THE LAST NEWSLETTER EVER WRITTEN BY REVEREND B.J. WEBER
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God… - Matthew 6:33
Dear friends,
Recently I led a men’s retreat which was so inspiring, fun, joyful, with lots of honesty,
love, and seeking our Lord. The downside was that one guy brought Covid to the
retreat (not evident until the day after). Guess who was the receiver of that gift? Yep,
me. Covid hit me the day after I got home. I got pretty sick and was still in the middle of
various medical tests and treatments, so I wondered how long this old body is going to
keep bouncing back. I did test negative 5 days later, and fortunately Sheila stayed
healthy, even while caring for me.
Here are three things that come to my mind recently during my quest for continued life:
1)The power of Generosity. So many people have called, written, emailed, sent
support, and reminded me of the friendship we share in Christ. It has profoundly helped
me to be centered on grace. Your encouragement has deeply reminded me that our
Lord offers us forgiveness and an extraordinary sense of mercy. The generous spirit of
the Body of Christ is shown to be loving without expectations. This generosity from
friends like you has been very powerful and encouraging.
2) The power of Gratitude: Sheila and I have been in NYC for more than 40 years.
How in the world did that happen? We have had no denomination or any major
foundation backing us. Yet individuals and friends have given us the wherewithal to
serve Christ for a generation in NYC.The bottom line has been women and men who
have walked with us, loved us, and shared life, resources, time, family, homes, and
prayer. Our gratitude is almost beyond description; and our calling lies in the fulfilling of
God’s commitment to love and care for those in need. The New Fellowship has been
the founder of more than 30 different wonderful ministries during these last 40 years
(surprising stories are in our book FELLOWSHIP, on Amazon.) Many new stories are
still blooming. We have a big Gratitude List. I encourage you to write your own.
3) The Power of Grace. As you may have heard before, grace is defined as
“unmerited favor.” We do not deserve the Lord’s favor, yet He loves us, His children of
faith; and He chooses to bless us for His purposes. Our response is to be open to His
purposes and “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the
things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
With these ideas, I have one more that is most powerful. I was trying to make some
plans for the future, and was a bit anxious about time limitations I might have. Our
daughter, Rachel, sent Sheila and me a beautiful reflection on living one day at a time.
Let us remember that the life in which we ought to be interested is “daily life.” We can
each of us, only call the present time our own. Our Lord tells us to pray for today, and
so He prevents us from tormenting ourselves about tomorrow. It is as if God were to
say to us: “It is I who gives you this day and will also give you what you need for this
day. It is I who makes the sun to rise. It is I who scatters the darkness of night and
reveals to you the rays of the sun.” St. Gregory of Nyssa on the Lord’s Prayer.
So today I have all that I need. A lifetime of blessed memories, a great group of friends,
a dear family, and most of all, I am “a friend of Jesus;” and hey, Jesus is a good guy.
There is no one more trustworthy than the Lord who loves us.
I am so deeply grateful for your prayers and support,
B.J. Weber