Letters While Separated- Weekly Compilation
Thank you so much to Brad Hill, Abby Bette B., Kyle Beshears, and Leena for their beautiful letters to our church family this week! Read them in full below then sit down, take a minute, and write one of your own! Submit your letter to tricia@pomh.org.
Brad your brother in Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who at Mars Hill Church, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
After having spoken to many you, chatted with neighbors, others in our community, there are a few things that have risen to the top in those conversations. Like a gold rising from the refining process, some of these things have been of great encouragement to me.
The obvious thing on everyone's mind is the pandemic that we are all facing and the future as a result of its repercussions. There is a palpable fear as you go to the store or walk around the neighborhood. Even my six year old is aware of the "coronavirus." As I meditate on Psalm 46, it has brought great comfort to me.
[1]" God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
[2] Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
[3] though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Selah (ESV)
Knowing God is present in this time is of great hope and assurance. He is not far off but is near. Take some time to read this entire Psalm, and let the words of the psalmist guide your prayer.
There is another idea that is near to my heart like that gold lays shimmering on the top of this molten mess, we find ourselves. A couple of years ago, I was privileged to watch a short film/documentary called "Godspeed." It highlighted our need for a slower pace of life. If you have never seen it, take some time to sit down to watch it. In a nutshell, N.T. Wright talks about a theologian that spoke about God as "A 3 mph God." Much of Jesus' ministry was done at a walking pace of 3 miles an hour. This pace is one of knowing and being known. During this pandemic, we find ourselves navigating; it is forcing some of us to a slower pace of life. Not everyone is slowing down, I know, many are more stressed than ever at this time, and we should be praying for them daily—especially all of our first responders and medical professionals. Even with busy schedules, we can take the time to be intentional about being known and knowing people. If the God of this universe can be present for us, we who are made in his image can be present to those around us.
Finally, as you meditate on Psalm 46 in these times, take some time to Be Still. I know this is hard to do for some, especially those with children. But find that time in the day to stop and be still. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but we are in a battle, and this time we are in is ripe with spiritual warfare. Fear and anxiety are in the air, and it seems like as you walk through the grocery store, they latch onto you. Take those moments, pause, and "Be Still." Cast all your burdens on Christ and pray his word over you and your family.
Brad Hill
Dear Church,
I miss singing and doing fun things. I love you.
Love, Abby Bette (age 6)
Dear Church,
This new “normal” of social distancing affects us all very differently. For some, it’s a welcomed vacation from the dry tedium of office life. There are no PowerPoint presentations while teleworking. It’s only you, your cat, and the computer. In pajamas. For others, social distancing means trying to find rhythm amid chaos. How does one continue to work and homeschool children and watch an infant and maintain sanity?
Worse, many people have been swept into financial, relational, and physical vulnerability or ruin. Investment portfolios all but vanished in a matter of days as the United States shattered its former record for unemployment claims last week. Divorce rates skyrocketed in China after weeks of close quarters, ironically, drove marriages apart. Tragically, many households are facing two pandemics—one cause by a virus; the other, domestic abuse.
And then there are those most obviously affected by the virus itself. As I write this letter, 163,539 Americans have been infected (that we know of), 2,860 have died, and the White House predicts another 97,000 to 237,000 deaths are on the horizon.
Is it any wonder that depression and anxiety are on the rise as investments, jobs, relationships, and health plummet?
Everyone experiences this pandemic differently, running along a spectrum from mere inconvenience to grave peril. But we all have one thing in common—the need for joy amid distress. “Rejoice in the Lord always,” the Apostle Paul admonishes us, “again I will say, rejoice (Phil 4:4).” But, in the midst of anxiety and illness, where do we find joy? Paul gave us the answer: “in the Lord.”
Scholars have long noticed a pattern about joy in scripture. All biblical joy fits into one of two categories: joy because of and joy in spite of. We either experience joy because of something and we experience joy in spite of something. To rejoice in the Lord always, as the apostle instructs us, is to have joy because of God and his redemptive works and in spite of circumstances that bring us grief and sorrow.
We have joy because of what God has done through the Lord Jesus Christ, and we rejoice in spite of our circumstances, whether we are healthy or hurting, satisfied or suffering, glad or grieved. With Christ, it’s possible to smile amid poverty, to rejoice in the face of illness, and laugh through tears. We know that one day soon all our tears will be wiped away, death will die, and our evening strolls will be on streets of gold (Revelation 20:14; 21:4, 21).
For this reason, joy “in the Lord” is three-fold: 1) remembering what God has done, 2) a present awareness that what God is doing ends in his good, and 3) an anticipation of how God will faithfully keep his promises. Remember the goodness and faithfulness of God in the death and resurrection of his Son. Know that, in faith, the Holy Spirit fills us with confidence in the goodness and faithfulness of God yet to come. In good conscience and with good reason, Christians can sing “it is well with my soul” during good times when “peace like a river attendeth my way” and during bad times when “sorrows like sea billows roll.”
Christian joy is surprising, vigorous, and persistent. Lean into it. Relish in it. Rejoice because of what God has done and in spite of what sin is doing. We know the end of the story. Joy wins.
Kyle Beshears
Dear brothers and sisters,
I returned “home” to the States in August after spending two years doing missionary work in a South Asian mega city of more than 25 million people. They tell you that with time, the feeling of disconnection should go away, but the fact is I still wrestle with the sensation that I am being torn apart, with one piece of myself in the US and another in a South Asian slum, and while I have made amazing new friends and starting growing roots here in Mobile, maybe that tug in my heart for South Asia will never diminish. The one thing I have held on to, though, is that the Lord is always sovereign, and he continues his work in South Asia, which he proved to me by using my national partners there to share with and baptize several new believers recently.
Those same believing sisters of ours are now facing a new challenge as the densely populated slum in which they live as been affected by the corona virus. All of my partners are now out of work and have gone from day to day food insecurity to the absolute inability to feed themselves and their children. My South Asian church family is taking an offering to support its primarily low income, slum dwelling congregation, and our sisters received rations of rice, dal, sugar, and chai last week, but instead of keeping it for themselves, they gave the majority of it away to their neighbors, sharing with them precious resources, and even more valuable, the Good News of Jesus Christ. Please pray for these women who have always given of themselves in absolute faith that Jesus will provide for them, and who continue to do so in a slum population that experts say will be devastated by this disease. Pray for the 12 million people living in slums in their city, who are living and dying without ever knowing the hope of Jesus.
Pray for the missionary workers who remain in South Asia, who have chosen to stay in the place that the Lord has called them. Pray for those who are being evacuated from their cities and countries, who are heartbroken to leave behind their work, partners, and friends. The reality is that everyone who identifies as a believer of Jesus should be compelled to be involved in God’s mission for the unreached, and how simple it is for us to lift up those who have given their lives for the billions of people without access to the Gospel in South Asia.
It is such a blessing and a privilege to be able to pray for the lost, the persecuted church, and those working cross culturally. I look forward with great anticipation to the day when we will all be together in person again, not just after the stay at home orders are lifted, but in Heaven, surrounded by people of every tongue, tribe, and nation singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty”.
With love,
Leena
Submit your letter and pictures to tricia@pomh.org. Be sure to include your first name (we will not use your full name), how this pandemic has affected your everyday life, things that have been hard for you, and things that you have enjoyed from this time. Include scripture and other resources that have helped you.
Letters will be edited for formatting purposes.
Parents, if your young child submits a letter, please include their age. If you choose to include a photo, please choose one that doesn’t show their face. Some ideas might be to show them doing their schoolwork, examples of a craft they made, or action shots of them playing.