Pastor Tim’s Devotional

March 8, 2021

Scripture Reading – 1 Peter 1:3-6
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

In January of 1736, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, set sail for the recently established Colony of Georgia. Thirty-two-year-old Wesley was an ordained Anglican priest and Oxford professor who had answered the call to serve the new community. Wesley, who had feared the sea from his youth, had never been on a ship before and during the three-month journey the ship encountered horrible storms that caused him to fear for his life.

In his journal, Wesley wrote about his experience during the worst of the storms, when the sea, “poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up.” During this experience Wesley observed that while he, along with the other English passengers were screaming out in terror, a group of German Moravian Christians calmly gathered together and peacefully sang a psalm.

When I think about this famous story from Wesley’s life, I like to imagine myself sitting with the Moravian Christians, calmly singing a hymn as the sea rushes in, but I know that it is far more likely that I would be screaming out with John Wesley.

Christian peace can be elusive and each one of us can encounter circumstances in our lives that will bring us to the edge of doubt, allowing fear to creep in. While I have known a few Christians in my life who seem to possess a peace that always passes my understanding, I have found that most, like me, experience both times of blessed assurance and times of fear and doubt.

The believers in St. Peter’s day were no exception, and I take great comfort in the fact that he opened his letter to them, by assuring them, and us, of the eternal hope that we have in Jesus Christ. As we move through the season of Lent and look forward to Easter, let us be reminded of the wonderful joy that is ahead. Let us be reminded that no circumstance of our lives can ever change what God has already done for us in Jesus Christ.

God Bless You
Pastor Tim