Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoicing may be a bit challenging this year for our schools’ 8th grade graduates and graduates of Concordia Lutheran High School. “Happy graduation” greetings are a bit tempered as they are not in person...no, Zoom doesn’t quite cut it!
But we are sharing greetings for all our graduates, and this post shares those greetings in two ways.
First, check out the greetings from 4 of our area state legislators. Each of them, Senator Kruse, Senator Brown, Senator Busche and Representative Carbaugh, have fondness for Christian education. They love their Lord and it shows in how they go about their work in Indianapolis. I hope these messages encourage and give a bit of “special” to graduating in 2020- especially in light of all that has happened (or not happened) in the past three months)
Secondly, this year’s Lutheran Schools’ theme verses from 1 Thessalonians share some good advice - advice for now and the future.
- Rejoice - Yes, you can! However, if you think about disappointments, it's going to be tough. Instead, always, always, always remember the certainty of Jesus' life, death and resurrection and then the occurrences of this world pale in comparison.
- Pray - Praying helps us stay in a constant connection with Jesus and makes sure we are walking with him. Pray, pray, pray.
- Give thanks - Not too long ago, I was with a group that gave thanks for COVID19. Why? Because the leader knew giving thanks for all things made him keep looking for how Jesus would bless him- even through such disappointing times. So, be sure to give thanks... alot...and regularly,
- Encourage - Be an encourager...just as you know how much you enjoy encouragement.
- Discipline (verb)- What healthy habit(s) did you add this year? We have a lot of different time lately. Setting up healthy and productive habits will make for a healthy and productive future.
And “may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
