1 Peter 3: 15 “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” 2 Timothy 4 “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.” I missed an opportunity to preach the Good News at my father’s 70 th birthday party with all our friends and family gathered together to celebrate my dad. What a wonderful time we had. And I was holding the mic and recounted an early childhood memory but I had also planned to speak about a time when my dad and I were on the phone and having a deep conversation about life and some loved ones who had passed away. It was a difficult time and it seemed we had lost too many friends and family members one right after the other. I grew up in the church, thanks to my mom’s dedication to get my brother and I there, whether we wanted to go or not. My dad only r
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.” Lamentations 3:21 Keep your light burning How powerful is the mind, that we can only scratch the surface of what it can do? We can study it but after years of assiduous research, we have still ascertained only a fraction of its capabilities. One thing Jeremiah tapped into that he knew for sure, was that the mind is an instrument for hope if we can harness and focus it. When Lamentations was written, the prophet Jeremiah was in anguish and distress. It was a time much more desolate than today. It was a time when no one had any real hope. It was a time when all the bad decisions were finally catching up to the people of God. I’ll admit that I’m often rushing here and there for meetings and appointments. I try to get an early start, but the earlier I am, the slower I move. Often, to be on time, I will go a little faster than the speed limit. Usually, I get to where I’m going with