I am known
in some circles as a “second-career” pastor.
In my first life, I spent 17 years in radio broadcasting. I began as a weekend announcer and worked my
way up the ranks. As I progressed I
became the general manager of a radio broadcast group. It took me from behind the microphone and put
me in charge of programming, administration and sales. And as general manager, I was the
trouble-shooter. If one of our stations
had something unusual come up, I was the guy who got the call.
That why I
wasn’t too concerned when one of our managers called my office one day to say,
“George, I hope you’re setting down. We
have a problem at the station.” With
confidence in my voice, I calmly asked, “What’s going on?” The manager answered, “One of our radio
towers just came down.”
I sat down.
I prided
myself on being able to handle any situation, to keep my cool while everyone
else was braking out in a cold sweat.
But this was one problem that couldn’t be solved with a phone call or a
brief trip. Losing a radio tower meant a
loss of power and coverage and, more importantly, a loss of needed revenues.
For a brief
moment the situation seemed hopeless.
And I felt sick.
That’s how
it is when we live without hope.
Confidence in the future disappears.
Faith in dealing with present circumstances vanishes. Our expectations crumble just like a damaged
radio tower.
After you
finish reading this, why don’t you take a little inventory…of your life. An honest look might reveal some area of your
life that needs to be changed. Maybe a
bad temper needs to be curbed. Or some
lustful thoughts need to be extinguished.
Or harsh words need to be swallowed.
You say,
“I’ve tried to change but it’s hopeless.”
Maybe you should set down. Or
better yet, drop to your knees and ask the God of hope to be at work in your
heart today and this week. Through the
power of the Holy Spirit you are God’s new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come.” God began this process in your
life at your baptism. Titus 3:5 tells
us, “(God) saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of His mercy. He saved us through the
washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” And God continues this work through His
Gospel of grace as you hear, read and meditate on His Holy Word. The Apostle Peter wrote in his first letter:
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,
through the living and enduring word of God."
Beginning
September 9, Life in Christ will offer a sermon/Bible study series called, “Unshakable
Hope,” based on the new book by Max Lucado.
During his many years of ministry, Lucado has discovered that nothing
brings more hope to a hurting or confused or lost person like the promises that
God makes in the Scriptures. Hope can be
restored when life feels hopeless. It
happens when the Holy Spirit, working through that Word, gives the needed assurance that nothing
can separate any of us from God’s love.
I hope
(there’s that word again!) that you will join us starting on September 9th. All of us can use a little hope, right?
