The Saints Receive the Kingdom
Resurrection Hope for Climax
A Neighbor Speaks
I write today as your neighbor in Climax, though I no longer worship at Sand Hill. I left for reasons of conscience - I could not remain where God’s Word was no longer held as fully true and authoritative. That grieves me. I long for the day when we can worship together again, united by Christ’s Word.
I know the final sale of the Climax Lutheran Church building has been painful. Decades of decay, and now this. Some have asked if God is faithful. Some wonder if your witness even matters anymore.
But Daniel 7 declares something radical: “The saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess it forever, forever and ever.” Not earn it. Not lose it. RECEIVE it. Today I want to explore what that means - and why I believe the real crisis in Climax isn’t the closing of a building, but something far deeper.
The Beasts Are Real (Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18)
Daniel saw beasts rising from the sea - empires in rebellion against God. In Climax, we see obvious “beasts”: economic collapse, demographic decline, decades of decay in ways my “resident alien” mind can not understand. But there’s another beast, more ancient and more deadly: the serpent’s lie from Eden - “Did God really say…?”
Let me trace this thread precisely, because it’s all connected:
First: The ELCA began setting aside what Scripture clearly teaches about God’s design for the family. Genesis 1-2 and Jesus in Matthew 19 establish that God created male and female to come together in marriage, and from that union, children are raised by both a mother and a father. This isn’t arbitrary - it’s God’s loving design for human flourishing.
But when we celebrate family structures that deliberately bring children into the world without a mother or without a father, we’re saying God’s design doesn’t matter. We’re prioritizing adult desires over children’s needs. And rural communities like ours have always known instinctively: children thrive best when they have both.
I say this not to condemn anyone - we all fall short of God’s design in various ways, and His grace covers our brokenness. But there’s a difference between acknowledging our brokenness and celebrating it as an equally valid alternative to God’s plan.
Second: Once you decide Scripture can be set aside on one issue because the culture demands it, the door is open. If we can reinterpret or dismiss what the Bible says about God’s design for the family, why not other things? Biblical authority begins to erode - not all at once, but steadily, like water wearing away stone.
I know this all too well. I had my own period of doubt in my life between eighteen and twenty-five because I saw such loose interpretations growing up. It sincerely affects subsequent generations at scale.
Third: This erosion leads to the ultimate abandonment: universalism. I’ve heard a leader in our church community say directly, “There are 5 major religions in the world and they are all valid paths to God.” This wasn’t rebuked. It was allowed to stand.
But let’s be clear about what universalism is: the belief that everyone will be saved regardless of faith in Christ, that all religious paths lead to the same God. It sounds compassionate. It sounds loving. But it’s the cruelest lie, because it contradicts Jesus Himself.
Listen to what Jesus actually said:
- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
- “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
Peter proclaimed:
- “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
And John writes:
- “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18)
These aren’t suggestions. These aren’t cultural opinions. These are the words of Jesus and His apostles. Either they’re true, or Christianity is false. There’s no middle ground.
Here’s why universalism guts the Gospel:
- If everyone’s saved anyway, Jesus died for nothing. Why the cross if all paths lead to God?
- If faith in Christ doesn’t matter, why evangelize? Why witness? Why sacrifice?
- If there’s no real distinction between believer and unbeliever, why gather for worship?
- The church becomes a social club with nice ethics, but nothing urgent or necessary to say.
And THIS is why the witness in Climax has grown weak. When we stop believing Jesus is the ONLY way, we stop having anything essential to proclaim. We’re left with therapeutic advice and cultural affirmation - but not the life-giving Word of God.
And in my journey to try seminary part time, this is ultimately why the bishop and his proxies said “It would be best if I found a new church, though you are always welcome here.”
When a church leader can openly deny Christ’s exclusive claim and face no correction, when God’s Word on sexuality can be set aside for cultural approval, when biblical authority becomes negotiable - I have to ask: What gospel is actually being preached?
I don’t write this in anger, but in grief. I grieve for what’s been lost: the music, the choir, the whole church family, the chance to work deeply together in Climax. I grieve that we can’t worship together. I grieve that the church my family and I wanted to call home had traded the solid rock of Scripture for the shifting sand of cultural opinion. I should note here that I have also fallen prey to the lie and come from a place of compassion and understanding.
But here’s the promise from Daniel 7: The beasts may rage, but “the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess it forever, forever and ever.”
The beasts don’t win. God’s Word stands. And when God’s people return to that Word - not just as inspired or helpful, but as true and authoritative - the church rises again.
The Power That Raises the Dead (Ephesians 1:11-23)
After naming the beasts, it would be easy to despair. If the drift is this deep, if universalism has taken root, if biblical authority has eroded - what hope is there?
