Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.
I spent some time yesterday sharing the work of the JEREMIAH TREE at one of our community churches. The audience was Sunday School attendees.
I grew up going to Sunday School, learning the Bible stories, and being fascinated by the flannel-graph. So it was a real treat to share the work and GOD with them yesterday; took me back a little. I look forward to working with this lovely and dedicated group of folks!
But after my part of the morning was over, I opted to hang out and attend one of the classes; an adult discussion who was working from Max Lucado’s book, “Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear”. A great book for the burdened by the way.
We read from the chapter devoted to hopelessness.
The discussion that followed was thought provoking. Many in the group shared times in their lives when they felt hopeless; times when life’s circumstances had done its best to blot out hope’s light.
One had suffered a period of temporary blindness and talked of how dark and fearful that time was for him.
Another had just finished consoling her son who was dealing with the impact of a suicide in his unit.
Another, who at one time was trapped by a failing and suffocating relationship, talked of times when hope or relief was elusive.
Perhaps you too have experienced a period in your life when hope was nothing more than a word; a time when tragedy or circumstance had made the light of hope impossible to see.
Well there is good news for my friends from Sunday School and for you too! As Max pointed out, there is always HOPE because there is ALWAYS JESUS.
He is OUR HOPE! And while many of us KNOW this to be true and we would be quick to saying we believe in that hope, we all have times in our lives when it doesn’t FEEL to be true.
It is during those times, those “hopeless” times when we need to cling to the little verse Max shared in the lesson.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…
JESUS is that "WAY" out of our hopeless situations!
JESUS embodies that TRUTH that truth that radiates with HOPE!
Proverbs 23:18
Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Lamentations 3:24
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
And I could go on listing; there are at least 98 more HOPEFUL truths I uncovered and that was just one search!
And JESUS is LIFE for when “life” seems too hard, too messy and too broken!
Romans 6:23
…the free gift of God is eternal LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The point today is simple, almost obvious, but bears re-visiting!
Regardless of how impossible or hopeless life may seem, regardless of how dark and challenging the circumstances, we should never allow the enemy or those situations convince us that all hope is lost. There is always hope for there is always Jesus!
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever!
So if you are feeling drained you of your hope today, I have a WAY that is rooted in TRUTH that will help you rediscover a HOPEFUL LIFE! His name? JESUS!
Matthew 11:28
Get away with me (JESUS) and you’ll recover your LIFE.
I love you all!
Freedom Church
Pastor GDelaney
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