonder of Easter yet how are we to
accomplish our preparation?
A voice calls for us to make the path straight but do we know the way?
If we know the way, do we know the journey’s end? Do we recognize
that we are all at different parts of the path? To you it may not seem
so straight and narrow in the desert wilderness and we may find
ourselves abiding within the great unknown but the Lenten season bids
us to look toward Jerusalem and see what God has done.
Why do we start at Jerusalem? Jerusalem is the city of sacrifice, the city
of the temple and the city where the Messiah comes riding toward the
fulfillment of prophecy. We all need to be helped, healed and forgiving
through the sacrificial Lamb of God. We lay in the ashes of our sin, and
are touched by death’s hand. Yet greater still is the grace of Easter and
the cross at Golgotha. Lenten is about God’s love poured out for you,
and Jesus Chrsit who died for you and me.
Walk the journey with the knowledge that many others walk with you.
We are not alone! We do not struggle forward alone. God abides with
you, the Father’s hand is upon your head, the Son is asking always for
you to “follow me” and the Holy Spirit comforts and equips you to
accomplish the way through any desert you face. You are also
surrounded by the saints in heaven cheering you on, and blessed by
those surrounding you in the fellowship of the church. To be in Christ is
to never be alone nor lost. We walk in faith, hope, and love of God.
Lenten is a time to be intentional about walking with God and to see,
with wonder, the way back to the New Jerusalem. We make the way to
Easter with humbleness, prayerful reflection, and open heart to hear the
voice of Jesus leading us forward. Oh people of faith, make straight the
path, and turn your face toward Jerusalem once again for your faith is
realised and the ending is lifegiving.
Blessings
Rev Marc
February 2025
On January 20th the United States celebrated one of their greatest political and religious influencers, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Though this day of remembrance was overshadowed by other political events, the words and actions of Rev. Dr. King still resound around the world, that he had a dream:
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. (August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C.)
On February 14th we celebrate another political and religious figure that is also overshadowed by cultural events, St Valentine. A doctor turned priest who lived in Italy and who was put to death February 14, 270. Valentine’s crimes were many: marrying couples after the Emperor banned marriages, asking the Emperor to trust in God and not giving up his own faith in Jesus. One of his final acts was to send a letter to a young girl who he was educating because she was blind. He signed it “from your Valentine”.
On March 17th we again look to a past saint to mark our calendar with celebration, St Patrick. Again we miss the mark on Patrick’s mission and reason for the holiday. Before the green beer there was a man of doubt who set out to bring Christianity to the land and people that had held him as a slave. So in 432 Patrick set out for Ireland with a dream:
My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers…May none of them ever say that whatever little I did or made known to please God was done through ignorance. Instead, you can judge and believe in all truth that it was a gift of God. This is my confession before I die. (confessions)
Leave room in your life for God to call you to do the seemingly impossible. Follow the dream God gives to you through the Holy Spirit. Trust and do not fear God is with you, and God has already called you His saint:
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:2-3
Blessings
Rev Marc
December 2024
What a different Christmas season we are having this year! I have not received any cards of Advent joy. Like so many things in our lives, we do not miss them until they are no longer arriving. In the past, my wife and I have hung up Christmas cards over windows and doorways as they arrived. The cards we did not open the week of Christmas we would place, carefully, into the tree to open together on Christmas day. Yet this year we do not have that traditional family event to look forward to. I am missing receiving those cards for an opportunity to read the letters of the past year, the ever changing list of names in the cards and the beautiful pictures covering the card’s face. Something is missing in the season of family and friends when there are no Christmas cards to joyfully open.
So what should we replace the Christmas cards of this season with as our tradition this year? Well we can email a Christmas card which is always a delight to receive in my inbox. If you are so blessed you can hand deliver your Christmas cards and be welcomed into another’s Christmas preparations. For those living farther away and it is not possible to reach out, what should we do?
Here are the words of Ephesians 6:18 for you to consider: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” I would ask for you to consider the gift of prayer and reach out through God. I would encourage you to take the list of friends and family that you can not send a card to into a quiet space in your life.
Then, in the quiet space lift up their name to God for the Lord to bless them in the upcoming year. We will not know what this year will bring to them, yet, by asking God to be working into them His good work, we are giving a wonderful Christmas gift. To those not receiving a card, and to those who will, lift them up to God. The vignette of this life will be touched by Jesus through your asking, in ways you will never know. So in the midst of the post office strike send a prayer in place of a card and ask for those most dear to you to have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. As I ask the same to all of you and yours reach the blessing of God and the life found in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Blessings
Rev Marc
November 2024
Time of challenges
I have learned in my ministry that tough times come! They always seem like unending storms. That being said, I have seen how God works within these times to guide His people into a new day. I hope my reflections can help you and your family walking through whatever storms come or may arise in your tomorrows. Here is what I have learned.
Jonah in the whale, Esther in fasting, and Jesus in the tomb; what do they all have in common? In three days God revealed His loving work. God meets us on the unplanned trials of loss, accidents and tragic news. The time of sudden emotions, quick planning and shock, for lack of a better word, the “storm”. God holds us as we come to grips with the unexpected storm. The bible reminds us in stormy moments to rely on God and to seek Him with consistent prayer. The prophet Jermiah wrote “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” For when we do not know what tomorrow will bring and today is too much to carry, resting in the arms of God is our calm center even in the darkness nights. God sees us through. God keeps loving us into Himself.
