01292022 Our Great Savior

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our great Savior. Have you ever heard other Christians talk about certain concepts from the Bible and realized that they understood something you did not yet understand? I remember hearing people talk about Jesus as our daily Savior, and I realized I did not comprehend what they meant. I actually was puzzled by their words. To me, Jesus was my Savior because He died on the cross to provide me with eternal salvation. Over the years I have come to have some understanding of Jesus as my Savior on a constant basis.

Jesus is still my Savior every day, because every day He still rescues me from situations that are too difficult for me. One of the most notable places in which I have seen this is the book of Hebrews. Recently I have been thinking about the progression of three different verses that expand on this truth.

First, Jesus is my Savior because He is competent. “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). Because Jesus has lived in a human body as I have lived, and because He has faced the common trials of life, He has understanding of how to face trials. Jesus successfully met and conquered every temptation, so He has all the answers. This makes Him able to be my Savior.

Second, Jesus is my Savior because He is compassionate. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). Again, Jesus has lived in a human body, and His understanding of its frailty and weakness inclines Him to want to help those who are weak. He wants to give them grace and mercy to help them in their time of need. He readily and willingly gives help to those who come to Him.

Third, Jesus is my Savior because He is constant. “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25). Someone can be a savior only while he is living. Because Jesus always lives, He can always be a Savior. There is no person at any time in history for whom Jesus cannot be a Savior. I can rely on Him at any time.

I need this daily Savior. I need someone who is able and who has all the answers for everything I face. I need someone who is so compassionately ready to help me in my need. I need someone who is always available whenever I need Him. I thank God for my competent, compassionate, constant Savior. May this wonderful Savior carry you through today and this week. God bless.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

01222022 John Paton

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God with all knowledge. Do we have any idea how many times “intelligent” men have had the answers, except that they were wrong and God was right? How many times has it happened personally, that we thought we knew something, but God had far better knowledge than we did?

I just finished an autobiography of John Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides Islands. (The Story of John G. Paton, or Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals, which I found free on Kindle).

There was an incident that touched my heart. Paton was laboring on the island of Aniwa, which had no fresh water and little rainfall apart from hurricanes. The people satiated their thirst with coconuts and sugar cane, but Paton thought he might be able to dig a well. This was a concept completely unknown to the islanders and ludicrous to them. After all, rain always came from the sky, never from the ground.

Paton was successful in digging a well that produced water so nearly fresh that it was quite potable. The people were amazed, and this became the decisive factor in the salvation of his first convert on the island, a chief of one of the villages. After the well produced water, the chief asked Paton if he could speak the next Sunday.

He shared, “Since Missi came here, he has talked many strange things we could not understand – things all too wonderful; and we said regarding many of them that they must be lies. White people might believe such nonsense, but we said that the black fellow knew better than to receive it.” He declared the absolute strangest to be the idea of going down into the ground to get rain. Although the natives laughed at Paton and thought him mad, he did indeed get water from the ground.

The chief continued, “We have laughed at other things which the Missi told us, because we could not see them. But from this day I believe that all he tells us about his Jehovah God is true. … Something here in my heart tells me that the Jehovah God does exist, the Invisible One, whom we never heard of nor saw till the Missi brought Him to our knowledge.”

As he urged the other natives to abandon their idols and follow God, the chief concluded, “This is what the Missi has been telling us every day since he landed on Aniwa. We laughed at him, but now we believe him. The Jehovah God has sent us rain from the earth. Why should He not also send us His Son from Heaven? Namakei stands up for Jehovah!” This was the beginning of a great harvest of souls on that island.

Two conclusions: first, continue faithfully ministering to those around you. Indeed, there are some for whom what you are telling them from the Bible is unknown and strange. It does not seem possible or believable to them. But God can use the truth of His Word, perhaps illuminated through other events and conversations, to break through even the darkest hearts. We cannot force comprehension, but God can help even confused and deceived people to finally understand His truth. May He achieve this breakthrough for some this week with whom you have labored long.

Second, let us be sensitive to our own limitations in comprehension. Thank God for all that He has taught us and shown us. But I know that there are many things in God’s Word that I have not fully grasped. There are things God does that do not make sense to me. That doesn’t mean God is wrong. His knowledge is so vast and so superior to what I know, and I need Him to continue to illumine and teach me.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18).

By the way, some of you have encouraged me regarding publishing some of my writings. I don’t intend this to be self-serving, but you might be interested to know that I just released the series that I had shared with you from Job. (Lessons from Job for Times of Trouble, which you can find on Amazon by searching with both the book title and my name.) I’m glad that I was able to share it with you first, but if you had a desire to share the whole thing with others, now you can.

