It Is Well With My Soul

Greetings All,

     My daughter Bekah sent me the link to this devotional by Tori Kelly the other day, because she knows Horatio Spafford's hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" is one of my favorites. I opened it, read it, felt there was much honest transparency and biblical truth in it, and therefore thought I would pass it along to you. I trust it will encourage and speak to you as well.  Enjoy.

SOUL’S ANTHEM (IT IS WELL)

     Suffering is guaranteed in this life. The devil is always throwing fiery darts at us. Right now in this moment he’s trying to attack my family, my health, my relationships, and my peace. He’ll do anything to take my eyes off of Jesus.  He wants to take everything away from me, and most importantly, he wants to take my faith.

     Our faith is not grounded in our circumstances.  Neither can our joy in Christ be.  Recently, my grandfather passed away in the time I felt I needed him most.  I felt like I had lost my best friend. It was so painful to go through and I cried so much -- until my eyes had nothing left.  But through every tear, God was with me in those hard moments. I could still be in a dark and lonely place, and even be mourning, but my joy could not be stolen because it is secured in Jesus.  No matter what happens, no matter what arrows are thrown my way, no matter how dark it gets, I know I will be okay.  It’s not always easy to believe, but I know that when I remind myself that God is in control I find rest and am able to sing, “it is well with my soul.”

     Most importantly, I can always sing “it is well” because God spoiled the movie for us and we get to know how this story ends. “It is well with my soul” because there is a place called heaven where death will be no more, every tear will be wiped away, and any tears shed in this life will be redeemed (he has bottled each one).

     Maybe your suffering is different than losing a grandfather. Maybe it’s worse. Maybe it’s as bad as the writer of “It is Well” who lost his entire family in the days prior to when he penned this hymn.  Even still, God says all of it is not even worthy to be compared to the glory to come to us.  Like an adult reflecting on his experience in kindergarten, so believers in heaven will remember their suffering in this life, saying, “Oh yeah... I think I vaguely remember...”

     Suffering comes to each of us in a different way - broken relationships, physical illness, economic hardships, loss, crime, slander, betrayal, depression, humiliation, you name it. Scripture assures us of this. Jesus assures his disciples of this. "In this world you WILL have trouble (tribulations). But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  Jesus never promises us a trouble-free life in this world. His promised overcoming of the world means, as Tori Kelly rightly points out, we already know how the story ends!  Jesus is the Victor!  It's already a done deal!  God has won!  The world loses!  And we get to be over-comers with him in the victory he's already won!

     John 16:33 was spoken prior to the cross and resurrection.  Yet it is spoken in the past tense - "I have overcome..."  It is spoken before the cross an resurrection, but with as much confidence and assurance in the promise as if those those things had already taken place!  (If only they had truly "heard" him!)  In fact, in a very real sense the cross had already taken place, as John assures us in Revelation 13:8, where it speaks of Jesus as, "the Lamb slain from the creation of the world."   Jesus' ultimate victory of overcoming the world had already been decreed and determined and worked out in the providence of God before God ever created the world!  And we get to rejoice and participate in many of the benefits of that victory in this life (not all of them just yet), remembering as Paul assures us,  "Our light and momentary trials are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (I Corinthians 4:17).

     Resting in the victory of God until the promise becomes our experienced reality in eternity, Pastor Jeff

Spiritual Renewal

Greetings!

     This week's "thought" is about spiritual renewal.  Its about the power and presence of Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It comes to you from Jim Cymbala's book, "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire."  Cymbala has been the pastor of the large multi-racial "Brooklyn Tabernacle" since 1971, a church which had only 30 when he arrived that year, but now has over 16,000 members -- which is not, as this thought will show, what he really cares about.

     The Brooklyn Tabernacle is a church which has, by God's grace, broken down many racial and economic barriers, offering in the present a small taste of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, inclusive body of Christ, where believers of every tribe and tongue, rich and poor alike, will one day gather side by side before the throne of God (Rev. 7:9).  Part instruction, part biographical, his book is well-worth the read if you have the time. Enjoy.