But listen to what Paul writes to the Ephesians:
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:18-20)
Read that again slowly. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead - that shattered death itself, that vindicated Christ’s claims, that opened the way to eternal life - that SAME power is at work in those who believe.
The Building Closure Is Not the Crisis
Climax Lutheran gave its keys to a new owner with an unknown future this week. Decades of decline finally reached their conclusion. I know that’s painful. I know some of you lost your childhood church, the place where you were baptized, confirmed, married.
But here’s what I want you to hear: The Body of Christ in Climax is not dead. It’s not even diminished.
A building sold. May the Lord’s will be done with its new ownership. But the church - the actual church, which is people united to Christ by faith - cannot die. Why? Because Christ Himself cannot die. He already did that once, and He rose. And now He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.
Paul says the church is Christ’s body, “the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). Think about that. The church isn’t a building. It’s not an institution. It’s the living, breathing body of the risen Christ in the world. And you - you who gather at Sand Hill, you who believe in Jesus - you ARE that body in Climax.
What Resurrection Power Looks Like Now
From the outside looking in over these four years, here’s what I’ve seen - and it looks like resurrection power to me:
I’ve watched you grow closer through hardship. When the economy tanked and businesses closed, you didn’t abandon each other - you pulled together. When families faced crisis, you showed up. When someone needed help, you gave it.
I’ve seen you serve this town sacrificially - helping the school, organizing community events, caring for the elderly, maintaining what remains. You could have fled to Grand Forks or Fargo. Many did. But you stayed.
And now, as two congregations become one, I’ve watched you navigate grief and change with grace. That’s not nothing. That’s the Spirit at work, binding you together in love despite loss.
This is what resurrection looks like in the present tense: not the absence of death, but life pushing up through the cracks. Not the absence of decline, but love persisting through it.
But There’s a Deeper Resurrection Needed
And yet… and yet. As much as I’ve seen resurrection power in your care for one another, I grieve that I haven’t seen it in your collective faith. Because here’s the harder truth:
Resurrection power doesn’t just hold communities together. It transforms hearts. It creates bold witnesses. It produces unshakable confidence in God’s Word. And that - forgive me for saying so - that seems to be missing.
When a church leader can deny that Jesus is the only way to salvation, and no one objects - that’s not resurrection power. That’s the silence of death.
When cultural pressure leads us to set aside what Scripture clearly teaches, and we call it “love” - that’s not resurrection power. That’s capitulation to the beasts.
When we gather for worship but don’t actually believe the Book we claim to read - that’s not resurrection power. That’s going through the motions.
The Resurrection Climax Actually Needs
So what would resurrection look like for the church in Climax? Not just surviving, but thriving? Not just caring for each other, but bearing powerful witness?
Paul gives us the answer earlier in Ephesians 1:
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will… In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:11, 13-14)
Notice the progression: Word of truth → Belief → Sealing by the Spirit → Guaranteed inheritance.
It starts with the Word. Not our opinions about the Word. Not our culturally-adjusted interpretations of the Word. Not our therapeutic readings that make us feel better. The Word itself - true, authoritative, inerrant.
When God’s people return to His Word as the foundation - when we say with Jesus, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” - THAT is when resurrection power is unleashed.
That’s when the witness becomes clear and bold again. That’s when the church grows in faithfulness and vitality. That’s when the saints actually possess the kingdom Daniel promised.
The Promise Still Stands
Let me ground this in specific biblical promises, because God’s Word doesn’t just diagnose the problem - it prescribes the cure:
Jesus Himself in Matthew 7:24-25: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
Building on Christ’s words - not our opinions, not cultural wisdom, but His actual teaching, which let me remind you Jesus believed and attested to 100% of the law and the prophets - makes us unshakeable. That’s the foundation that endures.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Paul tells us Scripture isn’t just inspired - it’s God-breathed, profitable for teaching AND reproof AND correction. That means sometimes it tells us we’re wrong. Sometimes it contradicts our assumptions. And that’s exactly when we need it most, to be equipped for good works that actually please God.
James 1:22-25: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
The Word is a mirror that shows us the truth about ourselves. We can look away and forget, or we can persevere in actually doing what it says. The blessing comes to the doer, not just the hearer.
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
God’s Word isn’t dead letters on a page. It’s alive. It cuts through our self-deception, our comfortable lies, our cultural accommodations. It exposes what’s really in our hearts. And that’s exactly what the church in Climax needs right now - not more affirmation, but the living Word that pierces and heals.
