“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1
For many congregations, next weekend we will celebrate ‘All Saints’ day and it always causes me to consider those in my lifetime, who have gone before me to receive their glory. They beat me to the banquet table. I have been thinking about a video my Bible study group in Lincoln had watched back in the day titled ‘In my seat’ and it was the story of Steve Scheibner. He was an American Airlines pilot who was bumped from AA Flight 11 that was hijacked and smashed into the first tower on September 11, 2001.
Towards the end of the video, he shared a short paragraph that he had written down some twenty years ago and it caused me to consider the importance of our lives, our legacy and how we are accomplishing what needs to be accomplished in the time that each of us has left here.
He wrote the following; “To seek, trust and glorify God through humble service and continual prayer. To raise qualified disciples as quickly as possible so that one day I might hear God say “well done my good and faithful servant.” Does this apply to your life?
The attached photo is of Pastor Israel Isidor from Les Cayes and on this particular moment in time, he was baptizing a group of orphan girls who were the first group to enter the orphanage he began in Les Cayes. Pastor Israel has gone before us and he no doubt heard our Lord Jesus say the words, “well done my good and faithful servant” when he entered paradise. We pray that these orphan girls and the other children in the Lutheran school in Les Cayes who are being prepared to be missionaries for Jesus and are being fed daily through the Trinity HOPE feeding program are out working in the harvest field of Haiti today, winning lost souls.
I pray that your day will be a time of reflecting on those who are doing His work today and have done His work in the past and have impacted your life. An all-time favorite hymn of mine is ‘For all the Saints who from their labors rest’ and was written by William W. How in 1864 and its words seem like a wonderful way to leave you today.
“For all the saints who from their labors rest, who Thee by faith before the world confess, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight; Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia! Alleluia! Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold, fight as the saints who nobly fought of old and win with them the victor's crown of gold. Alleluia! Alleluia! O blest communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia! Alleluia! And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia! Alleluia! But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day; the saints triumphant rise in bright array; the King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia! From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia! Alleluia! The golden evening brightens in the west; soon, soon, to faithful warriors cometh rest. Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!”
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay