The Hope of Freedom

July 4, 1776: 243 years ago. Delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence 2 days after the Continental Congress voted for independence from England. The American Revolution had begun the year before when tensions grew between residents of the colonies and the British government. It would not be until years later in 1783 when the Revolutionary War would come to an official end. Freedom was realized. America had won its independence from Great Britain. What began in the early 17th century with those 13 colonies eventually led to the formation of the 50 states of the United States of America.

Two thousand plus years ago. Jesus Christ had been sentenced to death by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. The governor had him tortured and executed by Roman soldiers. Prior to the issuing of the death sentence, Jesus had been arrested by The Sanhedrin, the most powerful religious and political body of the Jewish people. The Sanhedrin was angry with Jesus because of the claims that He had been making, claims of being the Messiah, The One sent by God. Jesus would go on to face six different hearings before being executed on a cross at a site called Golgotha, outside the city of Jerusalem.

The history of the United States clearly shows how freedom came to be for American citizens. It came about through the hard-fought determination and perseverance of the early colonists. They were willing to make sacrifices for the greater good and for the future of those who would follow. American citizens are the beneficiaries of their sacrifices and we reap the rewards of the freedoms which came as a result. For that, we should be appreciative and grateful.

But, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? How does that have anything to do with hope or freedom? The story of the birth, life and resurrection of Jesus can be found in what are called The Gospels – the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There you will read of the plan that God had set in motion to redeem (or buy back) mankind from death. That plan was fulfilled through Christ, The Messiah, God’s Son, who because of His sinless perfection was able to be the sacrifice made to save mankind. To save us from the death sentence of eternity separated from God, a death sentence given because of sin. In order to receive that freedom from God through Christ, we must have faith in who He is and in what He did for us, willingly surrender to Him and then go on to follow Him in obedience. It is in Him alone where the hope of eternal freedom can be found.

Hope nugget: So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Christian flag
Flag Day, Scottdale PA, 2019

God’s Glowsticks

Yesterday started out in a quite unusual way. I was privileged at being invited to meet a newly discovered family member, not something which I’ve ever before experienced! This young man and his wife had traveled from several states away and were taking the time to meet and get to know family that until recently didn’t even know they had. On my way to meet them, a bit of nervousness set in. Would conversation be easy or would it be awkward? Would I know the right things to say to help them feel comfortable and accepted or would I blow it by being a goofball? Immediately upon entering the room where we’d spend the next hour looking at family pictures and sharing family history, I knew that our visit together would be good. This young couple was friendly and greeted me with warm smiles. It was as though they had always been family. Well, in a sense they had been. An unexpected gift from God, blessings to our family. Blessings that, without God’s intervention, would have remained unknown.

Last night as I settled into my spot on the back porch and pondered the day’s happenings, the final rays of the sun setting in the west were steadily replaced by fireflies (lightning bugs, as we refer to them here in southwestern Pennsylvania). God’s little glowsticks are always welcomed as they come out to visit on warm summer evenings. The sights and sounds of an early July summer evening in our small town are predictable and typical. All varieties of fireworks can be heard and seen coming from every direction, some faint in the distance and others as close as the backyards of nearby neighbors.

Fireworks, snap pops, glowsticks. There’s just something special about them that capture my attention. The sounds. The colors. The lights. They’re mesmerizing. An assortment of glowsticks can usually be found in our home, ready to be put to use. As a child, glowsticks weren’t available on the market, but I was fascinated by the natural glowsticks that God provided so would capture them and place them in a jar with a lid poked full of breathing holes. I would stare at those little creatures which provided hours of entertainment as they showed off alternating their display of lights.

It was a day that had overflowed with blessings, glowsticks from God. Special people and special moments that brighten your day, evidences of God’s handiwork in this world. What ended as a typical day in the first week of July had certainly not begun in typical fashion. A young man and his wife who, much like those lightning bugs, drew me in with their warmth and glow. Blessings. Blessings of light and of life. God’s glowsticks.

