Legacy. So many people set out to build a legacy and every thing they do is calculated toward that legacy. And then there are those who simply build a legacy with the life they live, never even trying to do so. My Senior Pastor here at First Baptist Church of the Islands asked me to write and post a memorial to Donna Thaggard. Donna was a long time choir member here at FBCI and a teacher at Calvary Day School here in Savannah for 38 years. Donna was one of those people who, without even trying, left an enduring legacy of love, care, and learning for all of us to remember and aspire to. As I told Donna when I left her on Friday afternoon, this is not good bye but just see you later.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Donna Thaggard. Donna went home in the early hours of Monday morning following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. It has been said that a person's legacy is determined by how their story ends; what a legacy Donna leaves us! As our Worship Pastor was visiting with Donna in her home on Friday her first words to him were, "God's got it." What faith, what assurance, what a legacy! 

But even more, our legacy is defined by how we spend our time and who we spend it with. Donna impacted countless lives through her 38 years at Calvary Day School, as was evidenced by the prayer vigil they held just this last weekend. The legacy of love and service that Donna left will continue on, and with that her memory.

Donna was a member of our amazing choir here at First Baptist of the Islands, and our minds go to a song our choir sings, "Thou O Lord." Taken from Psalm 3 they sing, "But thou, O Lord, are a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of my head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. I laid me down and slept and awaked; for the Lord sustained me." How these words have rang true over this past weekend. Facing a poor prognosis, Donna knew the Lord was her shield and the lifter of her head. She, along with so many of us, cried unto the Lord for help and He indeed heard our cries as Donna awakened on Monday morning having truly been sustained by her Savior, her Helper, her Deliverer!

Yes, our hearts are sad, but we do not grieve like those who have no hope. For we know that this is not goodbye, but see you later to our dear friend, our sister in Christ, and our fellow laborer. We have a hope and an assurance that we will see Donna again. But until then, let us continue in the legacy that she left behind.

Donna Thaggard 
October 10, 1959 - May 18, 2020

This week is Holy Week. It is the week we commemorate the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord. We began the week this past Sunday by celebrating Palm Sunday, the day we remember the triumphal entry of Jesus of Nazareth into Jerusalem. Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday, the day that we remember Jesus’s last supper with his disciples. We also remember that, on that Thursday night in the upper room, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, a sign of anointing for the new role they are about to find thrust upon them.

The next day is Good Friday, the day we remember how Jesus willingly suffered and died as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. I love how Justin Holcomb sums up Good Friday in an article on Christianity.com entitled  What’s So Good about Good Friday?. He writes, "Good Friday marks the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. That’s why Good Friday is so dark and so Good."

As Good Friday draws to a close we come to Saturday, what is traditionally know as Holy Saturday. This day is recognized as the day on which Jesus “rested” from His work of providing salvation to a lost and dying world. This Saturday would have been the seventh day of Holy Week, the traditional day of rest. 

With all that is going on in the world around us right now, this remembrance of Holy Saturday should be all the more important. There is a real significance to the thought that Jesus rested following the completion of this great work that purchased our freedom. This Sunday at First Baptist we will be worshiping together with one of my favorite songs of the Easter season, It Is Finished from Passion. The song echos the words of Jesus as He called out, “It is finished!” I love the words of the chorus:

     It is done, it is finished
     Christ has won, He is risen
     Grace is here
     Love has triumphed over death forever

Jesus could rest on that Saturday because it was done, it was indeed finished. The task He came to earth for was completed on the cruel cross of Calvary. There was no further price to pay; the debt of sin had been atoned for. Grace had come to all mankind. Love had triumphed over death in a week-long spectacle for all to witness, then and now!

With COVID-19, this Easter will undoubtedly be different than any other we have ever experienced. Yet in the middle of all these changes that we find ourselves dealing with, adjusting to as best we can, there are still some things that haven’t changed! His grace hasn’t changed! His mercy hasn’t changed! His forgiveness hasn’t changed! And the empty grave hasn’t changed, it is still empty!

Because Jesus finished His task and won our redemption on the cross we have resurrection power over every circumstance, including COVID-19!
 So in this time where we remember the rest our Savior took on this Holy Thursday, be reminded of these words from this song:

     His word stands final and forever
     It will not be shaken,
     He alone has won it all!

