Jeremiah advised the Exiles to build houses and plant gardens.  They weren’t to begrudge their circumstances, rather, they were to ready themselves for the plans God had for them – plans to give them a future and a hope.

The word to the Exiles has been a lesson for God’s people ever since. However discouraging our circumstances, however bleak the world our eyes perceive or our ears hear, God is at work, often unseen, unheard, his plans and purposes to fulfill.

Even during lockdown, even in the age of pandemic, God is calling LPC to place its lamp on a stand – hide it under a bushel? NO! We’ve talked about transitional leadership after Becky and I retire: Tyler, Brian, and Casey overseeing our ministries and helping us stay focused on the elders’ vision for work.  We knew that shifting responsibilities would leave some gaps in the vital areas of youth and children’s ministries, ministries that have continued strongly, and, especially in the case of youth ministry, even thrived during lockdown. Continue reading →

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”  Genesis 9:12-16

The photo at the head of this post was taken at Kibuye, Burundi, East Africa, April 26.  The photo at the foot of this post was taken in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, USA, April 27.  A (double) rainbow over the mission and medical compound that is Hope Kibuye.  Twenty four hours later a rainbow arced over LPC on a cloudy spring evening.

We love rainbows. Continue reading →

This is my Father’s world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their Maker’s praise.

The old hymn first sings of a common grace, what we call general revelation.  The created order gives witness to its creator.  With eyes to see and ears to hear, the human creature, above all others, is made to know its Creator.  The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 1 when he speaks of all humanity: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

In the midst of lockdown, grieving, pain, and sorrow, this spring has been, remarkably so, a common grace spring. All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres. Continue reading →

Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, is a public figure, and it is Andrew Cuomo the public figure I’ve been thinking about.  Of course, public figures have personal lives. There is no reason for me to think anything other than that those who know Andrew Cuomo personally, his friends and his family members, like him very much. No reason to think he is not a nice man.

But there is something about the public figure Andrew Cuomo that’s been bothering me. It’s what he has been saying publicly.  So, please, this is not a personal attack. It is,however, an expression of concern, a deep worry, about what Andrew Cuomo, the public figure, has said and what it represents.

About ten days ago Cuomo was interviewed on CNN. The interview had to do with his handling of the coronavirus crisis in New York. He has been commended for the job he is doing. The governor pointed out that they were just beginning to see a flattening of the curve, and that is a good thing. He commended New Yorkers for their diligence in social distancing and other measures. That’s the kind of thing good governors ought to say.

But then, out of the blue, no other context, he went on to say, “Our behavior has stopped the spread of the virus. God did not stop the spread of the virus.” Continue reading →

We hear the phrase all the time, maybe too often. “The new normal.” We’re five weeks into a new normal. And when this normal ends, whenever it ends, there will be a new “new normal.”

In this time of pandemic we at once grieve death and loss, feel pain and sorrow – and find ourselves disturbed by the changes in our daily routine.  The profound and the petty confront us with equal force, it seems.

After a lot of profound, I have been thinking about the petty.

I had my work routine down. It was normal. I knew what to expect. It was comfortable and predictable. Mondays were bulletin and sermon preparation days.  Always a Monday night meeting. Tuesday continued sermon prep and then getting ready for Wednesday morning Bible study and Thursday night Faith Acts.  Wednesday was staff day. And so on and so on. Oh, there were hospital calls, lunch meetings and phone calls and drop-ins.  But it was all so predictable. And so comfortable.  I liked my old normal.

The new normal is nothing like that and I can’t say much more because it’s not yet normal and seems to want to defy normal.

We like normal.

Normal is not a biblical word, but I the Bible knows about it.  In the New Testament we hear the word “always” fairly often, and, not always, but frequently it has to do with those things we normally do.  The Greek work is pantote – all the time.

Occasionally Scripture uses always to describe our old normal.  Paul reminds Timothy of those who are always, normally, learning new things but never gaining any wisdom (2 Timothy 3:7).  He reminds Titus that the Cretans he serves are always, normally, untrustworthy and lazy (Titus 1:12).  Our old normal is not so good.

But mostly always refers to a new normal to which the life in Christ calls us – always praying, always rejoicing, always showing concern for one another, always hoping, always being patient, always forbearing, always encouraging.

They say there’s no going back to the old normal.  The new normal will be different, maybe not so comfortable.

Whether it’s a month or two or more away, maybe it’s time to get ready for the new normal. Looking back to the words of Scripture, allows us to look forward to a new normal – to some old “always behaviors” – that just may make for a new normal so much better than that old normal with which we had grown way too comfortable.