May God bless and strengthen you this week as you continue your labor for Him, and may He bring a harvest.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

01152022 Our Helper

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our Helper. No matter what our need is, there is no one better able to meet that need than God.

“Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul” (Psalm 54:4).

If God is my Helper, that means I need help. I have some type of deficiency or difficulty. There is some obstacle that must be overcome. If I had no such challenges, I would not need a helper. But the truth is that I have multiple such needs all the time, so, yes, I need help. I often substitute words into “Jesus Loves Me.” “___ to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong.” No matter what we put in the blank, it is still true. We are weak, and we need God’s help.

If God is my Helper, that means He is willing to help me. No one would be called a helper who does not engage willingly in the task of helping people. God wouldn’t have to help. He could remain aloof and disengaged, high in His heaven, removed from the sullied world of pitiful people. But because God loves us, He has committed Himself to help us. He wants to help. He invites us to ask for help. He volunteers His help and often gives it out of His heart of lovingkindness even when we don’t think to ask.

If God is my Helper, that means He is able to help. Likewise, no one would be called a helper who is not actually able to help. God is not just a cheerleader or a proclaimer of empty platitudes. He is not limited to hoping things will work out for us, like people are. No, God has all the power necessary to actually change our situation and work out a solution. He is able to do far more than we can even imagine.

If God is my Helper, that means I end up in a better place after His intervention than where I was before. If nothing changes, He hasn’t helped, but when God helps, things do change. That might include circumstances. That might include people. That might include provision. That might include grace. That might include peace and submission or simply a divine work in our heart. However that answer looks, the end result is better than the starting point.

If God is my Helper, that means I could not have arrived at that better place on my own. God often wants us to put forth reasonable effort, to be disciplined, to seek His truth. We might have some responsibility in the process, but if God helps us, that negates the possibility that we achieved the solution fully on our own. (And to whatever extent we “achieved” anything personally, it was through His enabling grace as we followed His plan and principles.) God makes up all the lack between where we are naturally and where we end up, and He provides all the strength and wisdom to travel from point A to point B.

It’s nice to have helpers – grandchildren to help decorate cookies, spouses to do dirty or physical chores, neighbors to rake leaves, coworkers to share in the ministry, etc. But each of these is so small compared to the Helper who is able to assist with every need regardless of the difficulty level. Thanks to God our Helper!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

01092022 Outlasts

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our powerful God. Aren’t you glad that nothing is able to defeat Him and that no one can conquer Him?

Enemies certainly exist. David talks about his enemies in Psalm 9. (He also uses the terms “heathen,” “wicked,” and “nations” in referring to these enemies.)

The enemies are real, and the attacks are real. We might refer to these attacks as difficulties, challenges, trials, persecutions, hard times, and more. It is not easy to go through such times. It is not easy to be oppressed by enemies.

However, much of what David shares about his enemies is about their destruction, their fall, and their defeat. In v. 3, they are “turned back” and “they shall fall and perish.” In v. 4, God protects what is right and judges righteously. In v. 5, God rebukes and destroys the enemies and puts out their name forever. In v. 6, the destructions come to a decisive end. The final line of v. 6 tells how thoroughly the enemies are conquered: “Their memorial is perished with them.”

The enemies are decisively defeated. Their plans are thwarted. Their activities are brought to a close, and it gets to the point that even their heritage is gone. They are completely forgotten.

Verse 7 then provides a wonderful contrast. While the wicked are headed for definite destruction and an end from which there is no recovery, there is on the other hand the future of God. “But the LORD shall endure for ever.”

Trials are temporary. God is eternal. Enemies are conquerable. God is the conqueror. Opposition comes and goes, but God always endures.

The remaining verses of the psalm tell some encouraging truths about this eternal God – the one who will outlast every enemy and who will remain standing when all opposition has fallen. God is a righteous judge (v. 8). God is a refuge (v. 9). God is worthy of trust and does not forsake those who follow Him (v. 10). God remembers His people (v. 12).

So it is true that for seasons of time in this life we face enemies. But it is also true that God is stronger than every one of them. As each trial comes and goes in turn, God is constant. God remains after each time of conflict. God is the last one standing. He outlasts every foe. And it isn’t just a matter of God’s surviving each challenge; God continually conquers, defeats, represses, and obliterates in powerful and decisive victories.

The trial that you face today is temporary. Wait on the LORD. He will outlast this trial and will be a refuge for you and will bring you out on the other side when He has conquered it.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA