Opening Chapel

The opening chapel service for the Fall Semester at Heritage Baptist College was held on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

Dr. Wayne Scott brought a special message from the Bible on “It is Required in Stewards that a Man be Found Faithful” (I Cor. 4: 2) encouraging the students and pastors to be faithful in service, in study, and in evangelism. Besides the preaching, there was also special music and testimonies.

What a wonderful start to the new semester!

Handling Fear

For over a year, many folks have been gripped in the distress of this worldwide pandemic. Physically, economically, and spiritually our country, with its churches, have experienced a great hardship. After watching this scenario unfold, it is clear to see that the great motivator of Covid-19 has been fear. Fear is a very strong tool that can blur human logic, and change behavior.

One of my favorite short story authors, Rudyard Kipling, made this statement: “Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.”

I recently was given a book published in the 1800’s called Cross and Crown. The printing ministry at Parker Memorial Baptist Church in Lansing, MI painstakingly reprinted this 600-page volume of various Christian struggles through past years.

In the far north mountains of Italy, nestled in the valleys of the towering Alps, there lived a large group of Christians, whom we call the Waldensians (Vaduois). They went through many persecutions and Inquisitions, as their enemies sought to wipe them out, beginning in the eleventh century. Over hundreds of years, various armies were sent in to exterminate this secluded group of Christians until peace was finally and fully realized in 1848.

In the midst of all these persecutions, the plague reached the Waldensians in 1630. According to history, the plague killed over 10,000 of these Waldensian Christians. The leadership in the churches was decimated, and over the several valleys, there were only three pastors left for all the churches. The small Waldensian Bible college could not produce the required pastors for the immediate need. The surviving Christians were left with a difficult decision. They had stood firm against persecution for years, so they would not quit even in the face of a destroying plague. They found a solution, which was to send away to Switzerland and find pastors that could fill their churches (p. 60-61).

We have never faced anything close to the anxiety that must have filled our Christian fore fathers. We should take courage when we read Paul’s admonition to Timothy: For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – II Timothy 1:7

The Lord can watch over and guide us through these difficult times.

A Higher Motivation

In America’s victory over the British Empire in the Revolutionary War, we owe much to the French, and especially to the French Navy.

To prevent English General George Cornwallis from escaping Yorktown by sea, the French had placed a naval squadron blocking the entrance into Chesapeake Bay. When the English Admiral Thomas Graves arrived, he saw a French fleet that boasted 5 more “Ships of the Line” (sailing battleships of the 1700’s) than in his squadron (French 24 vs. English 19).

Still, sea battles of that era were won by courage, respectable sailing, and accurate cannon fire. The Battle of the Chesapeake commenced 240 years ago, on September 5, 1781 at 10:00 a.m. as the warring sailing ships began to maneuver.

A 33-degree shift in the wind, caused a change in the battle plans, and most of the engagement was fought by the forward ships of each squadron. With the French, it was not Admiral de Grasse that gained prestige in battle, but Captain Louis-Antoine de Bougainville that won the honors of the day. Bougainville’s ship, the Auguste, drew close to several British ships, shooting his cannons at point blank range. The H.M.S. Princessa barely eluded capture, and the H.M.S. Terrible was pounded by the cannons into a floating wreck, that was later sunk. During the afternoon battle, Bougainville’s ship fired 654 cannon shots.

During the height of the battle, a British cannonball cut through the bowline of the Auguste’s foretopsail. The damage was critical to Bougainville for his ship to remain in the battle.

Repairing the bowline from up in the rigging was a challenging procedure at sea, but in the midst of battle it was nearly impossible. Still it had to be done.

Twice a man climbed up onto the yardarm, and twice that man was killed. Assuming that no one would make a third attempt, Bougainville held up his purse and promised the contents “to the one who would put the bowline in shape.”

A sailor immediately leapt up into the rigging. As he began to climb the sailor called back, “My captain, we do not go there for money…” The courageous man accomplished the work, Bougainville’s ship battled on, the French Navy won the day, allowing George Washington to defeat Cornwallis, subsequently giving the Americans the final victory to win the Revolutionary War. (Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Hurricane’s Eye. New York: Viking. 2018. p. 192-193).

In spiritual battles, it is refreshing to see Christians who realize the need, and “work for the Lord.” We know that God is generous, yet we should serve Him because of a higher motive. The tasks we perform may seem small, but many have great eternal consequences. We serve our Savior out of a sense of love and duty. Our Lord will see, and blessings will follow.