     "Are we not all prone to be a little cocky and think we can handle things just fine?  But let some trouble come, and how quickly we sense our inadequacy. Trouble is one of God's great servants because it reminds us how much we continuously need the Lord. Otherwise, we tend to forget about entreating him. For some reason we want to carry on by ourselves.  The history of past revivals portray this truth in full color. Whether you study the First Great Awakening, the Welsh Revival, the 1906 outpouring on Azuza Street in Los Angeles, or any other period of revival, you always find men and women who first inwardly groan, longing to see the status quo changed -- in themselves and in their churches. They begin to call upon God with insistence. Prayer begets revival and revival begets more prayer.  It's like Psalm 80, where Asaph bemoans the sad state of his time, the broken walls, the rampaging animals, the burnt vineyards. Then in verse 18 he pleads, "Revive us, and we will call upon your name." 

     The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer.  Only when we are full of the Spirit do we feel the need for God everywhere we turn. We can be driving a car, and spontaneously our spirit starts going up to God with needs and petitions and intercessions right there in the middle of traffic. [Eyes open of course!]  If our churches don't pray, and if people don't have an appetite for God, what does it matter how many are attending the services?  How would that impress God? Can you imagine the angels saying, "Oh, your pews! We can't believe how beautiful they are! Up here in heaven, we've been talking about them for years. Your sanctuary lighting -- it's so clever. The way you have the steps going up to the pulpit, it's wonderful..." 

     I don't think so.   If we don't want to experience God's closeness here on earth, why would we want to go to heaven anyway?  He is the center of everything there. If we don't enjoy being in his presence here and now, then heaven would not be heaven for us. Why would he send anyone there who doesn't long for him passionately here on earth?  I am not suggesting that we are justified by works of prayer or any other acts of devotion. I am not a legalist. But let us not dodge the issue of what heaven will be like --  enjoying the presence of God, taking time to adore him, listening to him, giving him praise. I have talked with pastor after pastor, some of them prominent and "successful" who have told me privately, "Jim, the truth is, I couldn't have a real prayer meeting in my church. I'd be embarrassed at the smallness of the crowd. Unless somebody's teaching, or singing, or doing some kind of presentation, people just won't come. I can only get them for a one-hour service, and that only once a week." 

     Is that kind of religion found anywhere in the Bible?  [Gathering to go to] Jesus himself can't draw a crowd even among his own people!  What a tragedy that the quality of ministry is too often measured by numbers and building size rather than by spiritual results. As a preacher myself, let me be blunt here. When I stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, he is not going to ask me if I was a clever orator. He is not going to ask me how many books I wrote. He is only going to ask whether I continued in the line of men and women, starting way back in the time of Adam's generation, who led others to call upon God." 

     Cymbala is right.  God is not impressed by numbers, attendance figures, technology, marketing skills, architecture, stage presentation, etc.   Rather, what God wants is people who want him.  He wants people who want to spend prayerful time with Him in His presence.  He seeks people who yearn to seek Him (Jeremiah 29:13). He wants us to trust in Him and live a life of dependence on Him (II Corinthians 1:9). He wants us to realize what Jesus said so clearly in John 15:5 in the context of bearing spiritual fruit -- "I am the Vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."   That's what the Christian life is about:  Remaining in Jesus all the time. Abiding in Christ every conscious moment.  Being joined to Him unbroken fellowship.  Dwelling in intimate fellowship in His presence.  Bringing every thought captive to Christ (II Corinthians 10:5).  Communing with Him in ongoing prayer (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). Trusting Him with all our hearts (Proverbs 3:5-6). Living a life of reliance, surrender and dependence (II Corinthians 1:8-10).  If people are not led to call upon God, and seek His face in loving fellowship, earnestly seeking to do His will, all that other stuff matters little.  For "success" in the eyes of the world is much different than success (fruit that God desires) in regard to Christ's Kingdom.

May We Be Moved to Pray and Pursue Him More Passionately, 

Pastor Jeff

Serving Productive Time

Greetings Friends!

     Today I picked up a book someone who was involved in prison ministry had given me.  It's filled with stories, testimonies, and lessons learned and shared by inmates. Some are profoundly uplifting and others a bit  sad -- like the story of one man who killed his father, and has chosen not seek forgiveness for doing so, and even cling to the heavy burden of guilt as a "self-imposed penance" and personal attempt to "ensure that the seriousness of this act is never lessened."   I pray his heart may eventually change, though as a pastor I know that emotional self-punishment is not an uncommon response when someone has done something they deeply regret. Yet, it's a sad choice in light of all that Jesus came and did for us.

