Cry of hope

I, a sinner bowing my knee to the lordship of Jesus Christ is the recognition that I have made Him the Lord and King over my life and that God’s program replaces my own.  What concerns me now is the kingdom of God.  So when I pray, “Your kingdom come,” there is nothing on my agenda – my ambition, dreams or goals.  I mean those things give me direction in life but I submit them so that Christ may use them as He has purposed.  It’s that purpose that replaces me running my life my way, my desire for the forgiveness of sin, and my hope of eternal life. So my prayer at this point of salvation is where I yield to God so that His purpose, will and desire takes over.

 If I think then how wonderful it is to be under God’s authority and my prayer is a desire to see His kingdom come so that I may live under that authority sooner than later, it makes sense that I commit myself to do God’s will now.  That includes following in the footsteps of Christ as He lived to the laws of that Kingdom and proclaimed the message of hope to the world.

So the prayer, “Your kingdom come,” is a cry of hope – a sigh for heaven. A cry for heaven to be on earth – the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Jesus.

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”  He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” – Luke 11:1-4

Cry of Hope – instrumental

The Cry of Humiliation and of Hope

The cry of anguish, the cry of hope

Gives you a future

If I emphasize God’s mercy, I can emphasize my own sinfulness and in the same spirit, hoped for cleansing.  It is not healthy to dwell on your own sinfulness, God takes it in His hand and for those of us who have sinned and have been forgiven know how much we appreciate His mercy.

Our times of crisis ultimately become our times of opportunity.  As we commit ourselves to God, we find our faith in ourselves, in others and in God deepening.

Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us – Ephesians 3:20

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

Be strong, be courageous,
    all you that hope in the Lord. – Psalm 31:24

 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,^[a] training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior,^[b] Jesus Christ.  He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. – Titus 2:11-14

Why would we reject God’s mercy, our only hope of salvation?

Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love – Psalm 33:18

Our hope is in the resurrected Jesus Christ.

But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan. – Psalm 10:14

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
BE STILL MY SOUL by Katharina A. von Schlegel
Music: Jean Sibelius
(Be Still My Soul by Selah)
(Violin version of Be Still My Soul)

Hope for the poor

We are never brought so low, so near to death, but God can raise us up. If he has saved us from spiritual and eternal death, we may thence hope, that in all our distresses he will be a very present help to us. – Matthew Henry

Two sweet promises given are given when I place my hope in God – I shall not be overlooked by Him, and I will not be disappointed as peace will visit my heart, sin will be cast as far as the east is from the west and I will enter into His glory.

 

I grew up poor, not in the sense that I had needs, but in the sense that we never had more.  I wore clothes that were three fashion seasons behind, our food groups never changed, and we fixed everything that was broken.  Extra curricular activities at school was an immediate “no” to joining and I started working to provide for the family at twelve years old.

At twelve I was introduced to Jesus. At fourteen He became my friend, Saviour and I became a follower of Christ.  One thing I learned then about being poor – I did not need to fight, strive or be envious – the One in Heaven was my helper.  Two things became apparent to me then – I was never going to be able to afford post secondary education – so I looked to God to instruct me and secondly, when Jesus was to come again, my hope was that He would welcome me home.

When we remember the poor and the needy we are remembering the promise of God to live among us and be our God. We are remembering that we too are poor, we too are needy, only in different ways. We are remembering that hope cannot be bought or sold

I know, from experience, how faith can be tested, how our hope in Jesus leads us to run the race with perseverance, which leads to maturity and completeness. But this is nothing without love. For love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Working with Partners International, a ministry founded in the work among refugees, one thing I love is that we are not afraid to be poor.  It is easier to fear it than embrace it but our hearts reflect the heart of our God.

“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
    I will now rise up,” says the Lord;
    “I will place them in the safety for which they long.” – Psalm 12:5

Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,
    but those who are kind to the needy honor him. – Proverbs 14:31

 This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. – Ezekiel 16:49

God’s displeasure and punishment of His people in the Old Testament were clearly in part due to their failure to be merciful–to care for the poor and needy and God’s blessing to His people in the New Testament was a result of salvation received and the fruit of generosity to those who had little.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever – Psalm 9:18

Job 5:16

Hope in God

When I stand and preach, when I sit in front of someone who has come for a listening ear, when I am discipling a follower of Christ and when I support missions with my financial gifts — the story of the demon possessed man being set free from the legion of demons is on my mind.  This is what God sends me to offer to every person I meet and on my lips with every piece of advice or challenge — rest from distraction, peace and tranquility, quiet of heart, conscience, memory, soul and hope, strength from self-control and freedom from the insanity of sin.