Do you see the pattern? Build on Christ’s words → you stand firm. Trust all Scripture → you’re equipped for good works. Do the Word → you’re blessed. Let the Word pierce you → you’re healed and made whole.
The same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to the church in Climax. But it requires faith - real faith, the kind that stakes everything on the truth of Scripture, even when the culture mocks it.
Blessed Are You (Luke 6:20-31)
After Jesus chose His twelve apostles, He came down from the mountain to a level place where a great crowd had gathered - disciples and seekers from all over Judea, Jerusalem, the coastal regions. He had just healed many of them. And then He looked directly at His disciples and said something that must have seemed crazy:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.” (Luke 6:20-23)
These weren’t theoretical blessings for some future ideal state. Jesus said “Blessed are YOU” - present tense, direct address. You who are struggling right now. You who are grieving right now. You who feel excluded and small. YOU are blessed.
Why the Saints of Climax Are Already Blessed
So let me speak directly to you, the saints of Climax:
You are poor - at least by the world’s standards. Your town has lost its bank, its grocery store, its gas station. You’re 20 minutes and many miles from a Walmart. The young people often leave. The population shrinks. By every worldly measure, Climax isn’t looking so great right now.
You are hungry - not for food necessarily, but for vitality, for hope, for a future that doesn’t feel like managed decline.
You weep - you’ve just watched your childhood church close. You’ve buried friends and family. You’ve seen decades of slow erosion.
And you’re certainly not popular - small-town rural Minnesotans who still go to church are increasingly seen as backwards, unsophisticated, on the wrong side of history.
By Jesus’ measure, you are EXACTLY the people He calls blessed. Not someday. Right now.
What I’ve Seen That Looks Like Kingdom Life
And here’s what I’ve witnessed in my four years as your neighbor - evidence that you already possess the kingdom Jesus promised:
You pull together when crisis hits. When someone’s house burns, you rebuild it. When someone’s sick, you bring meals. When someone’s struggling, you show up. I’ve seen this over and over.
You serve this town sacrificially. School volunteers, volunteer firefighters, community event organizers - you do this not for pay or recognition, but because you love Climax and its people.
You’ve grown tighter through loss, not more fractured. Economic decline could have turned you against each other - who gets what scraps remain? But instead I’ve watched you bind more closely together.
And now, as two congregations become one, you’re navigating grief with grace. That’s not nothing. That’s the Spirit at work.
This is what kingdom life looks like: not comfort or prosperity, but love that endures through suffering. Not success by the world’s metrics, but faithfulness in small things. Not power or influence, but humble service.
You ARE blessed, right now, because you have each other in Christ. The world can’t give you that, and the world can’t take it away.
The Democracy of Grace: We Are All Beggars
Luther’s last written words before he died were these: “We are beggars, this is true.”
Not “I am holy and you are beggars.” Not “Some of us have made it and some haven’t.” WE - all of us, Luther included, me included, you included - are beggars at the foot of the cross.
This is what I need you to hear: Climax Lutheran didn’t close because they were less faithful. Sand Hill didn’t survive because you’re more worthy. Buildings rise and fall according to a thousand factors - demographics, economics, timing, decisions made decades ago by people long dead.
But every single person who trusts in Christ - whether they worshiped in the building that closed or the one that remains, whether they left for a conservative church or stayed in the ELCA, whether they’re strong in faith or barely hanging on - every single one is a beggar receiving grace.
None of us deserves the kingdom. None of us earns it. None of us can claim superiority. We receive it as pure gift, or we don’t receive it at all.
I left Sand Hill, but not because I’m holier. I’m a beggar too, just as desperate for God’s mercy as anyone. I simply couldn’t stay where the Gospel was being dismantled. But my leaving doesn’t make me better - just difference in conscience in an important way.
But Then Come the Woes
After pronouncing the blessed, Jesus turned to warnings:
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:24-26)
“Woe” doesn’t mean “cursed” or “damned” - it’s more like “Watch out!” or “Danger ahead!” It’s a warning about misplaced trust.
So let me ask gently: Where is YOUR trust really placed?
The Danger of False Securities
The obvious false securities - money, comfort, reputation - those aren’t really your temptation. You don’t have the wealth of The Cities and The Coasts. You’re not comfortable. You’re not popular.
But there are subtler securities that can choke out faith:
The security of cultural acceptance: “At least we’re not like those judgmental fundamentalists. At least we’re loving and inclusive. At least we’re on the right side of history.”
But if cultural approval becomes more important than biblical fidelity, you’ve traded God’s consolation for the world’s. And the world’s consolation is temporary.
The security of institutional continuity: “We’ve been here 100+ years. We’ll endure. As long as the building stands and the doors open, we’re fine.”
