Good morning Children of God,Just in case you don’t make it through the whole message (), there is one part I will repeat here:
It is in the spirit of latching onto the affirmative that I am announcing THE BLESSING PROJECT. I would like for you to share with me (so that I can share with the congregation) how the Lord has blessed you in this odd time in which we are living. Please share how you have found an unexpected blessing during this time of shutdown and isolation. Please send your blessing to pastorbillmckee@gmail.com or call the church office (614-878-4715) and leave a message. I will include responses in Wednesdayâs Messages.
Here is your Wednesday’s Message for this week:
Wednesdayâs Message
April 15, 2020
âCast your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you.â 1 Peter 5:7
Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.
Mr. Boster was a Columbus Public Schools Administrator and friend of my parents. He had an exuberant personality and one thing in particular that I remember about him from my childhood is him singing some lines from Accentuate the Positive by Johnny Mercer.
Youâve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative,
And latch on to the affirmative
Donât mess with Mister-In-Between
Because of Mr. Boster that song lives in my head and over the years I summon it up in times of challenge as a reminder of the importance of a good, positive attitude. It probably wouldnât surprise you to know that I have been humming this song to myself off and on over the past month. Nevertheless, I have never read the lyrics of the entire song until Monday of this week.
It turns out that the song is sung from the perspective of a preacher who feels âa sermon cominâ onâ about âthe attitude of doinâ right.â In addition to the refrain he says:
Youâve got to spread joy up to the maximum,
Bring gloom down to the minimum,
Have faith or pandemoniumâs
Liable to walk upon the scene.
This song is a good reminder that life is made up of both negative and positive events and the way we choose to view and respond to these events is important to our mental health. Itâs also important to our ability to do right and spread joy and peace. Once we permit pessimism to creep into our attitudes we are carrying an added burden that makes life that much more difficult. The best way to avoid pandemonium within and âMister-In-Betweenâ is to live by faith. Faith in the crucified and risen Savior, Jesus the Christ, is exactly what we need right now in order to stay positive and spread joy in a time of fear and sorrow.
A second song that I have been humming in my head is Keep on the Sunny Side by Ada Blenkhorn and Howard Entwisle. It has a positive message which is helpful in difficult times.
Well, there’s a dark and a troubled side of life
There’s a bright and a sunny side too
But if you meet with the darkness and strife
The sunny side we also may view
Refrain Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way
If we keep on the sunny side of life
Oh, the storm and its fury broke today
Crushing hopes that we cherish so dear
Clouds and storms will in time pass away
The sun again will shine bright and clear (Refrain)
Let us greet with a song of hope each day
Though the moments be cloudy or fair
Let us trust in our Savior always
To keep us, every one, in His care (Refrain)
I especially like the last verse; that part about trusting the Savior to keep us in his care. Jesus is our sunny side. He represents all that is positive about life. In this season of Easter that is precisely where the emphasis lies. The resurrection of Jesus is a truth that we need to accentuate in our lives especially in dismal times.
When our minds are set on our risen Savior and his monumental victory over sin, death, and the devil, we are well positioned to spread joy and minimize gloom. Faith in Jesus truly does keep pandemonium in our lives at bay. âCast your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you.â 1 Peter 5:7 Knowing that he cares about us gives us hope. We are able to view the sunny side even while standing in the darkness.
Having a positive attitude doesnât mean being in denial about current events. There is tremendous stress and strain on so many people these days for many different reasons. It is staggering to think about the grief being experienced because of the numerous deaths from the virus or the uncertainties that come with unemployment. As we experience the troubled side of life it is critical that we share our burdens with Jesus and remember that he is our Savior. When we are clinging to him, we have hold of all that is good and right. We can âlatch onto the affirmativeâ even when surrounded by the negative. Because of him, the darkness that confronts us is scattered. The clouds have a silver lining.
It is in the spirit of latching onto the affirmative that I am announcing THE BLESSING PROJECT. I would like for you to share with me (so that I can share with the congregation) how the Lord has blessed you in this odd time in which we are living. Please share how you have found an unexpected blessing during this time of shutdown and isolation. Please send your blessing to pastorbillmckee@gmail.com or call the church office (614-878-4715) and leave a message. I will include responses in Wednesdayâs Messages.
As positive people with hope, God can use us to spread joy to others. âLet your light shineâ Jesus tells us. Your light penetrates the gloom that is so easily descending upon people these days. Stay faithful, stay positive, keep on the sunny side, and proclaim the truth that Jesus is victorious even over death. God cares for us eternally. Amen.
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Bill