Tag: Hope

It Matters

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Something special for you for Mother’s Day this morning. I had a great time celebrating the moms in my life yesterday and I hope you did too. What follows is a reminder of just how important the work they do really is. Thanks for reading.

It Matters

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for this season to be over. Like, really ready. I know things won’t be the same on the other side of this, but I’m ready for them to not be like this. A great man passed away this past week and I was honored with the chance to celebrate his life yesterday. That makes two funerals for two great men two weeks in a row. In normal times that’s just part of being a pastor. Pardon my crassness, but socially-distanced funerals suck. That’s not how things are supposed to be. Going to the grocery store with a mask on is frustrating. Seeing people in the store and not being able to shake hands or have a close conversation is awkward still even after seven weeks of this. Doing school packets with kids at home and trying to work around that is a drag. It’s hard to be productive even on days when they all play really well together after the schooling is over. It’s all wearying as a starting point.

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Hope for Today

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Jesus is Risen! We celebrate the truth that has shaped the whole world more than anything else. Check out yesterday’s Easter message. I hope this is a blessing to you. Thanks for reading and listening.

Hope for Today

One of the shows Lisa and I enjoy watching is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We loved it when it was on years ago and we are very much enjoying HGTV’s revival of the series (although the excessive amount of product placement and in-show advertising is getting a little old if one of the producers happens to be watching this). One of the best parts of the show for me is the big reveal moment. I love seeing all of the different expressions of joy and delight that people have when they see their new home for the first time. Some are more subdued. Some are wild and over the top. Most land in between those two extremes.

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Digging in Deeper: Luke 24:21

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“But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

If this virus outbreak hadn’t happened, tonight I would have been sleeping under the sharks with my son. This week, his class was set to go on a three-day, two-night trip to the coast. As a part of it, tonight would have been spent in an aquarium where they have you sleep in a room where the whole ceiling is a giant fish tank. I could have drifted off to sleep to the soothing images of sharks wishing they could bust through the glass and eat me. I, like my son, am disappointed. Have you ever been disappointed?

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Digging in Deeper: Habakkuk 3:17-18

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“Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

The news lately seems to be getting worse every day. I see the daily infection rates and the growing death count and my heart sinks just a bit each morning. It breaks for the tragedy these families are facing. It breaks for the hopelessness that has to be clawing at the hearts of the healthcare workers who are bearing the load of seeing patient after patient die in spite of their best efforts. It breaks for the children—including mine—who don’t understand social distancing and just long to play with and see their friends again. What do we do when chaos seems to reign just a little bit more each day? Here at the end of his collection of prophecy, Habakkuk offers us a way forward.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 13:29, 32

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“In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near–at the door. . .Now concerning that day or hour no one knows–neither the angels in heaven nor the Son–but only the Father.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Something a little different for you this morning and we’ll get back to Habakkuk early next week. With all the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world there is a growing question on the minds of many folks with even the slightest amount of spiritual sensitivity: Are we in the end times? Personally I’ve been asked this twice this week. So then, are we? Let’s talk about it.

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