10252024 Christ our Hope

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of Christ, our hope. Paul opened his first letter to Timothy with these words. “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.”

Throughout this personal letter, Paul talks about many topics, but he does not lose sight of his opening description: Christ our hope. Numerous references throughout the letter illumine ways in which Christ is our hope. How is Christ our hope?

Through Christ we receive many amazing blessings. “Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord” (1:2). In Paul’s calling, as a former blasphemer, he “obtained mercy” from Christ (1:13,16). The grace toward Paul was “exceeding abundant” and accompanied by “faith and love” which are in Christ (1:14). Christ is our hope, as He showers us abundantly with all that we need to survive and thrive in our spirits.

Christ chooses and enables men for ministry, even when they are far from worthy. “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1:12). Christ is our hope, as He sets us apart for service and then equips us for all that we need to do that service. His help means that we can do it.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” including Paul, who had been deeply lost (1:15). In such an unlikely choosing, Christ showed “forth all longsuffering,” which was “a pattern” to all who would later believe also. If God could save Paul, He can save anyone. Christ is our hope, as He provides salvation even to the most unlikely, dramatically changing lives and destinies.

Christ is the “one mediator between God and men,” who ransomed us with His own life (2:5-6) and enables us to be reconciled to God. This story of sacrifice and salvation is expressed beautifully in 3:16. “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Christ is our hope, as He sacrificially humbled Himself and suffered on our behalf, before conquering death and freely proclaiming the message that reconciliation with God is possible.

The very message of our words and lives can shine forth with boldness only “in the faith which is in Christ Jesus” (3:13). Christ is our hope, as He provides us with the foundation for meaningful words and the boldness to declare those words to others. We can make a difference because of Him.

“The words of our Lord Jesus Christ” are “wholesome” (6:3). There is such hopelessness in the words of men, and Paul cautions Timothy about the emptiness, confusion, and contention that come when men promote their own words. But there is hope in the words of Christ, because His words are wholesome, healthful, and meaningful. They give hope because they are true.

Christ is a trustworthy Savior, “who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession” (6:13). We have hope, because Jesus was all that He claimed to be. There was no sin nor defect that would have prevented Him from accomplishing His mission. Our hope is in the perfect and spotless Lamb of God.

Christ is coming back for us, and we can wait confidently for “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (6:14). At that time the greatness of the Savior in whom we hope will be fully revealed. He is “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (6:15). He “only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto” (6:16). We have hope in Christ, because there is no one who remotely compares to Him. He only is able to rule eternally.

Let us then look to Christ our hope - for spiritual blessings, for help in ministry, for the salvation of souls, for peace with God, for a meaningful message, and as the perfect hope of all mankind, demonstrated through His life and death, and soon to be revealed by His return and reign. Indeed, Christ in our Hope!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

10202024 Fulness of Time

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God with perfect timing. He is never late. Nor is He ever early.

In recent weeks I have been pondering the ideas of His return and of His redemption of this earth. I have wondered how much more this earth can withstand. How much more can the nations and the peoples of the earth absorb? How much longer must Christians vex our righteous souls “with the filthy conversation of the wicked” (II Peter 2:7)? Indeed, how much longer can God Himself look on this perverse and sin-cursed earth?

Is there any Bible precedent for the longsuffering of God? What immediately came to my mind was the nation of Israel. To use just a few Bible words, that nation was stiff-necked, rebellious, idolatrous, and adulterous. They went from bad to worse, and then found even more extreme levels of bad. God was so grieved with them that He no longer even found pleasure in their (empty) worship.

Yet He waited. “Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear” (II Chronicles 24:19). “Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them” (Jeremiah 7:25). “But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Romans 10:21).

Who would have thought that God would have been so longsuffering with Israel, when they constantly rejected His messages, killed His prophets, and plunged into deeper sin? Finally, God brought His judgment, but it was a long time coming because of God’s great love for those people. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under his wings, and ye would not!” (Luke 13:34).

This provides us with an apt picture of our world today. Yes, the wickedness is great. It is an offense to God. In this day of technology and global communication, God has made known His message to this world to an extent that is probably unprecedented. Yet people reject His message and plunge into greater wickedness. Why does God delay His judgment? Again, it is because of His great love. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:8).

God has waited perhaps longer than we can believe, longer than we would think possible. When will it be enough? When will He return? God’s timing will be what it always has been: “when the fulness of the time was come” (Galatians 4:4). In fact, our current time in history is a delay in the widespread redemption of the Jews, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). God will set things in motion in the fulness of time, just as He always has. God has reasons for delaying, just as He has reasons for acting, and His timing is always right.

Just as this is true on the broad scale of world events, so it is true on the narrow scale of individual lives. I have been reminded of this recently, as we wait for the homegoing of my mom. We thought last Saturday was going to be the day, but just as God has done during multiple emergencies in the past, He chose to extend her life. This time He did it in a way that was both simple and amazing to me. I listed 16 factors, including timing of phone calls, people’s plans for the day, cell phone outages, prompted memory, and so on – a combination of seeming coincidences and even irregularities – that God used to spare her life once again.