     The selection I've chosen to include, however, is more uplifting.  It comes from an inmate named Ken Fox and is titled, "Little Did I Know."  This story (like the other) are both found in a book entitled, "Serving Productive Time," by Tom and Laura Lagana.  Enjoy.

Little Did I Know.

     "For no apparent reason I hated people.  I used to be the most angry, bitter and judgmental person on the planet. I even mistreated the few people who still loved me despite my atrocious behavior, including the woman who I now realize is a gift from God. She has to be an angel. How else could she have loved me and stood by me through fifteen years of this stuff?

     About two and a half years ago I transferred to a facility nearly four hours away from home. Being cut off from friends and family not only fueled my anger, it also gave me a reason to distrust the supposedly merciful and loving God my fiancee loved so dearly. Once I arrived at the new prison I lashed out at this wonderful woman: "What do you think of your God now? I bellowed.  A cheap shot I know, but I didn't care.

     Not long after that I received a letter from my cousin. I hadn't heard from her in five years. It was at her request, and the encouragement of my fiancee, that I looked into a program named "Keryx" (The name of a ministry taken from the Greek word meaning "Herald.")  I asked two Christian guys in my housing unit if they knew anything about the program. They were happy to talk with me and without my knowledge approached the chaplain about getting me into the upcoming Keryx weekend.

     Still carrying a large chip on my shoulder and anger in my heart, I reluctantly agreed to attend. But not before delivering a firm warning. My fists waving in the air, I shrieked, "If anyone tries to hug me, I swear I'll swing first and ask questions later!"  I convinced myself the weekend would have no effect on me, and for the first day I did manage to keep my distance. I was certain that I'd won and that God had nothing to offer me and I aimed to prove it.  But on the third day something happened. All the walls I'd built up around myself -- my false securities and all that I'd come to count on to keep myself safe and distant -- began to collapse.

     Earlier that day one of the volunteers told me that the Holy Spirit had something in store for me.  I smiled and shrugged it off for as long as I could. After that, we were asked to close our eyes and bow our heads. I complied and waited for further instructions. Then, as I sat there, the room suddenly filled with unfamiliar voices. Songs of praise ushered in an overwhelming presence of God. My heart began to swell with emotion. I'd never felt such intense love. 

     At that moment the destructive and negative feelings that I'd built up inside poured forth in non-stop tears. I had no control over my thoughts, my feelings, or my body. The Holy Spirit had arrived, and without a doubt, He had kicked my butt!  For the remainder of the weekend I didn't allow anyone to pass without giving them a hug! My heart of stone had crumbled. My walls had tumbled down. The light of the Lord illuminated my heart where darkness once ruled. Yes, God came for me that day, and since getting a hold of me, He refuses to let go.

     I still have my rough days. The trials and temptations are still there, but the love of God sees me through and I know brighter days are ahead. Now, to answer the question I asked my fiancee two and a half years ago, "What do I think of her God now?" I think OUR God is an awesome God, and I thank Him for saving a wretch like me."

     I picked this story because I saw many similarities between his life story and my own.  The keeping people at a distance. The anger and hardness. And the crumbling that occurred with regard to all those things when the presence of the Holy Spirit started moving upon me and ultimately conquered my heart.

     Ken Fox says that God, "kicked my butt."  I've always told people (I prefer wrestling terms) "He pinned me to the mat and made me cry uncle."   Because fight as we may (and we often fight hard) -- if God has determined to have us as His own, He will have us. And He will conquer us with a love so overwhelmingly powerful and pleasant that we no longer desire to resist it.  I pray the other man mentioned above will one day come to experience that same love and be freed from his own "self-imposed penance" to experience the joy of the Lord, and the peace that passes all understanding.

Living (now) in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Scripture-grounded Take on Suffering in Times of Trial and Difficulty

Greetings Friends!

     Today's "thought" is taken from the daily devotional, "Streams in the Desert" by L. B. Cowman.
     In it we find an interesting, refreshing, and Scripture-grounded take on suffering that I offer to you to encourage you and nurture hope in you in times of trial and difficulty.  This excerpt appears to be a group of thoughts on the redemptive nature of suffering taken from the writings of several different people -- only two of whose names she cites.  As I was reading it on June 19th it struck me as one I would want to share with you. So please, enjoy!

“Grain must be ground to make bread.”