Hope nugget:

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights… (James 1:17)

The evening’s first lightning bug as the sun sets
The evening “sun” hanging on my back porch

The Storm

**View from our window of Typhoon Dinah, Okinawa, 1987**

November 1990, Okinawa Japan. Back then, I was a young Army wife and mother of 2 little boys. The service-members and families stationed on the small subtropical island in the Pacific were on edge, anxious about what we were being told might come. No, this time it wouldn’t be another tropical storm or typhoon (the name for a hurricane in the Pacific) that we’d spend days preparing for and weathering through. This time it would be saying goodbye to our guys – our husbands, our fathers. We had followed the news of the buildup for months, daily watching the departure of more and more troops from the peace and tranquility of life as we knew in the Far East. And with the steady buildup of American and allied troops in the Middle East, we wondered if we were ultimately saying our final goodbyes. The end of the world, or so it seemed at the time.

My soldier, the father of my sweet boys, when presented with the question of volunteering his advanced training in communications to serve in Saudi Arabia, bravely and dutifully answered with a Yes. A man of character and honor. A staff sergeant, known for his strong leadership, commitment to God, his country, and his family and to serving them well. He would pack up and travel to the other side of the world just weeks before Christmas, where he’d join with other honorable service-members in the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, a country and culture as far removed from our island life as could be.

Celebrating an early Christmas
Okinawa, 1990

I was left alone. Left alone with my fears and the uncertainty of what Desert Shield would mean for our family. Left alone with the task of comforting a 3 year old who cried every day for weeks for his daddy. Left alone with a 5 year old who was adjusting to his first year of attending school in a Kindergarten class at Zukeran Elementary. Left alone to find a way to adjust to the responsibility of running a household with just the 3 of us. For how long? Only God knew.

The buildup to The Storm continued, until mid-January 1991, when combat operations officially began. Would it lead to Armageddon, to World War III, as news reporters implied? Those questions did not go unnoticed by young military wives whose husbands were right smack in the middle of it all. I’m sure the anxiety was felt by our family members back in the states as well.

Yet, was I alone? Was I reaalllyyyy alone? God had provided me with a wonderful church family, good neighbors, and a support group of “left behind” wives of other branches of the military. Then there was God. The One, the only One who broke through to calm my fears and who spoke to me so audibly it was as if the words were uttered directly from His mouth. Words that referred to my soldier, the guy who by way of military travel through the U.S., was over 14,000 miles away….

My Hope Nugget from God:

“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you…No man shall be able to stand before you…I will be with you…Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (portions of Joshua 1: 3, 5, 9)

The Hands of Time Don’t Move in Reverse

Many years and untold hours were spent with this view before me. When I walk by on a day like today, the fields stand empty and silent. But I am reminded of those past times here…watching, cheering, clapping, laughing, shouting instructions (hopefully not too often), consoling and encouraging upon defeat or rejoicing in the victories with an “atta-boy,” high-five or pat on the back.

Those were the days. The days that you thought (though you knew better deep down) would never end. Busy, fun, exhausting, meaningful days. Anyone reading these words already knows that life goes whooshing by, just about as fast as a hard-kicked soccer ball toward the net. Unlike a good soccer player who blocks the ball, none of us has the ability to slow down life. As much as we so desire. As much as we may try.

The best advice from those like me who have already experienced numerous seasons of life, is to enjoy each season while you’re there. Don’t look so far ahead that you miss out on the blessings in the here and now. I remember sharing this sentiment with one of my sons at a time when he was becoming impatient about “getting on with life” while in college.

As much as we all would like to have the power to turn back time, at least a bit, it just won’t work. The hands of time don’t move in reverse. Whatever season of life you are privileged to be in right now, make the most of it. Enjoy it. Love and serve God and others. You won’t have this moment again.

Hope nuggets:

*Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)

*Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were big things. (Robert Brault, author)

Suffering Saints

The intro verse to this blog of Hope is: “…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15)

Peter wrote his letter to offer hope and encouragement to fellow suffering believers during a time of great persecution under the Roman Emperor Nero. Peter suffered; he was persecuted. He was beaten, jailed, threatened, and eventually executed.

