Category Archives: Hope

Is there any hope?

Is there any hope?

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On December 17, 1927, USS S-4 (SS-109), an eight year old S-class submarine, was submerged just off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Right nearby, on the surface, the USCGC Paulding, a Coast Guard destroyer, was headed southeast. At 3:37 in the afternoon, the officer of the deck on the Coast Guard ship didn’t see the periscope of the submarine until it was too late. The Paulding unintentionally rammed the sub with a section of her bow, crushing into the hull of S-4 and punching a hole in the ballast tank and one in the pressure hull. 

Freezing water flooded into the boat and she immediately began to sink. The saltwater flooding the battery compartment mixed with battery acid and formed toxic chlorine gas, quickly filling any space not yet occupied by water. Soon the deadly gas was forced by the water into where the survivors were huddling. By morning, when the first rescue diver knocked on the torpedo loading hatch, he was met with six slow taps in response to his question about how many had survived. Six men were still alive.

But try as they may, help was not coming fast enough. The next to last communication heard from the remaining crew in Morse code was “Is there any hope?” But unfortunately, the toxic gas took the lives of all 40 men.

Hope comes in many different forms and we use the word, as we do the word Love, interchangeably for the big and the small all throughout our lives. We hope we get an A on our test. We hope the cute boy in the third row looks our way. We hope we receive a Christmas bonus. We hope for a boy or a girl…or both! 

We may also hope for enough money to pay the rent, buy milk for the baby that we hoped for and hope that our hope is enough to sustain us until, hopefully, something better comes along. 

We even hope for hope!

But Jesus said we didn’t have to live that way any longer. He came as the Hope of the World! Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

In a world full of darkness and seemingly constant despair, Jesus is our hope, our peace, our confidence and no matter what comes into our lives, even the unthinkable, He has promised to NEVER leave us or forsake us! NEVER! 

We like to think we live in a picture perfect world especially after we give our hearts and lives to God. Filled with His spirit, we can conquer anything according to the Word of God. But we are still living in a sin-filled world until Jesus returns for His church and we will face things here just as the disciples did many, many years ago. 

And just as the men on the submarine faced…..they wanted to know if there was hope and yet they perished. Why? Because we aren’t promised a life without trouble or pain but we are promised that Jesus will be WITH us, IN us and right beside us no matter what we go through. And news flash, we don’t live forever down here! Our hope is in eternity and no doubt there were men on that submarine tapping into their Hope, finding that perfect peace in their last moments; Jesus didn’t forsake them, He walked them into eternity!

The HOPE we have today is that He is WITH us, He is IN us, and the more we pray and read and depend on His Word, the more confident we become in that glorious Hope.

Hope has a name and it’s JESUS!

We don’t have to be afraid, we don’t have to live in a constant state of worry and anxiety. We can still live joyfully and accomplish what God has put us here to do: tell others what He has done for us; share the Gospel, the Good News, that Jesus gave HIS life for us that we could live FOREVER with Him someday. And until that day comes, we can live victoriously and full of hope here on this earth, abounding in the work of God, encouraging our neighbor and bringing that Hope, sharing that Hope, with those we come in contact with.

Spend this week studying about hope in the Bible. Look up scriptures pertaining to hope and see how Jesus has always been, and still is, that Hope that saved the world!

Then, remember that there are others watching you and desiring to have what you have, don’t keep Him to yourself, Jesus Christ, the Living Hope!

For the kingdom

God sends people.

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Years ago, during a particularly trying time in my life, I was desperate for answers. I had been praying and asking God for a miracle, or at least for clear direction. I imagined letters falling from heaven and lightning bolts to come out of the sky in answer to my prayer.

But it didn’t happen.

God answered the prayer in an unexpected way. He sent a person. He sent a friend in this instance.

This friend drove from another state, several hours, just to BE with all of us. She didn’t even have the answers; God had not given her specific direction but to GO. So she did just that. She stayed until God said to go back home and all was well. God knew what we needed at that time; we needed Him and He came through our friend.

Look at the story of Moses in the Book of Exodus 18:13-27. Moses was spending from sun-up to sun-down weighing the problems of the people. It didn’t matter how trivial or how important it was, they waited in line to talk to Moses, the man of God. Moses was worn out, physically, mentally and spiritually! Who wouldn’t be? We don’t have proof that Moses even asked God for help but Jehovah-Jireh knew something had to be done.

He sent Jethro. Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law and although he was just there to visit, he was watching what was taking place every day and he could easily see Moses was stretched too thin.  His answer? He suggested wisely that Moses appoint leaders over 1,000, over 100, over 50 and over 10 people. Moses would deal with the hard stuff and the capable people he appointed would deal with the day-to-day matters of what kind of toilet tissue to buy.