Isaiah 28:28

     Many of us cannot be used to become food for the world’s hunger until we are broken in Christ’s hands. “Grain must be ground to make bread,” and being a blessing for Christ often requires sorrow on our part.  Yet even sorrow is not too great a price to pay for the privilege of touching other lives with Christ’s blessings.  The things that are most precious to us today are things that have come to us through tears and pain" (J. R. Miller).

     "God has made me bread for His chosen ones, and if it is necessary for me to be ground in the teeth of lions in order to feed His children, then blessed be the name of the Lord" (St. Ignatius).

     "To burn brightly we must first experience the flame. In other words, we cease to bless when we cease to bleed.”

     Poverty, hardship and misfortune have propelled many a life to moral heroism and spiritual greatness. Difficulties challenge our energy, and our perseverance, yet they bring the strongest qualities of the soul to life. It is the weights on the old grandfather clock that keep it going. And many a sailor has faced a strong headwind while using it to help him reach port. God has appointed opposition as an incentive to faith and holy service.

     The most illustrious characters of the Bible were bruised, broken, and ground into bread for the hungry.

     Abraham, because he endured affliction while remaining obedient, stood at the top of the class and found his diploma inscribed with the words, ’the father of the faithful.’

     Jacob, like wheat, suffered severe threshing and grinding.

     Joseph was bruised and beaten and had to go through Potiphar’s kitchen, and into Egypt’s prison, on his way to getting to the throne.

     Job was ground to powder like medicine, yet through his sufferings has helped untold millions find hope in their own.

     David was hunted like an animal through the mountains.  Bruised, weary, and footsore, he was ground into bread for the kingdom.

     Paul could never have been bread for Caesar’s household if he had not endured the bruising of being whipped and stoned. He was ground into fine flour for the royal family.

     Combat comes before victory.  If God has chosen special trials for you to endure, be assured that in His heart He has kept for you a special place. A soul that is sorely bruised is one God has chosen to use.”

     It is a somewhat interesting phenomena that the messages I share from the pulpit where I use illustrations from my own life (or from the lives of others) where I or they struggled with pain, hardship, or difficulty, are the ones people say they appreciate the most. Not ones where I speak of my victories, successes, or achievements, but those where I share my struggles with pain, difficulty or trials.  There is, it seems, something universally helpful, desired, and appreciated when people are transparent about struggles, which is not there when one speaks about their victories and successes.  This pattern is so pronounced in Scripture, and my own experience, that it has made me hesitant to ask God (as some do) to be "used in a mighty way."  For it seems that those who have endured the greatest suffering and struggle are the most likely to be used in such a fashion.

     If the immense popularity of the Book of Job, and the transforming power of the sufferings of Jesus tell us anything, they tell us people find one immense help from one who is a friend in suffering. It should assure us that if we as believers experience hardship, it's not because God is angry at us or punishing us, but because God is growing our faith and equipping us for useful service to others in His kingdom.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

The Best Advice I Ever Got

Greetings All,

This week's thoughts come from a book entitled, "The Best Advice I Ever Got," a book of wit and wisdom for graduates, published by Zondervan.  I offer you just three of the many selections in the book. They are helpful and wise. I trust you will enjoy them!

1. "Humility is the mark of a true winner."    Coach Charlie Siesky

     "My coach was one of the winningest coaches in the history of Indiana track and field. It was the first meet of my sophomore year.  I had done well the previous season, but I knew I could accomplish more and trained rigorously to do so. When I finished in first place I pumped my fist in the air and raised my finger to signal my first victory. I was shocked, however, to see a picture of this in the local newspaper the next morning. Even though it hadn't been my intention, it looked as if I was signaling that I was number one.  That day is when coach Siesky offered his words of wisdom. He taught me, "humility is the mark of a true winner." 

     That season I went on to win all but four meets, I set and broke the city record twice and was named to the all-state team. My picture appeared in the newspaper five more times, but never again with my finger raised."

James Cullum --  Minister and Author

2. "It can't be sunshine all the time or the flowers wouldn't grow for lack of rain."   (Words to Francine Rivers from her mother.)

     "My mother wrote these words of wisdom to me in a letter during my college years when i was struggling. I was working part time and having difficulty completing my courses, and her timely encouragement gave me the fresh perspective and boost I needed. I've never forgotten those important words. They have carried me through many trials over the years. What I have learned is that there is no achievement without struggle. The Lord uses trials and trouble to draw us to him and to teach us to rely on his strength rather than our own. He develops our character and faith through all the difficulties of life on this earth."