But one building just closed, didn’t it? And buildings don’t save anyone. Only Christ does.
The security of personal goodness: “I’m a decent person. I help my neighbors. I don’t hurt anyone. God wouldn’t reject me.”
But if we’re trusting in our own decency rather than Christ’s righteousness, we’re building on sand. Our goodness is like filthy rags compared to what God requires (Isaiah 64:6).
The security of theological vagueness: “All paths lead to God. Everyone’s saved anyway. Why make such a big deal about doctrine?”
But Jesus said “I am THE way” - not “a way” or “one of many ways.” If we soften that to keep peace, we’ve lost the Gospel itself.
These are the “woes” for Climax: not that you’re rich or comfortable, but that you might be trusting in the wrong things. Cultural acceptance instead of biblical truth. Institutional continuity instead of spiritual vitality. Personal goodness instead of Christ’s righteousness. Theological vagueness instead of the scandal of the cross.
The Call: Let Go and Cling
So here’s Jesus’ call, and mine to you:
Let go of the false securities. Stop seeking cultural approval - you won’t get it anyway if you’re faithful to Scripture. Stop trusting in buildings or institutions - they can all crumble. Stop trusting in your own goodness - it’s not enough. Stop watering down the Gospel to make it palatable - that just kills it.
And instead, cling to the one security that lasts: Christ and His Word.
Cling to Jesus, who said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Not one option among many, but THE way.
Cling to Scripture, which is God-breathed, living and active, the foundation that cannot be shaken.
Cling to the Gospel: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Not because we deserved it, but because He loves us.
This is where blessing is found - not in comfort, but in Christ. Not in approval, but in truth. Not in what we achieve, but in what we receive as beggars at the cross.
You are blessed, right now, because you are poor in spirit and the kingdom is yours. You are blessed because you weep and Christ promises comfort. You are blessed because you’re excluded for His sake and your reward is great.
But blessing isn’t just for comfort - it’s for mission. God doesn’t bless us so we can hoard it, but so we can pour it out. Which brings us to the question: What is God calling the saints of Climax to do with this blessing?
The Kingdom Breaks In Here (The Call)
“The saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess it forever, forever and ever.” This is God’s promise to you.
But what does that actually mean? What does resurrection hope look like for Climax? Let me offer three dimensions - individual, corporate, and cosmic - all grounded in the Scriptures we’ve been exploring.
1. Individual Hope: You Will Rise
First and most foundational: if you are in Christ, you will rise from the dead. This is not wishful thinking or metaphor. This is the bedrock promise of Christianity.
Your loved ones who died in faith - they are with Christ now, and they will rise bodily on the Last Day. You will see them again. You will embrace them again. Death is not the end.
And you - yes, you reading this - if you trust in Christ, you will rise. The same power that raised Jesus from a sealed tomb will raise you. Your body will be transformed, imperishable, glorious. You will inherit the kingdom Daniel promised: forever, forever and ever.
This is not just pie in the sky when you die. This is THE hope that changes everything about how you live now. If death is defeated, what can truly threaten you? If resurrection is certain, what false security do you need to cling to?
Paul asks in Romans 8: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)
Buildings can close. Towns can shrink. Economies can collapse. But your resurrection is secure. The kingdom is yours. Receive it.
2. Corporate Hope: The Church in Climax Will Rise Again
Second: I believe the Church in Climax can and will rise again - not necessarily in numbers or buildings, but in faithfulness, vitality, and witness.
Notice I said “can and will” - because resurrection is both gift and calling. God will raise the church, but He calls us to participate in that resurrection through faith and obedience.
Here’s what that looks like practically:
Return to Scripture as fully authoritative. Not just “inspired” or “helpful,” but true. Every word. When Jesus quoted the Old Testament, He treated it as God’s inerrant Word. We must do the same with all of Scripture - Old and New Testament alike.
This means:
- When Scripture says something clearly, we believe it and teach it, even if the culture disagrees
- When Scripture corrects us, we submit to that correction rather than explaining it away
- When Scripture promises something, we stake our lives on it
Test everything by Scripture, including church teaching. The Bereans in Acts 17 were called “noble” because “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). You should do the same.
When you hear universalism taught - “all religions lead to God” - open your Bible. Does Jesus say that? No. He says “I am THE way.” So reject the lie, gently but firmly.
When you hear that biblical teaching on family or sexuality or any topic can be set aside for cultural reasons, open your Bible. Does God’s design change with the times? No. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
Bear witness with clarity and courage. The world desperately needs to hear that Jesus is the only Savior, that His way is narrow but leads to life, that repentance and faith are necessary. This message won’t make you popular. Jesus promised you’d be hated for His sake. But it’s the truth, and it’s the most loving thing you can offer.
