Pastor's Message
                                                                                          

SPIRIT STEPS – FEBRUARY

 They got up in the middle of the night; they rode public transportation in the freezing hours of the early morning.  The sun was far from rising, when millions braved the frosty air to stand in seemingly endless lines.  They came by the millions just to be in Washington at that historic moment.  I together with countless millions around the world watched on TV as Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States.  It was a moving experience, even alone from the warmth and comfort of my living room.  My eyes filled with tears long before the swearing in ceremony.  To see the hope, and joy expressed on the faces of young and old, black and white, men and women alike was indeed an emotional experience.  There was again a sense of promise for the future.

It has been a week now since that historic day, and President Obama keeps reminding us that things are going to get worse before they get better.  The economic news continues to get worse; more people laid off from their jobs, more factories and stores closing their doors, the money I put into my retirement fund over the past year gone and there is no end in sight, yet in spite of the disastrous economic news, hope seems to prevail.  In general, people still seem to be hopeful about the future.

So what is this phenomenon I am calling “hope”?  Hope is the medicine of the mind.  It inspires the will to live.  There is an old adage that says, “Where there is life there is hope.”  When this adage is reversed, however, it has even deeper meaning; “Where there is hope there is life”.   It is hope that comes first, life follows.  Hope gives power to life.  Hope nudges life causing life to expand, to grow, to reach out and go on.  Hope revives old ideals; it revitalizes the vision, and renews the dream.

President Obama has been able to engender hope in a people who were floundering.  He did this through eloquent rhetoric that gave a simple message to people, “Yes you can!”  As people bought into the message and believed in their power together, hope sprung anew.

As Christians we need to understand that we have even a greater reason for hope.  “Yes God did and so yes we can!”

May you have hope and peace in your day!

 

Pastor Bob