Date post: | 12-Jan-2015 |
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Messengers Of Bright Hope
Today's world is full of pain and bitterness. So many groups feel deep disappointment. So many problems
seem to defy solutions.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
A glance at the daily headlines reveals a tide of distrust, discord, and
disharmony sweeping the planet. Can Christians be effective in such an
environment?
Messengers Of Bright Hope
Not unless they recognize the pain and perplexities that abound wherever real people encounter the real struggles of
everyday existence.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
Jeremiah serves as a model for how to make a sober, realistic appraisal of human need. As he witnessed the devastation left
in the aftermath of Jerusalem's fall, he reflected on the darkness and despair that
covered the city.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
Lamentations 3:1 NET א (Alef) I am the man who has experienced affliction from the rod of his wrath. 2 He drove me
into captivity and made me walkin darkness and not light.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
3 He repeatedly attacks me,he turns his hand against me all day
long. (Bet) ב 4
He has made my mortal skin waste away;
Messengers Of Bright Hope
he has broken my bones. 5 He has besieged and surrounded me with
bitter hardship. 6 He has made me reside in deepest
darknesslike those who died long ago.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
He has walled me in so that I (Gimel) ג 7cannot get out;
he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains.
8 Also, when I cry out desperately for help,
he has shut out my prayer.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
9 He has blocked every road I take with a wall of hewn stones;
he has made every path impassable. To me he is like a bear lying in (Dalet) ד 10
ambush, like a hidden lion stalking its prey.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
11 He has obstructed my paths and torn me to pieces;
he has made me desolate. 12 He drew his bow and made me the target for
his arrow.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
He shot his arrows into my (He) ה 13heart. 14 I have become the
laughingstock of all people, their mocking song all day long.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
15 He has given me my fill of bitter herbs and made me drunk with bitterness.
(Vav) ו 16He ground my teeth in gravel;he trampled me in the dust. 17 I am deprived of peace;
Messengers Of Bright Hope
I have forgotten what happiness is. 18 So I said, "My endurance has expired;I have lost all hope of deliverance from
the LORD."
Messengers Of Bright Hope
Yet having looked that harsh reality in the eye, he then turned an eye toward God. He recognized that the only hope that remained for his people was hope in
God's mercy, compassion, faithfulness, and goodness.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
Lamentations 3:22 NET ח (Khet) The LORD's loyal kindness never
ceases;his compassions never end. 23 They
are fresh every morning;
Messengers Of Bright Hope
your faithfulness is abundant! 24 “My portion is the LORD," I have said to
myself,so I will put my hope in him.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
Like Jeremiah, Christians today have a message of hope to offer the world—
the hope that is in Jesus Christ. We do not have all the answers to today's
needs and problems, but we have the Lord.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
He is the light of the world, and we are called to bring His light into this dark
world. Matthew 5:14 NET You are the light of the
world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it
gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before
people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in
heaven.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
John 1:4 NET In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5 And the
light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
1 John 1:5 NET Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in
him there is no darkness at all.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
God could have used angels, miracles, or numerous other means to announce His message. Instead, He has chosen
everyday people to carry His message.
Messengers Of Bright Hope
Working through ordinary people facing the ordinary issues of day-to-day life. God
intends to let the world know that there is hope beyond the problems and
frustrations of the here and now.Are you fulfilling this calling in your life?
(Word in Life Study Bible)
Jeremiah saw hope in God
Jeremiah's sorrow and consolation represented the nation's agony. Surrounded by sin and sorrow,
Jeremiah saw hope in God's steadfast love and mercy.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
God renews our lives day by day. The fog of the broken heart. It's a dark fog
that slyly imprisons the soul and refuses easy escape. It's a silent mist that eclipses the sun and beckons the
darkness.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
It's a heavy cloud that honors no hour and respects no person.
Depression, discouragement, disappointment, doubt... all are
companions of this dreaded presence.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
The fog of the broken heart disorients our life. It makes it hard to see the road. Dim your lights. Wipe off the
windshield. Slow down. Do what you wish, nothing helps.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
When this fog encircles us, our vision is blocked and tomorrow is a forever away. When this billowy blackness
envelops us, the most earnest words of help and hope are but vacant
phrases.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
If you have ever been betrayed by a friend, you know what I mean. If you have ever been dumped by a spouse or abandoned by a parent, you have
seen this fog.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
If you have ever placed a spade of dirt on a loved one's casket or kept vigil at
a dear one's bedside, you, too, recognize this cloud.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
If you have been in this fog, or are in it now, you can be sure of one thing—you are not
alone. Even the saltiest of sea captains have lost their bearings because of the appearance of this unwanted cloud....
Jeremiah saw hope in God
Think back over the last two or three months. How many broken hearts did you encounter? How many wounded spirits did you witness? How many
stories of tragedy did you read about?...
Jeremiah saw hope in God
The list goes on and on, doesn't it? Foggy tragedies. How they blind our
vision and destroy our dreams. Forget any great hopes of reaching the world. Forget any plans of changing society.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
Forget any aspirations of moving mountains. Forget all that. Just help
me make it through the night!The suffering of the broken heart....
Jeremiah saw hope in God
Seeing God ... does wonders for our own suffering. God was never more human than at this hour. God was
never nearer to us than when he hurt. The Incarnation was never so fulfilled
as in the garden.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
As a result, time spent in the fog of pain could be God's greatest gift. It could be the hour that we finally see our
Maker.... Maybe in our suffering we can see God like never before.
Jeremiah saw hope in God
The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you'll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very
well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.
(From No Wonder They Call Him the Savior by Max Lucado)
Jeremiah saw hope in God
Send a note to someone who is overwhelmed by his or her lot in life. Assure that friend of your prayers.
Include a Scripture verse that tells of God's love.
(Max Lucado Devotional Bible)
God's Love
Proverbs 13:24 NET The one who spares his rod hates his child,
but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him.
God's Love
Luke 12:7 NET In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be
afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
God's Love
Romans 8:35 NET Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword?
God's Love
36 As it is written, "For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be
slaughtered."
God's Love
37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor
powers,
God's Love
39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
God's Love
Ephesians 3:17 NET that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that,
because you have been rooted and grounded in love,
God's Love
18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length
and height and depth, 19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses
knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
God's Love
1 John 4:9 NET By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so
that we may live through him.
God's Love
10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our
sins.