Hope

Seeing From Here

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Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
I John 3: 2

In John’s letter he gives us two assurances. First, that despite appearances, or the opinion of others we are God’s children. Though there are days when we don’t act like ot or even feel confident in our faith it remains true. There is simply nothing in this world that can ever give us that sense of belonging that heaven holds. That is when John’s second assurance kicks in and tells us that when He appears we will be like Him! Wow! If that doesn’t blow the cobwebs out of our dusty souls then we haven’t read closely. We have His promise that one day we will be accepted home to heaven with God!

Did you ever wish you just could get a small peek into heaven? No, we cannot see heaven from here but when we have expectant hope God’s peace will come and rule over every fear, every doubt and tear. We will one day really see Jesus just like the women who went to the tomb on Easter morning 2000 years ago. Right now we at best see only empty tombs but one day when we sprint across the finish line of this life we will see Him as He is!

Anchor of the Soul

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Where is your hope today? Is it locked in a safe deposit box? Can it be located in a safe neighborhood in a gated community? Does it depend on what position you hold or what people think? I confess that too often these have been places where I looked by failed to find hope. But the Bible tells us that the true hope is beyond the veil through which Jesus passed with His own blood. We cannot see the place where He went to set our anchor yet we can trust in His promise that it will hold for ever.

T

his hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, Hebrews 6:19 NKJV

Our Comforting God

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Do you ever wonder while passing through a night of tears what good could ever come of it? Does it seem that just when you had hopes things would get better – another crisis appeared? Why would a loving God purposely allow us to suffer? I can still remember going to church, the first Sunday after my mother’s death. A well meaning friend simply  asked how I was doing. As I started to answer emotion like a tidal wave overwhelmed me and I sat in the pew weeping. The friend who had asked just put his arm over my shoulder and sat with me till I could catch my breath. I had not known how deep those waters were until I found myself drowning in them and yet they are the waters each of us must cross.

Life’s most important question is not how to avoid pain but who we turn to for comfort at that moment. Are you hurting tonight? Feeling alone or even angry? God has not forgotten you, is not away doing something more important or waiting for you to get back to normal. There is no way to be prepared without Him. He is right at your side ready with His comfort.  God is  in those exact moments giving us not only His comfort but also His gift to carry that comfort to others who wait just down the road in our lives.

Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:4