Second Stage Ministries

I was listening to a song the other day. I found this song by total accident. As I was listening, a line in the chorus led me to another place and that is where we are going with this short series of posts. Here are the lyrics:   “I can see clearly now The rain has gone I accept all the things that I cannot change Gone are the dark clouds The dawn has come It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day” [1] First of all, as some might be able to tell this is sort of a cover/original song and if you give the song a listen later you would know what I mean. But just the chorus has some powerful truth to it. When I heard the line “I accept all the things that I cannot change”, I was immediately drawn to the Serenity Prayer. If you don’t know the Serenity Prayer here are the words: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.” [2] See why the song led me to that pra

I was reading the book of Mark for this class that my church is offering and I came across the passage below. It jumped off the page at me and I saw something that I didn’t see before. But that is the way the Bible works. The Bible breathes and is living and active (2 Timothy 3:16 + Hebrews 4:12). So in different seasons of life the same passage will talk to you in different ways - or in this case jump out at you like you have never read it before. Read the passage below and then we will breakdown what God broke down for me. “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.  But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus lande

with Heather Gent When building a house, you pay attention to the foundation. If the foundation is good and strong, the house can easily withstand the sometimes extreme forces of nature. When heavy winds and torrential rain come against the house it won't falter. Although the house may become weathered or damaged over time, it will nevertheless remain standing. If, however,  the foundation of the house is sloppy or poorly built a different outcome can occur. When the same winds and rain beat on the house, a certain crumbling of both house and foundation is inevitable.  We find the same principles in our daily life. In fact we can find these truths in the book of Matthew in the Bible. Here are the words of Jesus: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house;  yet it did not fall, because it had

with Heather Gent I have heard this song many times, but I was reminded of the words while I was texting with a friend. She said the following: “You’ve been through a lot - just rest in His arms and let it all go to Him and let Him do the work - in His way and time. I don’t know what your part is, I really don’t, only God does but it sounds like you have probably tried pretty hard in the relationship and it may be time to rest and let Him work. Sit back and just watch Him (and her) and He will give you eyes to see and ears to hear what He’s doing.” These words immediately sent a bunch of stuff in my head. All things I have written for the last few weeks, the lesson that I just taught as church and the lyrics to this song. In fact, as she was texting me I sent her a link to the song. So give these song lyrics a read and then we will break them down: ——————————— Hold it all together Everybody needs you strong But life hits you out of nowhere And barely leav