He's already won the victory, mercy won! So why don't you just relax and...#ObserveTheRest. 

I am an optimist. I am a perpetual optimist. In fact I say that my cup is not even half full, it is in the process of being filled! My wife has told me more than once, “could you please just be upset about something?!” What can I say, I have always been one to see the positive.

Last week I was texting with a friend who asked me to pray for his co-workers. He went on to explain that so many of them are anxious, scared, and  paranoid during this time. I am sure that you know people that feel the same way. Maybe you are experiencing those feelings now yourself. But it was his next comment that stopped me in my tracks. He said, “This is an opportunity for me to show faith not fear.” Wow! Let that comment sink in. Where those around him day in and day out are overcome with anxiety, fear, and paranoia he sees an opportunity to share his faith!

For those of you who have been able to watch any of our online prayer services at First Baptist Church of the Islands you know that one of my prayers during this time has been for God to give us gospel opportunities. This time of social distancing has indeed caused anxiety and fear in many, I am sure that you have talked with someone over these last weeks that is dealing with this. But in 1 Peter 3:15 we read, “If someone asks about the hope that you have as a believer be ready to explain it.”

When we accept Christ we are changed, we are a new creation. Peter says that those around us, the people we work with, the people we do life with, will notice the difference. That difference is hope. Hope that we will survive this storm. Hope that God has got it all in control. And even in the midst of a pandemic like we find ourselves in today, our hope shines through.

People are going to notice this hope, and they are going to curiously question how we can have hope in times like these. When my friend’s coworkers see the unwavering, non unexplainable hope that he walks through this struggle with they will not be able to help but ask for the reason of his hope. And I can gladly say that my friend will be ready to explain the reason for his hope: his faith in Christ!

Are you ready to explain the hope that you have? Are you walking through this pandemic with faith or fear? You don’t have to take another step in fear, because you have hope in what He has done for you. As we journey through this season of rest, spend time with God in His word and in prayer. Grow your faith and put your hope on display as you observe the rest!

I am tired. I am exhausted, both physically and mentally. I am drained. Can you relate to these feelings? Have you found yourself at this same place this week. Has it really only been a week? It feels like this new normal has been the normal for forever. I am tired.

We all find ourselves at this place at some point in this journey called life. There are times that just seem to require so much of us that they truly drain us dry and run us down. It is in times like this that so many lose hope. 

As a pastor, this coronavirus pandemic has totally changed so many things about how we do ministry. I am so thankful that last fall we at my church decided to look toward live streaming. We never intended to use live streaming the way we are now, we were simply looking for a solution to help us with overflow video and audio and the ability to allow our shut-ins to see the service. I have, more than once during these last two weeks, found myself overwhelmed by the goodness of God to us in all of this! His timing is far better than our timing, and His ways are far better than our ways. What we didn’t know back last fall as we started this, He did, and He put us in the perfect place step into this season of technological ministry that we find ourselves in today. But we also see how unprepared we were as well. Doing ministry in this era of social distancing requires so much more creativity and tech savvy in the way that we do things. I know so many of my pastor friends that I have spoken with over the last two weeks all say the same thing, that they are burning their candles at both ends. I even know some who would consider the place they’re in right now a place of hopelessness and despair. Are you there too?

Today as I was thinking about these conversations I have had and my own tiredness, I was reminded of one of my favorite scriptures from the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah‬ ‭40:31 we read, ‬“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” 

Maybe some of you find yourself, like my friends, in a place of hopelessness. Maybe some of you find yourself in a time of great weariness. Take heart, place your hope in Him knowing that he will renew your strength. The translation I memorized uses the word wait instead of hope. It reads, “those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.” It seems that every day we hear new numbers of those affected by this virus, and new dates that seem to push further and further out before our lives will go back to normal. Waiting is hard, but in this season of rest that is exactly what we need to do: wait.

​What areas of your life do you need to learn to wait in? I know this is something that God is teaching me right now, and I am enjoying learning to rest and wait. Please don’t misunderstand me, this is not easy! As I said in an earlier post, resting is hard for me, and waiting is even harder! But I know that is what God is calling me to do, and I also know that on the other side of this my strength will be renewed and my weariness will be gone. Stop, be still, rest in Him and allow him to restore you and renew your strength. Don’t miss what he is doing in this time as he calls us to observe the rest.