In this instance, God didn’t speak directly to Moses as He had done before, He didn’t even whisper to him in a still small voice. He sent another person.

Your answered prayer may come in many different forms. One of my favorite sermons of all time was preached by a man from Louisiana who told of the hardships he had experienced growing up in a home with no father. His mother was a very hard working Christian woman; there just wasn’t enough to go around. But his mother knew how to pray and he said she didn’t just bow her head and mumble a few words but she would shut herself in her bedroom and bombard the heavens until the answer came.

One particular time they were completely out of groceries of any kind. She told the children that she was going to prayer and was not coming out until God sent an answer. She began to pray and remind God of all He had done for her before, how He could see those precious little ones, that she was faithful to serve Him and loved Him with all of her heart. She quoted scripture on how He promised to never leave or forsake her.

All of a sudden there came a knock at the door and the little boy opened the door to see a man standing there that he did not recognize. He asked to speak to the woman of the house but the little boy knew he dare not bother Momma, she had warned in no uncertain circumstances for anyone to interrupt her prayer time. The man asked again and again to see her and the children refused. The man got in his pickup truck, and instead of tearing out the driveway, he turned it around and backed it up to the tiny house trailer. He began unloading sack after sack after sack, full of all the staples any household would ever need, and then some. He filled the kitchen table, the counter tops, the kitchen floor and all the way to the door. When he was finished he simply said, “Goodbye” as the children watched in shock and awe.

The little boy ran to his mother’s room and began to beat on the door. “Don’t bother me, Son, I’m praying!” The little boy was trying to tell her what had happened but she prayed on. Finally, he could stand it no longer and yelled as loud as he could, “The answer already came!”

Momma came out to find her home full of groceries and began to shout and praise God. He had answered her prayer, not with money, but by another person who was willing to go and listen to the voice of God.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow….” Matthew 6:31-34.

Are you waiting on an answer from the Lord? He provides! He might not answer the way YOU think He should but answer He will. He might even tell you to wait or to be patient in the waiting but the answer will come.

It might come in the form of another.

Unexpected and surprising, God might just send people to answer your prayer.

Has He surprised you at other times with an unexpected answer, in an unexpected way? Share with us your testimony to encourage others!

 

The Friday that was Good

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Good Friday everyone. This is the Friday that was Good. Blessed be the Name of the Lord! Thank you Jesus for Calvary! Thank you for the cross. And even though it’s a couple of days away, I am so thankful He didn’t stay in the tomb. It is empty!!

You can read my other posts on Holy Week here, here, here, here and here. Please come back tomorrow and Resurrection Morning (before or after church!) for our final conclusion. 

“And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Mark 15:37, 38 NKJV.

The veil in the Temple separated the Holy Place from the Holiest of Holies. Only the High Priest could even enter the Holiest of Holies, no one else was allowed. Inside was the Ark of the Covenant, which held the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod that budded, and Manna. The High Priest could only go into the Holiest of Holies once a year to roll away the sins of the people for another 365 days. (Day of Atonement)

This Holiest of Holies represented the presence of God.

The Israelites could not approach God for themselves. They had to have others to plead for their sins.

But everything changed on the Friday that was Good.

It is a Holy Friday and with good reason! We cannot talk of the Cross without realizing there was a Holy God, a Good God, paying the price.

Look at all that was going on in the spirit world when Jesus was dying. 

When Jesus took His last and final breath, the earth shook violently, thunder rolled and a magnificent thing happened in the Temple. The massive curtain, which, according to Jewish historical descriptions, was approximately 30 feet wide, 60 feet high and three inches thick, was impossible for man to rip apart! It was said that it took 300 priests just to wash it. That’s big.

That veil separated man from God’s presence. So when God literally tore it into two pieces, from the top to the bottom, it was very significant.

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2.

When Jesus died, things changed forever. We could now enter that Holy Place, God’s Presence, all by ourselves. Without fear!

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh…” Hebrews 10:19-20.

Now the priests were no longer the only ones who could WORSHIP!

Worship was now for everyone.

Do you realize what that means?

We are able to worship the Savior personally, have a living relationship with the One who hung on the cross!

And…it gets better.

We  can, and should, worship God anywhere! 

  • In a church, yes, please worship Him there!
  • Out in the woods? Worship Him!
  • Walking down the road? Worship Him!
  • Driving in your car? Worship Him!
  • About to have a meal? Worship!
  • Breathing today? Worship, worship, worship!

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16.

Because of Calvary, because of “It is finished”, we have direct access to Jesus Christ.

Don’t be discouraged today if you are quarantined on this Friday that is Good. Rejoice because the veil was torn and wherever WE are, HE is!

Friday is Good because without Friday there would be no Resurrection Sunday. Join me tomorrow as we anticipate the Risen Savior.

Kingdom2