In my ministry I have walked with many people facing long struggles and their daunting task is to live in the unending moment. From long illness, the loss of family, or mental health struggles the question arises, “how do I live forward from this moment?” I have been a witness to how God plans for our tomorrow and over time guides us into a new way of living. I tell people, “plan for six months to walk with God.” Give time for your heart to be strengthened, and your footsteps to lead you onto a new path in your life. God will be your guide, in fact Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will be alive and working in your life. John 16:13-14 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.” It is hard but give the Holy Spirit time to work and speak into your life.
The final advice, from my journey with God, is to remember the Sabbath! When my grandfather died on Saturday, we went to church as a family on Sunday (it was Easter). When my mother was going into surgery we went to church even though there were tears falling on the hymnbook. There has been healing in my life when I stand with other Christians at the foot of the cross. When we feel swept away by life’s waves it is in those moments when we need to ground ourselves in God. We should not distance ourselves from being together, even if we cry or can not give voice to praise, for God’s people strengthen each other in our worship. When we gather we can lay down our burdens before God. In worship we can become open to the Voice of God speaking, guiding, and loving us into our tomorrows. In worship we are not alone in the storm!
Blessings
Rev Marc
October 2024
Thankfulness
God is thankful for you! How strange does that sound? Little old you and me, just as we sit here today, are divinely blessed and held. How do I know this wondrous fact? Please let me explain. In your beginning God knows you. As the Psalmist writes, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that fully well.” (Psalm 139:13-15) Jesus echoes this knowledge of God in His calling to Nathanael. “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you. ”Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” (John 1: 47-50) God knows you, even if you hide things from God you are known. God is not shocked by you, though God wants you to be shocked by His
commitment to knowing you.
So then what does God do with this knowledge of you? Does God only care for the best of you, part of the whole? No, God loves you completely. When Jesus was praying to the Father the night before Good Friday’s events, He asked, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.” (John 17:24-25) Jesus also
reminded the disciples of the completeness of His work in and through them. He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24: 44-47) With the fullness of God’s Word, covenant and grace resting on you, do you now understand the fullness of God’s love for you? Do not doubt the commitment your Creator has for you to be with Him.
So I return to the first point of God being thankful for you. You are His, and His alone, all of scripture tells the story of God walking and loving His people, and this includes you. Too often we forget what we are loved and cherished by God. Yet Jesus tells His followers just how long God’s love is, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 20) No matter how you feel about God, let these words remind you and all those around you how God feels about you. God is thankful for you, for you are ”wonderfully made”.
Blessings
Rev Marc
September 2024
You mortals, the Lord has told you what is good. This is what the Lord
requires from you: to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to live humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
What does the Lord require?
In scripture, the fact is God acts first in the world. In Genesis God literally acted first by the act of creation itself, “In the beginning…” Within the rest of the biblical narrative, this divine principal actor continues to lead the dance of history. Before Abraham was given the first covenant, God called Abram to leave his home to undertake an unmarked journey into an unknown land. Before Moses commanded “Let my people go!” God spoke words from the fire which nec tamen consumebatur (translation: it was however consumed). Before David faced down the giant, God guided this young boy in slaying lions and wolves as a shepherd. God acted first, before humanity even knew the
need before us.
In our lives the same is true today. The Father has acted first through the ministry for the Son and in the moving of the Holy Spirit. God loves you, saves you, abides with you and calls you, His children. God has done all these things before you read a letter of scripture! A powerful image of God’s action is taken from Psalm 91″ whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” As God does all these things and so much
more, what then is required of us to follow?
The short answer to this question is, we are required to trust in God and live out God’s love poured into you. This short answer takes a lifetime to undertake, and all the gifts given by the Holy Spirit to live out. God’s plan for you is to lead you into His Kingdom and to use your life as “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:32) In short, trust and rely on God, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Blessings
Rev Marc
June 2024
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the
smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants
and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
Matthew 13: 31-32
It is never too late to plant a seed in the soil. The crop may not sprout when others do, or the harvest may be greater or lesser, but still plant to see what God has realised for the future. When we fail to plant we will not see the yield. Now is the time for us to plant as a congregation. But what will we lay in the soil of Mitchell, or better yet, what will God ask us to put into the hearts of the people of Mitchell? The short answer is that we are asked to plant the gospel,
namely that God loves us all and sent His Son to save everyone. So, where is the need for the gospel that you are witness to in our community? Where do individuals need to be loved? Who are the unloved, and overlooked? Where are the broken and the needy of grace in the name God?
The long answer is that there are many in need and sometimes things seem too big even for our congregation to help. So let us break it down-first, where do you see the need? Together we can move mountains, we can be a tree the birds in the air can rest on, but first we need to know where to plant and how far to move the mountain. Send me your thoughts, reflections, and vision for where the grace of God is needed in our community. We may not do everything but we can start to plant a seed together.
Blessings
Rev Marc