Category Archives: Hope

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The Background

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“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.  He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”  Isaiah 53:2-3

Backstories can add significant depth to the words of a song.  Similarly, factual biographies can help us understand historical figures.  In order to facilitate some introspection as we approach Christmas, the last two posts have discussed The Encounter with God as well as The Invitation that Christ offers.  To fully appreciate what it means to encounter God and invitation that Christ presents to us, we need to also consider the background of Christ’s incarnation and all that it entails.  To get a complete grasp, one must read the entire Bible.  However, one of the most concise summaries of Christ’s life was written before He was born.  God gave this particular account through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53.  This depiction gives us insight into the Lord and Savior that: asks us to forfeit our entitlements to all that we hold dear in this life for the Glory of God; offers the promise of a reconciled and blessed eternity; and asks us to come to Him no matter how sordid our background so that we may enter into His rest. The goal is not to put a damper on the celebration, but rather to afford  a focused understanding of Christ’s sacrifice,we can draw near and worship Him more fully during the Christmas season.

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The Invitation

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pic of advent candle

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

I was reading a devotional by John Piper recently that stressed how we should prepare our hearts during Advent in order to celebrate Christmas properly, i.e. Advent is to Christmas as Lent is to Easter.  Too often, we get so caught up in the preparations and parties associated with Christmas that we fail to settle our souls and worship Christ for His priceless gift freely offered.  That offer, or rather our Savior’s invitation, is the basis of our celebration for without it, there is no peace, joy or forgiveness.  While Matthew 11:28 is not a passage normally associated with Advent, it does speak to the heart of Christ’s mission as He came to earth and dwelt among us so long ago.

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The Encounter

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Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”  Hebrews 11:1-2

Over the course of my life, I’ve encountered a wide variety of individuals.  Most of these events are buried in the recesses of my mind as they had little noticeable impact.  The encounters that I do remember are the ones that were: repetitive, damaging, unexpected, uplifting, or loving as they left a significant mark on my life.  At the top of the list of memorable encounters are my encounters with God.  Encounters with the Lord come in a wide variety and are perfectly tailored to the people involved as well as the need.  They may be direct encounters as Noah, Abraham or Moses experienced; through His messengers as was the case with Mary and Joseph; through a grand event as Paul’s conversion or the more subtle work of the Holy Spirit.  No matter what form our encounter takes, we can be certain of one thing: we will never be the same afterward for we will either trust the character of God and draw closer to Him or we will reject Him in disbelief and pull away.

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Give Thanks to the Lord!

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Farm Pic with Psalm 100:4

Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.  Psalm 105:1

As it is Thanksgiving in the United States, please join me in refection upon Psalm 136 which is a beautiful model for being truly thankful.  As this Psalm states, no matter what God is doing, His love for us is everlasting.  It starts with who God is, moves through various things that He has done and finishes with how He is ever mindful of us.

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Prelude to Thanksgiving-Blessings and Lessons

Gratitude for Everyone in our Lives

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Picture of lake in Brown County

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.  Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  Colossians 3:12-14

 

Within the past couple of weeks there have been quite a few conversations to make plans for Thanksgiving.  While the menu hasn’t varied too much from year to year, the people with whom we share the meal have varied greatly.  Naturally, the core group has always been our immediate family. However, many years have regularly included extended family, friends and acquaintances.  As I consider those with whom I have celebrated this holiday, I am reminded that I am most thankful for the people that God has chosen to weave in and out of my life.  Their roles, the length of time in my life and the affection for them has varied greatly, but they have all had a purpose.  As the saying reminds us, some people are a blessing while others are a lesson. 

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Looking to Heaven

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Sunrise over the ocean with Philippians 3:20 superimposed

But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.2 Peter 3:13

At the top of the back wall of our church’s sanctuary is a small window.  For me, one of the joys of singing in our choir was looking through that window to the sky and imagining that we were singing straight to the throne of God.   It always encouraged my soul and gave new energy to my singing.  Sadly, the addition of a balcony required blinds on that window.  That imagery is now but a fond memory.  Often it seems that the daily events of our lives and the concerns that we bear are like that blind and prevent us from contemplating and looking forward to heaven.  However, it is helpful to pause every now and then to evaluate our focus.  In that light, consider the following.

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The best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough. It’s enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings and sorrows currently assail us aren’t worthy of comparison to that which waits over the horizon.

Joni Eareckson Tada
Crosswalk.com
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Postscript for Hope

Godly perspectives

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Foggy morning in Indiana

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”  Ephesians 1:18-19

We have a pair of binoculars stored in our closet that belonged to my parents.  I remember looking at them as a child and learning how to use them.  Employed correctly, they provide clarity; however, used improperly they distort making matters worse than if they had not been used at all.  The same principal applies in our lives when we fail to look at things from God’s perspective.  This is true with respect to both our circumstances and our interactions with others.  It is a matter of hope and faith.

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Images of Hope

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Without Christ there is no hope

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  Hebrews 10:23

For several years after I became seriously ill, I didn’t plan any events in my life.  I had no confidence that I would be around for the long haul, therefore, planning was out of the question.  The problem was a lack of hope.  While I still had the hope of eternity, I had no hope that God would sustain my body or that I could endure.  Eventually, that lack of hope made my soul sick.  Thankfully, God sustained me and slowly began to educate me on the finer points of living well before Him.  One of those lessons was that there seem to be two kinds of hope: jubilant hope and steadfast hope.  While I had witnessed plenty of examples of jubilant hope e.g. the hope that comes with: salvation, marriage, or a healthy newborn child, and the like, I had no living images of steadfast hope to lean on.  The culture in which I was raised didn’t deal kindly with people who openly discussed their problems and therefore, was devoid of discussions regarding God’s use of trials to mold, shape and equip them.  In that light, let’s consider a few images of steadfast hope, specifically hope that is: teachable, observant, patient, resilient, faithful trusting that God is enough.

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