MENUMENU
  • New to Wesley?
  • About
        • Staff
          • Our Wesley Staff
        • Leadership Teams
          • Leadership Teams
        • Our History
          • Our Church History
        • From Pastor
          • Pastor Candy’s Devotionals
          • This Week's Message
  • Ministries
    • Women of Wesley
      • Prayer Shawl
    • Church Library
    • Homeless Ministries
      • Update
      • Sleeping Mat
    • Handbell Choirs
    • Backpack Program 2022
      • FAQ
      • Supplies
    • Prayer
      • Prayer
    • Mission Central
      • Mission Central
    • Care Groups
      • Cancer Support
    • Youth Ministry
      • Youth Group
    • Our Community
      • Outreach Depot
      • Community Garden
      • Food Bank
    • Special Mission
      • TEACH Rwanda
    • Trustee Talk
  • Enews
  • Give
  • Children's Ministry
  • Contact

Daily Devotional April 3

22 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, 24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27 So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them. -Numbers 6:22-27

“The Lord bless you and keep you,” Grandpa said. “The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

They’re the words of blessing that my grandfather spoke every Sunday morning at the end of Sunday School. While my cousins and I were in our Sunday School classes, Grandpa led the adult Sunday School lesson. As a child, I never gave much thought to what the grown-ups were studying out in the sanctuary — though I’m told that most of the lessons involved an exploration of the relationship between the gospel and antique cars. (My grandfather has a unique ability to relate anything to antique cars.) At the end of our Sunday School lessons, the kids would join the adults in the sanctuary, we’d sing three verses of a hymn (first, second, and last verse, always), and then Grandpa would end the Sunday School hour with words of blessing. 

“The Lord bless you and keep you,” Grandpa said, week after week. “The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Confession time, church: it took me years to realize that these words of blessing came from the Bible. I didn’t know they were God’s words… I just thought they were Grandpa’s words. Grandpa was the one who spoke them every Sunday morning. Naturally, I thought Grandpa made them up.

I learned them not by reading the scriptures, but by hearing them week after week, season after season, year after year. (Even now, when I read through the book of Numbers and come across these words, I hear my grandfather’s voice in my mind’s ear.) And while I tend to be more of a  visual learner, a person who learns by seeing and reading… I find it’s the things I’ve heard, over and over, that are most ingrained in me. These words of blessing have been in my mind and at my fingertips for as long as I can remember… for longer than I’ve known what words like “gracious” or “countenance” even mean. Thanks to Grandpa, I’ve never had to search for words of blessing. They’ve always been there, always at the ready.

At the end of my Zoom Bible study this week, in place of a closing prayer, I offered these words of blessing from the book of Numbers, from God and Moses, from my Grandpa, from my childhood: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

We’re living in a hard time, friends. It’s a time in which the people around us may need a word of blessing. But it’s also a time in which we ourselves might be struggling, might not have a spare syllable of blessing to offer, especially in our darker moments. How do we offer blessing in the moments when we’re not really feeling it?

How? These words, for a start. I offer you these words. Claim them as your own. Repeat them to yourself, over and over. Keep them at the ready. And at some moment, a moment the Spirit provides, may you offer them to someone else. “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” As people blessing people, be ready to offer that blessing to others.

Remember, friends:

Our God is bigger than coronavirus. 
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too. 
We are people blessing people. 
We are Wesley Church.   

Blessings,

Pastor Candy


Want to know more?

  • Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
  • Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
  • View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/ 
  • View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/

Sunday June 26, 2022

Masking will remain optional at Wesley Church

In order to help you make an informed decision about your own mitigation practices, Wesley Church will share our county’s updated risk category and the CDC’s corresponding guidelines in each edition of our weekly enews.
We are currently in the “high risk” category. The CDC guidelines for the “high” category are:

   Wear a mask indoors in public

   Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines   

   Get tested if you have symptoms

   Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness

For more information, visit cdc.gov 

Click to learn more

Join Our Facebook Page

Facebook

Today’s Community Connections

  • If you are interested in providing fresh flowers for worship, please sign up at the Connections Corner table.
  • Feel like you missed something? The Connections Corner table can help. Head across the atrium and get the information you need just under the tv monitor.
  • Don’t receive our Weekly Enews? Please email Pastor Candy at: pastorcandy@wesleychurch.com to get on the list! Or sign up at the Connections Corner table.
  • Do you enjoy being creative with pictures and video?  Do you like telling a story through images?  We are looking for people who enjoy making videos, who can use technology to help represent some of the music we use in worship, and possibly other parts of the worship service such as announcements, testimonies, and more.  If this interests or excites you, please see Becky Graybeal for more details and to get plugged in!

Wesley’s Twitter

Tweets by @Wesley_Church

Wesley Ministries

Outreach Depot
Wesley Garden
Backpack Program

Church Disciples

TEACH Rwanda
PreSchool
Church Library

Please follow us

Facebook
Twitter

Please
Reach Out
to Us

Please send Corrections and Comments to Wesley Webmaster