Time will tell if current generations of Christians will face sufferings and persecutions similar to the experiences of those first-century Christians. If we do, or even if our faith is strongly challenged by others, we should be reminded of what Peter spoke of in verse 14 of the same passage: “even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.”

Verse 15 goes on to give important instructions for a godly response in making a defense of the Hope in us…“yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

The hope that we have in Christ should be evident enough to others that we are asked about it. Then when we are asked, we should be prepared to answer gently and respectfully. By doing so, our conscience will be kept clear, we will be seen to have good behavior in Christ, and any accusations made against us will be unfounded and will bring shame to our accuser.

Hope nugget (key verse of 1 Peter): “….so that the tested genuineness of your faith…may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:7)

Sacrificial Love

This past weekend, our family spent an afternoon at the movie theater watching “Toy Story 4.” It was an enjoyable day and if I were to do a movie review, I’d give it a two-thumbs up! On the drive home, my husband pointed out that a strong pro-self-sacrifice theme was woven throughout the story. I won’t share any spoilers, but recommend that you go see it for yourself.

It is easy to draw an analogy between the self-sacrificial content of the movie and the self-sacrificial life of Christ. While the characters in Toy Story are imperfect and flawed and develop self-sacrificing and other positive characteristics over time, Christ is the ultimate and perfect example of sacrificial love. Christ went as far as to lay down His life even for His enemies. That means us. We were all at enmity with God. Separated from Him by sin. The gulf was wide and impossible to cross. Good works couldn’t do it. Religion couldn’t do it. Our righteousness (never mind, it is as filthy rags) couldn’t do it. The perfection of Christ as the Son of God gave Him the ability to take our place as a sacrificial substitute. Even when we were His enemy. Even though we didn’t deserve it. The cross offers Hope. To all. You can hang your hat on it.

Hope nugget: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5: 6-8)

Why the blog title? Why…Hope?

Hope. With it, comes a sense of peace, rest, contentment, joy. Without it – fear, anxiousness, sadness, uncertainty. A number of years ago, I was approached by a youth worker at a local youth shelter where I was employed in the classroom. The shelter was a temporary and emergency placement for dependent or delinquent youths ages 10 through 21. The youth worker was aware of my involvement with a young adults Christian ministry and asked if our group would be willing to volunteer in ministry to the shelter residents. This was the beginning of a very busy and rewarding time for the young adults Christian group. Within the same facility, though separate, was the juvenile detention center. After several years, the ministry at the youth shelter expanded into spending time and interacting with youth who resided in the detention center which was made up of alleged delinquent or adjudicated youth, some facing very serious charges.

The intention and ministry of the young adults group was to build relationships with the youth while sharing the love of Christ. You can imagine that most of the youth there faced many uncertainties and difficulties, some self-imposed, others through no fault of their own. Many were hopeless. Too many had not experienced the genuine love of family, but found themselves being bounced from one placement to another throughout their young lives. Our mission was to offer them hope. Not a temporary or fleeting hope that would leave when we walked out the door or upon their release from the shelter or detention facility. We offered eternal hope, the promise of hope from a God who loved every single one of them. A hope that they, as I often told them, could “hang their hat on.”

Hope nugget: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)

Hanging My Hat on Hope…

Throughout the seasons of life, each of us wears different hats at different times, sometimes multiple hats at once. Life is busy. It’s complicated.

None of us journeys through life without experiencing moments of joy and blessings. Neither do any of us get through without facing times of stress, sadness, fear.

At times, it can be easy to lose sight of hope.

Hope, though, is always available. Hope is a gift offered to all. Hope is God-given.

This is a blog about having Hope at all times, in every moment, in every circumstance.

It’s a blog about everyday life and The Reason to always have Hope.

So, do you hang your hat on Hope?

A Hope nugget for you:

“…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15)