Pastor’s Ponderings
“Hope & Perspective”
Thomas Paine wrote a series of pamphlets from 1776 to 1783 titled “The American Crisis”. The opening line of the first booklet was written shortly after the Revolutionary army retreated across New Jersey and defeat seemed imminent. “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
I believe these same words are relevant now. I will not spend time telling you what you already know. What I want to do, instead, is give you two vital elements needed to survive these unusual times: Hope and Perspective.
Hope ultimately comes from God. Ironically, the word “hope” is not found in the Bible until the book of Ruth, where it is mentioned once. It is also found once in Ezra, but 15 times in Job. If ever a man needed hope, it is Job. It is also found extensively in Jeremiah and Lamentations, two books that are depressing because the nation of Judah has turned from God.
But the book of Psalms is especially prevalent because so many chapters in that book begin with a negative outlook but end with great hope in God. Psalm 146:5 states, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God.” Happiness comes from God’s help and our hope. Let me encourage you to keep your eyes on “things above”
above” (Colossians 3:1) during these trying times.
I also want us to maintain Perspective. These are, indeed, times that are trying. But I think of my father, who turns 90 in December, and everything changes.
He was born in 1930 and lived his childhood in the Depression. At one point he spent time in an orphanage because of family problems. He lived during the uncertainty of World War II and turned 20 in Korea as a sergeant in the Army. He lived through the strife in the 60’s, the Vietnam War, man landing on the moon, Watergate, and the “malaise” of the 70’s (He also fathered six, ahem, wonderful children, ahem, from 1957 to 1967).
He has witnessed firsthand the best and worst of times, but you will never see him without a smile on his face. As I see the road he traveled, I am reminded that so much of the goodness (or harshness) of life depends on your viewpoint.
The greatest hope I can give is found in that classic hymn, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow.” The chorus says:
Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand,
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.
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I am excited to announce that we are open for business on Sunday evenings. We begin in-person services again at 6:00pm, August 30, with our own Dr. Carl Baugh preaching.
Please be in prayer for our Wednesday teen and children’s services. I am looking at sometime in October to resume On Track. I want to see how the school districts fare with Covid-19 during August-September before making a final decision.
And I thank Calvary members again for their understanding during these unprecedented times (boy, do I miss precedented times). I have had many express their opinions to me, and they were all welcome. I am grateful that not a single person, even with the volatile issues facing us, was ugly toward me.
But I do know of many pastors who have had extreme pressures placed on them by well-meaning members. Please pray for me and other spiritual leaders across the nation as we try to navigate these difficult days.
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When my wife and I took off for a few days recently, I was once again thankful for those who filled in while we were gone. I am grateful for the four men who preached. We watched every sermon, thanks to the live-stream, and I thought Bro. Payne, Bro. Donnie, Bro. Eddy, and Bro. Andrew were all exceptional. I have said this before, but with this caliber of preaching, I feel like I am asking Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig to pinch hit.
I’m also thankful for the great job Matthew Sisk has done broadcasting our services, literally, around the world. It was such a pleasure being 400 miles away but participating in worship services with my church family!
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I have asked from the beginning for you to pray for me and my family in five areas. Thank you for doing so, and please continue to plead with God that I would have:
1) Courage
2) Wisdom
3) Strength
4) Victory
5) Vision