Sunday, December 9, 2007

Hope in the Darkness

I hate that the first post is this one.

The church has lost a wonderful man. He was our Sunday School Director and the Sunday School teacher for the senior adult class. I didn't always know how to take Harry. He had a very dry sense of humor. I never knew when he was kidding with me or not.

I've been reading a little book called "Emmanuel: The Glory of Christmas". It is excerpts from Max Lucado and Charles Swindoll. It has daily readings for the month of December. Today's reading was Charles Swindoll from "The Finishing Touch". The scripture is "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24. Mr. Swindoll talks about hope is what keeps us going. That without hope "we are plunged into deepest darkness...stopped dead in our tracks, paralyzed."

But God can bring us back from the darkness. We don't have to stay there. All we have to do is accept His healing. Open our hearts to His love. Accept His gift of salvation. He is our Hope. Even in our grief, we can have hope. Harry is with Jesus today. He's home. And we will meet again in Paradise to worship together our Lord.