Francine Rivers - Author 

3. "No one can be everything to another person."   (Unnamed church lady.)

     "When my daughter was born, I felt a huge amount of responsibility to be sure that I was able to give her everything she needed. I often felt discouraged and anxious sensing that I was unable to ensure her future success or even keep her as safe and well as I thought I should. Once, while I was murmuring and self-deprecating to a woman at my church, she interrupted me and said: "You can't be everything to your daughter or anyone else. Pray that God will bridge the gap between what you can give her and what she needs." Those words were a revelation and a relief to me.

     I've incorporated that principle into every area of my life. Before I begin a writing project, prepare for a speaking engagement, or deal with an issue with a friend or family member, I pray that God will bridge the gap between what I can give and what is needed. This does not mean that I ever do less than my very best, but it does allow me to accept my limitations and refocus my perspective onto God's vast resources. What I really love is when I realize that God is using me to bridge the gap for someone else." 

Nancy Rue - Author and Speaker

     God DOES call us to do things we cannot do.  That is what drives us in faith, and the reliance of a hope mixed with desperation, to seek Him who is faithful to fill the broad gap between our can't and His can.  For he is, as Paul says, "able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or think" (Eph. 3:20).  Were He never to ask us to do what cannot be done humanly speaking, we would never know the sufficiency of His power and grace to compensate for our human weakness. 

May the Lord encourage you in your walk this day.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

11 Bonhoeffer Quotes to Remember a Man Who Resisted Evil Unto Death

Greetings All,

     This week's "thought" is in honor of a man who was martyred for the faith 71 years ago this past Saturday (April 9th, 1945), in the closing weeks of WWII  -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  It is taken from an online post written by Ryan Stewart, entitled, "11 Bonhoeffer Quotes to Remember a Man Who Resisted Evil Unto Death."

     Bonhoeffer is best known for his books, "The Cost of Discipleship" and "Life Together." The content of each is made more powerful by the fact that he lived out the advise he gave.  I personally consider Life Together the best book on Christian community ever written. There is not a believer alive who could not benefit greatly by reading those two Bonhoeffer classics.
     Other biographical information is provided by the author, so I will simply end by encouraging to you consider the things Bonhoeffer wrote below. If your interest is perked, and you would like to find our more about this extraordinary man, the book,
"Bonhoeffer -- Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" by Eric Metaxas (in the full 542 page version, or the abridged 214 page version) is superb. Enjoy.

Remembering a Pastor Who Resisted Evil Unto Death

     "If there was ever a Christian who practiced what he preached, it was Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  A theologian adored by evangelicals and liberals alike, Bonhoeffer is often invoked in support of action. Decrying the "cheap grace" of the German church, Bonhoeffer heralded "costly grace" — a grace that might cost a Christian his or her life.

After Hitler rose to power Bonhoeffer (who had come to America for his theological training and stayed on to teach) left his post at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and his new fiancee, to return to Nazi Germany.  He would soon be accused of joining the plot to assassinate the Führer, and spend two years in prison.  He was executed by the Nazi regime at Flossenbürg concentration camp just two weeks before the United States liberated the camp.  Before he died (he was hanged by a cord of piano wire) he famously remarked to another prisoner, "This is the end — but for me, the beginning."

Here are 10 quotes to remember his radical legacy:

On returning to Nazi Germany:

I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people.

On silence in the face of evil:

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.

(Correction: While often attributed to Bonhoeffer this quote does not actually exist in any of his written works.  Its origin in unknown, though it could very well have been something he simply shared in a conversation without ever putting it down in print.)

On living with your enemies:

Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes.

On systemic injustice:

We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.

On loving Christian community:

Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itself, become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.

On doing God's will:

Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.

(Correction: This quote is actually not from Bonhoeffer but from Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer's biographer, summarizing Bonhoeffer's views. His summation has often been wrongly attributed to Bonhoeffer.)

On revolutionary Christianity:

Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power, and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear... Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now.

On reconciliation through Christ:

The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this.

On silent theology:

We must finally stop appealing to theology to justify our reserved silence about what the state [Nazi Germany] is doing — for that is nothing but fear. ‘Open your mouth for the one who is voiceless’ — for who in the church today still remembers that that is the least of the Bible’s demands in times such as these?

