​Now is not the most comforting time to be a senior adult anywhere in the world.  We are painfully aware that the elderly are vulnerable to the Covid-19 sickness - not only to become infected but also to have negative outcomes.  That said, we who are not yet in our golden years have the opportunity to reassure the elderly of our concern through biblical truth and Christian love.
Those Who Despair of Living
At times, those who are advanced in age despair of living and even think fondly of a disease that might lead them, at long last, to their eternal home.  I have had some who felt this way in my first church, and I have encountered this thinking as recently as the past 72 hours with regard to the Coronavirus.
Here are some biblical truths to help reassure these folks:

• Unless the end of the age precedes our death, all of us have a point in the future when we will leave this life and enter the next (Hebrews 9:27, Psalm 90:12).
• To leave this life and be with God in Heaven is far better for us on a personal level, but for reasons we may or may not know, our staying here is better for someone else (Philippians 1:23-24).
• The Apostle Paul did not consider his life dear to himself, but he chose to devote every ounce of his being to the task of testifying to the Gospel of Christ (Acts 20:24).
• Let everything that has breath praise the LORD (Psalm 150:6).

Those Who Feel Threatened
Some have said they believe the Coronavirus was lab-created for the purpose of taking out the elderly.  I have heard this.  Others say that they are disturbed by the younger generations taking a "not my problem" approach to the situation.  Whether conspiratorial or not, elderly people who feel threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic need our love and concern.  We are to honor our fathers and our mothers.  We are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Understand this also, one day, you may be 70, 80, or 90.  What level of attention and love would you like to receive?  Sow those seeds today that you may reap them when it is your turn.  

Do you have your own ideas of how we can reassure the elderly in this difficult time?  Please drop a comment below.  Thank you!

One of 1500 hymns written by Alfred Henry Ackley, who had worked with Billy Sunday's evangelism team and Homer Rodeheaver's publishing company, is "I am Happy in the Service of the King."  Since July 3, 1960, the date of Ackley's death, one can sense a shift in the degree of happiness written on the faces of the King's servants.  As creation marches downhill toward the end of the age, the reasons to despair seem to abound.  However, God's Word gives us so many reasons, Spirit-inspired reasons, to rejoice.  Let's review a few of them together - and as we do, we are not looking for a superficial rah-rah session.  It's helpful to take several moments or even days and meditate on each one of these.

It has taken some time, but I'm at a place now where I can admit that I made some mistakes in my first five years of ministry.  I definitely learned from them, and I want to share some of them with you.  Maybe you can avoid them.  One of them does have to do with growing my hair out way too long, so if you want to see that picture and have a good laugh -- you'll have to click "Read More."

As I was working through Mark 14 for my sermon series, I came across the place where Jesus tells His disciples they will all be offended because of Him that night (14:27).  He says this reality is in fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy (13:7), "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered."  It occurred to me that there is a principle in this prophecy that we have probably all seen play out in various situations.  Protecting ourselves and our ministries through prayer can help us guard against this principle playing out in our lives.  Jesus was fulfilling Scripture of course, but no such prophecy exists for you and me.  So, it serves us well to guard against this principle.  How can we do that?

The ministry can be a lonely place.  I'm not just talking about those rare, precious moments of solitude and rest.  I'm talking about the fact that literally no one else can possibly understand the exact mix of thoughts and emotions you feel at the top of the ladder.  No one else sees everything you see.  No one else "gets it" like you get it.  Often, even if you were free to share what's on your mind, and even if the other person supported you and was sympathetic to your vision, it is not very likely that he or she will understand - at least not in the sense that you understand.  

So, before you click away from this post, please understand this: there is hope.  This is one of my favorite things to repeat: There is always hope.