A weak witness that says “all paths are valid” offers no real hope - it’s just therapeutic niceness. A strong witness that proclaims Christ as THE way offers real hope, even if it offends.
Support faithful leadership. Maybe there is a reason the ELCA is struggling to fill pastoral roles. What comes next matters enormously. Will you call someone who believes Scripture is God’s Word, or someone who sees it as just human wisdom? Will you insist on biblical fidelity, or settle for pleasant sermons about smiling at the checkout counter?
The church rises or falls on leadership. Pray for God to send you a shepherd who feeds the flock with the Word, not just with comforting platitudes.
If the church in Climax does these things - returns to Scripture, tests everything by it, bears clear witness, supports faithful leadership - I believe you will see resurrection. Maybe not in numbers. Maybe the church stays small. But small and faithful is infinitely better than large and compromised.
God doesn’t need big buildings or impressive budgets. He just needs people who trust His Word and proclaim it boldly.
3. Cosmic Hope: Christ’s Kingdom Is Breaking In Right Here
Third and finally: the Kingdom of God is breaking into the world right here, right now, in little Climax, Minnesota.
This isn’t just about your individual salvation or even your church’s health. This is cosmic. Daniel saw a vision of God’s Kingdom overthrowing all earthly empires. Ephesians declares that Christ is seated far above all rule and authority and power. Luke records Jesus saying “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21).
The beasts rage - economic forces, cultural drift, the ancient serpent whispering lies. But they don’t win. The Kingdom comes anyway.
And it comes precisely in places like Climax: small, overlooked, struggling. Because that’s how God works. He chose a backwater town called Nazareth. He chose fishermen and tax collectors. He chose the cross - the ultimate symbol of weakness and shame - as the means of salvation.
Your weakness is not a disqualification. It’s the very place where God’s strength is made perfect.
So when you gather for worship, you’re not just keeping an old tradition alive. You’re participating in the Kingdom’s advance. When you proclaim Christ as the only way, you’re pushing back the darkness. When you trust God’s Word over the culture’s lies, you’re claiming territory for the King.
This is cosmic warfare, and you’re on the front lines. Not with swords and violence, but with the Gospel - “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
Climax may never matter on any worldly map. But in God’s economy, a faithful witness in a tiny town matters eternally. The Kingdom breaks in here, now, through you - if you’ll receive it and proclaim it.
The Specific Call
So here’s what I’m calling you to - not as your pastor, because I’m not, but as your neighbor who loves this town and longs to see Christ honored here:
1. Personally embrace biblical authority. Read Scripture daily. Believe it. Do what it says. Let it pierce you and heal you. Build your life on Christ’s words, not the world’s wisdom.
2. Speak up when false teaching appears. If you hear universalism, gently but firmly point to John 14:6. If you hear God’s design dismissed, lovingly point back to Genesis and Matthew 19. Don’t be silent. The church needs your voice.
3. Pray for faithful leadership. Your next pastor will shape the church’s direction for years. Pray that God sends someone who believes His Word and isn’t afraid to teach it.
4. Bear witness in your daily life. You don’t need a platform or theological degree. Just tell people what Jesus has done for you. Point them to Scripture. Invite them to church. Live visibly different lives because Christ is real to you.
5. Stay united as the body. You’ve weathered the merger of two congregations. Don’t let theological compromise fracture you further. Rally around Scripture as your common foundation.
I know this is costly. I know it’s easier to go along, to keep peace, to not make waves. I know some will call you unloving for believing Jesus is the only way.
But remember the beatitudes: “Blessed are you when people hate you and exclude you and revile you and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.”
You’re not called to be comfortable. You’re called to be faithful.
The Door Remains Open
And finally, a personal word: I write this from outside Sand Hill, but not from outside Climax. I still live here. I still love this town. I still pray for you.
I long for the day when we can worship together again - united not just by geography, but by shared conviction that God’s Word is true and that Jesus is the only way.
If that day comes - if Sand Hill returns to biblical faithfulness - I’ll be the first one back through those doors. Not because I need to be proven right, but because my family and I truly miss all of you.
Until then, I’ll keep serving this town in whatever ways I can. I’ll keep praying for you. I’ll keep speaking truth as I understand it. And I’ll keep hoping.
Because hope is what resurrection produces. And resurrection is God’s specialty.
“The saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess it forever, forever and ever.”
This is God’s promise to Climax.
You are those saints. The kingdom is yours. Receive it. Trust the Word. And watch what God does.
With hope in Christ, Winfred