Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. (Psalm 119:165)
To our faithful followers:
Inasmuch as this blog has been designed to provide brief and meaningful words of encouragement to you over the years, at this time I want to be very intentional about speaking to this unprecedented and wildly uncertain time we are currently facing due to the Corona-virus pandemic . . . the anxiety we are all feeling while we are amid Covid.
In just a few short weeks, the daily routines of our lives have been turned upside down and inside out. To be sure, this caught all of us by complete surprise. But we can take cosmic comfort in the fact that it did not catch our God by surprise. Some 2,700 years ago, God spoke to the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand. This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations” (Isaiah 14:24, 26). He also told Isaiah, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). Jesus told us that not a bird falls to the ground apart from the will of God (Matthew 10:29); while you and I are feeling uncertain about the days that lie ahead of us, there is absolutely no doubt or confusion in the mind of the Sovereign Lord.
In light of all the instructions issued by state and local governments, we as a church have “fasted,” as I have been calling it, from meeting together physically. We now engage in our Lord’s Day worship via live stream at 10:30 a.m. Sunday mornings; you can click on this link to watch each week live, as well as any of our past sermons, including our new Children’s Sermons, which I began teaching this last Sunday.
Beloved, we are navigating through uncharted waters. We, the people of America, have never seen anything like this. So the question that has been on my mind and in my heart as a pastor is this: How can we have a godly peace when we are amid Covid? The answer, of course, is to look past the pandemic to see our Prince of Peace, who gave us these very encouraging words:
Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)
The peace the world offers to us is based on circumstances. When things are going well, we have peace; when things are going badly, we are troubled. But the peace that the Word of God offers us is not based on circumstances, but on Christ, who changes not and whose compassions never fail. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. True peace, a godly peace, is built on the sure, solid foundation of the Word—both in print and in Person. When we look to the Lord, “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Now more than ever, let me encourage you to stay in the Word and pray to the living Word, knowing that “He himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). I’ll be back again on Wednesday. You are in my prayers and in my heart.
Purpose and Passion,
Pastor Tommy
Grace for the Race 