This left me with a sense of comfort and confidence in God. If God can orchestrate all of that to keep her alive when He so chooses, then I have no doubt of His ability to continue keeping her alive for as long as He chooses, even when circumstances would seem to fight against it. The opposite is also true. When the time comes that God does take her home, it will be just as deliberate on His part. His restraint from doing those amazing factors will be purposeful. It will certainly not be because He CAN’T do them again. He has repeatedly and wonderfully demonstrated His ability. Rather, it will be because He chooses not to, because on this small scale, the fulness of time has come.

In whatever situations you might be facing, the same is true for you. “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1). God’s ability is not in question. What we don’t always know are His timing or His purposes. But what we do know, and can find comfort in, is that He does have purposes, and that in matters both global and personal, He will achieve those purposes in the fulness of His good time.

I pray that this week you can trust Him, with comfort and confidence, to work out His plans for you in His time. He can do it, and He will. May You rest in His care.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

10132024 A Light for Life

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who means everything in life. Skeptics belittle Christians for using God as a crutch. Oh, He is much more than that! He is the center of life, the guide, the stability, the purpose, and the power.

I recently pondered this very familiar verse. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). If I may, let me share some honesty that I suspect you can relate to at some level.

There are parts of the Bible that I don’t fully understand. There are parts of which I feel that I have very limited understanding, little more than a general impression. Sometimes I read a verse or passage, and I am left with a sense of puzzlement or non-comprehension.

Some of the confusion comes on an applicational level. I don’t always understand how the Bible’s truth lines up with my life. Or I read about people from different “flavors” of Christianity, and I puzzle over their experiences and practices; what I read about them seems genuine, but if it is true, it goes against what I have always been taught. I’ve heard sermons and explanations by sound pastors on the same passage with very different interpretations, yet each one sure of his explanation. Can we know what is right?

Some of my more troubling moments have come when men have tried to explain passages or practices through involved sermons (or multi-series sermons) that get deep into the Greek and Hebrew and that link verses in a specific series of progression in order to arrive at a conclusion that at times is a minority viewpoint within Christianity. It might even make sense, but I wonder how anyone could reach understanding of the passage without a great deal of interpretive gymnastics.

These things have made me wonder how much of the Bible we can really understand. I suspect there are passages for which we can have only a minimal understanding. I suspect there are teachings that we can only suggest what we think is the probable interpretation (or possible options) but that we can’t be dogmatic about. God knows what He means, but I don’t think that man can fully grasp the depths of some passages or topics.

Having said all that, let me tell you why Psalm 119:105 was an encouragement to me. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” It’s kind of like the opposite of the skeptic Mark Twain, who reportedly said, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me. It is the parts that I do understand.”

I realized how thankful I am to be on the opposite side of that statement. Yes, there are parts of the Bible that I don’t understand. That can’t be a stumbling block. Instead, I am thankful for the parts of the Bible that I do understand! The truth is that there is a lot of the Bible that I do understand. There is much that is clear and not open for argument or interpretation. Much of that is true even without focused study, and simple but careful study of the Word reveals even more.

The Bible is the light for life. The truth of salvation turns on the light. The Bible’s overall impression is what illumines the guidance for life. It provides a moral foundation and clear principles and guidance for living. It unquestionably provides the framework for how to live in a manner pleasing to God. The Bible helps me know how to think and how to process what happens around me. The Bible provides light for my present as well as for my future. It provides me light when much of the world is lost in darkness, wandering in dark paths and seeking meaning and purpose in dark alleys.

Praise God for the light that I have in the Bible! Praise God that the Bible eliminates many of the questions that face mankind. Praise God that it illumines my path and my life every day. Yes, even with my limited understanding, the Bible is a bright and dependable light for my path.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

10062024 The Earth Groans

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God of hope. In a world that is largely without hope, truly all our hope is found in Him.

For the past week, much of the attention of the USA has been on the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene in our southeastern states. Over 230 people have been found dead so far. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and thousands damaged. Many roads and bridges have been horribly smashed, leaving communities and regions cut off. Some of the recovery will take years. I am aware that this is not the only such devastation in the world. In other places, there are also tropical storms, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, snowstorms, and other natural disasters.

I am reminded of Romans 8:22. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” God made a wonderful creation, and it still retains a great deal of His splendor. Since the fall, however, this world has been broken. The entrance of sin changed everything, and not for the better! The heaviness and weightiness of the sin and brokenness is felt even by the physical earth, which waits for the redemption that only God can bring.

There is a day coming when God will deliver this world. When God is established on the throne, what a difference that will make! In that day, even the earth itself will know the difference. Psalm 96 tells of that great day, saying, “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth” (vs. 11-13).

Like the broken earth, we broken people wait for such a day. “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). Sometimes the weight of this world system, all its wickedness, and the effect that it has on us and on people we love seems too much to bear. We do groan under such oppression, and we cry out, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

Until then, God is the one who upholds us. The gospel is our hope, and it is the hope of the world for all who will receive it. Knowing God and being rightly related to Him is all that can sustain us. So we go on day by day, empowered by divine strength, motivated by the divine mission, and “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Keep your eyes up! And remain faithful until that day.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA