The story of the lyrics behind “It is Well with my Soul” is very sad.  H. G. Spafford lost a lot before penning these words and yet the story of this song does not end there.  Spafford went on to have three more children.  But sadly another of his sons died before age 5.  Philip Bliss who wrote the tune behind the words also met with tragedy.  While he and his wife was traveling by train to a D. L. Moody revival, their train tipped over while crossing a bridge and plunged 50 feet to a firey and twisted wreck.  Philip Bliss was able to escape the crumpled mess but going back to look for his wife found that she was trapped in the tangled medal.  Not wanting to leave his wife’s side, he burned alive holding on to her hand.  7 lives were loss in connection with this song.  Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Bliss, at the last minute, decided to leave their two young boys at home before boarding the doomed train.  Yet even in such tragedy, the message of hope in the song still rings true, “even so, it is well with my soul”.

The story of David and Goliath is fascinating in so many ways.  Of course the biggest is that even the smallest (insignificant) person can do great things for God when their heart is in tune with His.  The greatest description of David in the Bible (mentioned twice) is a “man after God’s heart”.  Oh that this description would apply to us.  Can we be people who seek after the heart of God?

Pi day.  If you do not know what that is, the number of pi (π) is 3.14 which is today’s date (March 14th).  So as we look at π, this is the number used to calculate the area of a circle.  How big is your circle?  Who do you related to or have influence over?  Who are the ones that God wants you to minister?  You do not need π to figure this out but maybe you can take some pie to someone who God has laid on your heart and spend some time with them this week.

Inspiration can come from all around us.  From a sunrise, to a kind word, to a card in the mail, to a movie, TV show or book.  Lately I have been re-reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  I also re-watched the movies as well.  But as I was doing so, I was watching out for those messages of hope (It has been on my mind with these sermons).  And there were many times of hopelessness in the book.  People did not want to go on in the struggle. They were not sure if they could accomplish the enormous task before them.  They thought about quitting or giving in. But because of that glimmer of hope that they had inside them, the pressed on and made it through.  Hope does not disappoint.  So press on and God will see you through.

Yesterday I was ordained as a pastor in the Missionary Church.  This has been quite some time in coming and quite the journey to get here.  I started in the ministry 23 years ago as a pastor out in Wichita, KS.  I even started the process of ordination more than 20 year ago.  However, after leaving my first church, God had other plans for me instead of continuing as a pastor.  I never stopped following God’s will and knew he had called me to be a pastor.  And I continued seeking to become a pastor at various churches but none opened up to me.  For the next 16 years or so, I worked 6 different jobs (none in church ministry), moved 6 times, got married, had 3 children, and bought a house.  And after all that, God finally opened a church where he has now called me.  It was a long hard road, but as I have been preaching for these last two months, I continued to put my hope in God.  And he has proven once again that he is faithful.  Even during the darkest moments of those 16 years, he never left my side and he never let me forsake the call on my life to preach the gospel.  And during those 16 years, I did preach the gospel, it just was not from a pulpit.  It was by living my life out in the workforce, rubbing elbows with coworkers and bosses, displaying the hope that I had in Jesus for all to see.  Ordination will not change that.  And I hope that those who read this will realize that you do not need to be an ordained pastor to tell others about Jesus.  Let your life be your sermon.

Tomorrow is 2/22/22 on a Tuesday.  Time for tutus and taco twos-day.  But it is also about who you are putting second in your life.  Is it Jesus our yourself?  Who is playing second fiddle in your orchestra?  Have you ever seen those bumper stickers that say, “Jesus is my Co-Pilot”?  If you have I hope that you disagree with it.  Because Jesus does not want to be your co-pilot but the one flying your life.  Put him in first place and let him take full and complete control of your life.  Lower yourself to second and take your hands off the wheel (and no back seat driving!).  (Can I mix the metaphors or what!)

Valentines Day 2022.  Love is a wonderful thing.  As I was reading my devotional this morning, I read through chapter 5 of Proverbs that has some wonderful advice on keeping love in the marriage.  “Be faithful to your own wife, just as you drink water from your own well.  Don’t pour your water in the streets; don’t give you love to just any woman.  these things are yours alone and shouldn’t be shared with strangers.  Be happy with the wife you married when you were young.  She gives you joy as your fountain gives you water.  She is as lovely and graceful as a deer.  Let her love always make you happy; let here love always hold you captive.” (Prov 5:15-19)  I am so thankful for the wife that God gave me.  Happy Valentines Dear.

Sitting on my desk in the office is a mini calendar with a daily quote from some famous man of character.  This week one of the quotes was from Dennis Byrd from his book “Rise and Walk”.  If you do not remember who Dennis Byrd is he was a professional football player for the New York Jets.  In 1992 during a game, Byrd collided with another player and broke his neck, leaving him paralyzed and unable to walk.  Byrd however was a devote Christian and used this event to share his testimony and message of hope that he would walk again.  Several quotes in my desk calendar reflect that he was able to talk to more people and share God with them more through this accident then he ever would have playing football.  And so he saw the hope through the grey skies of his circumstances and was able to use this negative as a positive.  He also never gave up hope and through intensive surgery and months of therapy, less then a year later he returned to the Meadowlands for the Jets’ home opener — walking to midfield as an honorary captain for the coin toss.

The idea of getting small bite sized pieces of hope is an interesting thought.  It makes more sense of those Psalms that seem to have so much contrasts in them.  It explains Psalm 22 the best.  When we can take our eyes off of our problems and circumstances even for a moment, and look to God, we can experience a small window of hope, however brief, in which we can rest in God’s strength and power.  And those times can mean the difference between making it through and giving up.  So do not discount the precious gift of even bite-sized hope.  It might not get us all the way to through, it will make those times a bit better.