Inextinguishable Hope

Have you noticed how some folks can be contented with just about anything life places upon them? Then there are individuals who have everything but cannot be contented, especially if someone has something more desirable. Jacob and his mother were obsessed with stealing the blessing that belonged to his brother Esau.

They were so obsessed with their plan of deception that they could not understand how hurtful their sinful act would be to Isaac the father and to Esau. Suppose you were stripped of all your power, finances and joy. In addition, you would forever be subject to a younger sibling’s control with no hope for change.

 

Isaac did give Esau one small blessing, but it seemed negative and absent of hope. However, even a small flicker of hope that the Lord Jesus Christ gives can never be extinguished, no matter how dark life becomes.  Ephesians 1:18 is encouraging. “I pray that your heart will be flooded with hope so you can see the future Christ Jesus has called you to share.”  

  

Shaping Life Scripts at the Crossroads - Part 3

Confronting oneself at a critical crossroads can be a life-changing experience. Consider the young man who had every opportunity to excel, but started doing drugs in high school. His intelligence permitted him to squeeze the system enough to look good and sound good, fooling everyone including him-self. At thirty he was a financial wreck, and his marriage was so shaky it could end any day.                       

Then a friend invited him to attend a church that was different from the one where he had been confirmed as a child. At this new church he encountered another crossroads. He had to look at his life that was gutter-bound. He knew he had to completely change the disastrous life script he lived by.

The sermons he heard at this church gave him hope, but it was the love and encouragement of the congregation that gave him courage to choose Christ Jesus plus a life script that would save his life and marriage. Joshua said it best. "Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me, I will serve the Lord God." There is no better choice. 

Finding God's Purpose in Difficult Times - Part 1

Personal failures can have such long-term consequences that survival may seem questionable. John Edward Pine-Coffin, a military surgeon, served aboard an English ship during the Boer War. Following this war he tried to establish a private practice in England, which resulted in failure and initiated a personal crisis. Survival meant re-enlisting in the military.

In 1842 on a military ship bound for New South Wales, depressed and confused, he was forced to assess his faith in God. He described his faith as "a belief that every life event and action follows the plan and will of God." Sorrow for sin and its consequences was endurable through his love and trust for Christ Jesus. This gave him hope for the future.

Changes that occur during crises often prove to be temporary in duration. Edward Pine survived personal crisis through making choices that demonstrated commitment for permanent change. With God's help and the power of Christ in you, hope exists for permanent change. Trusting God with all your heart is a choice worth making.

God's Gifts: Love, Hope, Freedom - Part 3

When my six-year-old daughter was told by her Sunday School teacher that it was a sin to be angry, she could have gone through life experiencing guilt each time she felt this emotion. Guilt can mar one's integrity and self-esteem. False guilt is created by a flawed belief system, such as believing that all anger is a sin and that punishment awaits those who feel or express it.

Little children growing up with guilt and shame seldom feel accepted. When they compare themselves to others, they consistently fail to measure up and may come to the conclusion that it's hopeless even to try to succeed. Can you see the relationship between false guilt and the damage it can do to one's integrity and self-esteem?

Yet there is hope. God sent his son Jesus to redeem you, to make you right with himself and others. Choose to believe God has the power to cleanse and heal you from whatever has wounded you. Guilt can be unrelenting, but the power of Christ Jesus in you breaks that hold and gives you freedom and peace. This is God's gift to you.