Why? We need to realize that no one is beyond hope – in fact, nothing is impossible with God.  If I can for a moment strip back the boundaries that someone has placed on their vision of human healing, and at times I ask Jesus to perform this miracle because I cannot, then I know healing has begun.  I need you to know that there are no boundaries anymore. My declaration is simply enough – “for the rest of your life you will remember this incident and you will always remember that nothing is impossible with Jesus.”

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my help – Psalm 42:5

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my help and my God. – Psalm 42:11

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my help and my God. – Psalm 43:5

All My Hope on God Is Founded

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.  As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—  for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.)  Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.  They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.  Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.  Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.  When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.  Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.  Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed.  Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.  The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,  “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. – Luke 8:26-39

Hope Bible Verses

Hope in God in Hopeless Times

Romans 15:13

Hope

Find Hope in Any Situation

 

Rainbow

Imagine a rainbow set against the darkness of the clouds.  As beautiful as it is, it speaks as a sign of glory, grace and hope and it speaks of God’s guarantee to all the earth that there will never come another flood ever again.  The very elements that created the flood were now no longer in existence and instead this newly created ‘natural’ result was the very promise of God’s presence in our future storms and moments of darkness – a sign of God’s grace and glory.

I think heaven will be filled with colour.  Kind of wonder how many have the impression that heaven will be only white or mysterious opaque brilliancy.  While that could be true, I believe colour will also be part of heaven and the rainbow is just one example God has provided for us on earth as a taste of the beauty we look forward to. As a symbol of God’s promise to us on earth, the rainbow beams with the hope of heaven too.  The ultimate promise God makes is that for every believer, their home is in heaven.

That is the message I received as a ten-year old boy playing with my neighbour and friend after a storm.  As we were busy playing with mud, my neighbour’s dad came over and asked me if I knew what the rainbow meant and for every subsequent question my answer was always the same – no.  He stormed over to my parents, and the following Sunday was my first Sunday in Sunday School – the beginning of my spiritual journey – taken by our neighbours who introduced me to God via the rainbow.

God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:  I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.  When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” – Genesis 9:12-17

He would heal

When Jesus was being challenged in the temple regarding healing on the Sabbath, I am sure attendance had risen to an all time high.  Everyone knew if Jesus was coming and teaching that He would heal.  It is possible that hundreds or even thousands had been healed.  No one came to see if Jesus could heal – their hope was He would.  Unfortunately the Pharisees came so that in catching Jesus healing on the Sabbath, they could accuse, indict and prosecute Him.  They had come to a point where they needed to arrest and stop the most dangerous man alive – Jesus.  He was exposing their hypocrisy and causing people to follow Him.

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.  Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”  Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?  He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”  Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”  On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.  But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.  Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”  He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. – Luke 6:-11

Faithful and Loving God, you have once again nourished with your Word. As people saved by our hope in you, we give thanks for the love you have poured into us. May this love flow freely from us to others as we carry your certain and saving hope into the world. Amen.

Free from hopelessness

Jesus met a man named Levi who happened to be a tax collector. The encounter was an amazing illustration of love from Jesus, not only meant for Levi but for all sinners and a clear model of how we followers of Christ are to live.  The story starts in a public setting and in front of this large crowd of people surrounding Levi who is doing business, Jesus calls him out to follow Him – Levi, a man from a particularly hated class of people – to follow Him.  One had to wonder what Jesus was thinking at the time because tax collectors were the scorn of the religious leaders and accordingly, Levi had no hope – he was excommunicated from all religious fellowship.

It was a simple enough invitation – and the invitation to come back into fellowship with God that set Levi free.  It set the scene for one big dinner party where Levi wanted all his friends and fellow sinners to meet the One who set him free from hopelessness.  The guest of honour was Jesus Himself and he never hesitated.  That was His pattern – if the religious leaders avoided, He and His disciples were pleased to attend.  How else was the Good News of the Kingdom of God to be shared with those who needed that good news?

You imagine our own scene today if were to gather at such a party.  Most of our trouble would come from those who are a bit overly devoted to legalism and the appearance of righteousness.  Unfortunately, many would not accept an invitation to such a dinner party.

Choice is rather straight forward – keep to those who are just like us or meet the lost and broken where they live, sharing the hope of the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus showed us how to live that night at Levi’s dinner party.  We are to share the good news with those who need it, in humility and gratitude that we have been set free.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:10

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”  Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” – Luke 5:27-32

7 BIBLE VERSES FOR WHEN LIFE SEEMS HOPELESS

Scriptures Against Hopelessness

Psalm 146: The Source of Hope

Five Pursuits to Lead You Out of Chronic Hopelessness