(As in the United States, or most any other country, Nazi Germany did not mind what people claimed to believe regarding Jesus as long as they privately kept it to themselves, did not speak out against national and political injustice, or take any action to oppose party policies.  Private faith that stays private and never ventures to put it into action bothers very few.  Christians who don't live out their faith in the public arena really concern no one.)

On Christ's ultimate command to follow Him:

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

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     Many around the world know what Bonhoeffer meant by that last quote.  And surely -- if current trends continue -- we may also come to know what it means here in the U.S. in the not-so-far-off future. Then we will be forced to count the cost. For the call to come to Christ in faith is a call to lose ourselves in His service, and in doing so, truly find ourselves -- and what it is that life is truly all about. 

     In the Bonds of Christian Service, Pastor Jeff

They Calmly Sang On

Greetings All,

   In light of the many terrorist attacks in November alone -- Beirut, Lebanon (43 dead, 240 injured); Paris, France (130 dead, 368 injured);  Nigeria (55 dead and over 100 injured in two separate attacks) I thought this entry in Ray Ortlund's Blog - Christ Is Deeper Still, was a good word to all believers in Jesus. The entry is "They Calmly Sang On" (Nov. 20, 2015).
     It is written in light of an event that occurred in the life of John Wesley (founder of the Methodist denomination).  What Wesley witnessed on a ship at sea was so startling to him that although he was heading to America to do missions work, it made him realize he didn't yet know Jesus. The Moravian's (of whom he writes) were devout Christians from Germany who had experienced an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit in mid-August of 1727. It is often referred to as, "The Moravian Pentecost."  From that point on (and lasting for nearly 100 years) their zeal for prayer and missions and godliness (evidenced most notably in their humility and willingness to both suffer and sacrifice for Jesus) has seen few rivals.

     Of the event referred to by Ortlund in his blog entry below, Wesley wrote in his journal on January 25, 1736 that the Moravian's, or simply "the Germans" as he called them:

"...had given a continual proof of their humility by performing those servile tasks for the other passengers which none of the English would undertake; and for which they desired, and would receive no pay, saying, “it was good for their proud hearts,” and “their loving Saviour had done more for them.” Every day had given them occasion to show a meekness which no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown down, they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth..."

     Wesley then states that as they gathered on the ships deck for a worship service (remember this is in late January!) an intense storm whipped up: "As they began the first psalm the sea broke over the deck, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up."

     Ortlund picks it up from here. Enjoy.

They Calmly Sang On 

     "John Wesley finally saw how little he knew of Jesus in the middle of the Atlantic, on board the Simmonds, when a storm suddenly broke out.  A group of Moravian missionaries happened to be having a worship service on deck at the time.  Wesley records that, when the storm became intense, “a terrible screaming began among the English.”  But “the Germans looked up, and without intermission calmly sang on." 

     "I asked one of them afterwards, ‘Were you not afraid?’  He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’  I asked, ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’  He replied mildly, ‘No; our women and children are not afraid to die.'”  Wesley then knew that something was missing from his life.  [On May 24, 1738] he found it in Christ.  He found all he needed to face life and death in Christ alone.

When the next 9/11 hits us, may we serve others in every way we can.  But through it all, and even right now, may we not yield to hysteria.  May we calmly sing on, because we have in Christ a hope that nothing in this world can destroy. Our serenity will make an everlasting difference to others."

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     Wesley would actually finish that entry of January 25, 1736 by writing: "From [the Moravian's] I went to their crying, trembling neighbors (the Englishmen), and pointed out to them the difference, in the hour of trial, between those who fear God, and those who fear him not."

     Clearly everyone would wish and pray that terrorist activity would stop. Yet from what we are seeing, it appears that may not be the case in the near future. And though we would hope it never comes near to us, or our loved ones (or anyone else for that matter), it still doesn't erase the questions which the possibility thrusts upon us, like:  How would we personally face danger or death, like those who know and fear God, or like those who don't?   Do we really believe?   Do we really trust that our lives are in the hands of our loving Father who governs the universe? Could we, like the Moravian's, be calm and unafraid in the face of death because we know Jesus?  Do you know Jesus?

In the Grip of His Grace,  Pastor Jeff