Pastor’s Moment: Hope not something we should have. Hope is a powerful thing that we MUST have. In fact, Emily Dickinson, in one of her poem captures a strong point; “Hope is a thing with feathers, That perches in the soul.” The dictionary meaning of the word Hope; differs fundamentally from what the bible says Hope is. I suggest to you to embrace Hope as Presented in the bible. Hope in the dictionary is simply “to have a wish to get something done, a desire for something to happen” In summary, the Bible defines hope as “A deep settled confidence that God will keep His promises!” The Psalmist said, “… I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more” (Psalms 71:14) Are you facing storms, then embrace hope, the musician simply sang, Standing, Standing on the Promises of God… Every time I face a storm or a hard time my mind takes me to the most graphical illustration of pain in the bible. The story of Stephen as told in Acts Chapter 7. Stephen was being stoned and as the stoning continued, verse 59 records an powerful bit, “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” His body was being stoned, his faith and hope was intact and remained fixed on the prize. He saw Heaven open. Paul was Ship-wrecked, bitten by a poisonous viper, imprisoned but instead of losing hope, he sat in a cell and wrote “Rejoice” as if to affirm his hope he added, “…and again I say Rejoice” Prophet Jeremiah records, a powerful assurance, “…blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8) No wonder, G. K. Chesterton said, “There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.” Look, when our Hope is clear and our vision is un-blurred then we can avoid sinking. Just like Martin Luther once observed,, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” The last words for today, which I suggest you memorize, are the words as recorded by Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing. God Bless You and Keep You
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 23:37:03 +0000
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