The Season

The season from November 1 through January 1 is my favorite time of year. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day all fall within this two-month period. As a church we reflect on what makes us thankful. We reflect on the greatest gift of all as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. New Years Day offers a time of reflection on setting goals for the future and looking at where we have been over the past year.

During November, our home in Folkston becomes a blaze of lights as we cover the trees, shrubs, and house with Christmas lights. We usually begin decorating the day after Thanksgiving. We light up our neighborhood in honor of the light of the World – Jesus. At church we prepare special music to celebrate the season. As we look to Christmas, we look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birthday with family and friends.

I hope that this holiday season, you will focus on the important things of the season.

My Savior, My God

One of my favorite "new" songs is “My Savior, My God.” We have used it several times in worship now and I truly am touched by the words of the song. As I prepare the orders of worship for each service, many times I try to find out the background of the songs. I have several sources that I read and research.

As I was looking up the background of this song, I made an interesting discovery. “My Savior, My God,” copyrighted in 2005, was created in its present form by Aaron Shust. However, the text of the verses were written in 1873, by an English poet named Dora Greenwell. The original title of the hymn was “I Am Not Skilled to Understand.” Dora Greenwell lived a quiet life and is considered one of the significant poets of the Victorian era. Dora Greenwell had many things in her life that she probably had difficulty understanding. Her father died when she was young and the family lost its estate. She struggled with poor health and lived alone most of her life. She worked with handicapped and mentally ill children in a time when no one cared for these children.[1] It is obvious from her writings that she had an incredible passion for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Aaron was so moved by the text that he wrote a new melody for it and later added the chorus putting the song in the form that we now sing. Aaron says this about the text: “I thought it was a very strange title for a hymn, so I read through it and it just blew me away. It really focused on [the fact that] I don’t have to understand the mysteries of theology. I don’t have to understand God’s perfect plan. I don’t have to understand why Uncle So-and-so got cancer and died last year. I want to, but I don’t have to if I truly trust that God is in control.”[2]

I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed, what God hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior.

I take Him at His word and deed:
“Christ died to save me,” this I read;
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior.

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die,
You count it strange? So once did I
Before I knew my Savior.

And O that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me,
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring,
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior!

(Dora Greenwell 1821-1882)

[1] Brown, Robert K., The One Year Great Songs of Faith (Wheaton, ILL: Tyndale House, 1995), 296.
[2] Barker, Ken, More Songs for Praise and Worship Volume 4, Worship Planner Edition(Word Music, 2007), 279.

Are We There Yet?

Following is an article to my church from November 2007

Are we there yet? I’m hungry and thirsty. How much longer? Where do we go from here?

If you do much travelling during the holiday season, I am sure that you have heard these questions before. (Many times in my case) Right now, I am thinking about the upcoming holiday season. We will be expecting family over the Thanksgiving holiday and we plan a trip to Kentucky over Christmas. Each time we made that long trip to Kentucky, it seemed that all of these questions and statements flowed from the back seat every five minutes.
As I continued to think about these questions, I turned them toward our church. In reality, our life and the life of our church is a journey. Our church has just celebrated 98 years. We are looking forward to celebrating 100 years if the Lord tarries. Let’s look at these burning questions in the light of the journey of our church.

Are we there yet? As I think about this question, many people could say our church has arrived. We have a wonderful facility. We are out of debt, and most of the time we get along. It would be easy to sit back and say “what a blessed place we are.” But that is not what the Bible tells us to do. Philippians 3: 13-14 says: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.” Have we forgotten what our calling is? We will not arrive until Christ returns. Until then, our mission is to share Christ with a dying world.

I’m hungry and thirsty. We all have physical needs. When we travel, we usually make plans for rest and food stops along the way. As we journey along our spiritual path, we must also plan and carry out times for prayer and Bible study, so we can satisfy spiritual hunger. In John 4:13-14 we find these words: Jesus answered and said unto her, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Do we have a specific plan for daily Bible study and prayer? Our thirst cannot be satisfied without one. In order to focus on Jesus Christ and his commands, we must daily walk with Him.
How much longer? This is always a tough question to answer. When we are making that trip to the grandparents, we can usually give an estimate of the time. But the question is really not about time. The root of this question comes from our impatience. We are anxious to get where we are going and we become tired of the journey. I know in that 14 hour trip to my mother’s house, the last few hours seem longer than the first. In our Spiritual life we ask God this question about many things. Again the passage from Philippians reminds us that we are to continue to press toward the mark or goal. God is waiting to pour His blessing out upon us if we are willing to be faithful and obedient to His leadership.

Where do we go from here? Sometimes on a road trip you come to a crossroad. Often times you must decide which path to follow. Deciding the path is easier when you have consulted a map. As we journey through life as individuals and as a church, we must consult our spiritual map. We have to seek the leadership of God through His Holy Spirit and His Word. Anything short of that will be like coming to that crossroad without having looked at the map. A wrong turn gets you sidetracked and lost. Once again, we are standing at a crossroad on the journey called Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. It is time for each one of us to put aside our opinions and look to Jesus Christ. Our Lord commands it and the lost and dying in our community deserve it.