3 Ways Hope Brings A Miracle

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After the Wise Men Leave – podcast

https://timstafford.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/after-the-wise-men-leave/

Why Jesus Wants You To Lose Hope

~ Justin Holcomb

In Mark 10, a young rich man eagerly comes to Jesus. He is a winner who does not want to give up trying to win.

The good thing about him is that he has a desire for something more, something beyond worldly winning. He asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

It is good to ask about eternal life, but his question reveals a deep flaw. You see, as Robert Capon notes, while he wants something more, he can’t imagine pursuing it in any other way than doing through more winning and striving. His question shows he believes there are techniques for inheriting eternal life.

Breaking the Law

Jesus knows the man’s mindset. He responds, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” Jesus is showing him that the law can save no one because the law can be kept by no one. He’s bringing up the law so the young man will take an honest look at how unsuccessful he’s been at practicing the righteousness he thinks is the answer to his problems.

But instead of recognizing his shortcomings as measured by these basic commands, this guy cuts Jesus off with, “I’ve done all those things perfectly since I was a kid.” In effect what he’s saying is, “Why don’t you give me a harder, more grown-up spiritual assignment?”

And how does Jesus respond? This is good for us to see. After being cut-off and ignored, Jesus looks at him and loves him. That’s what he does to us.

Jesus loves us when we don’t get it, when we rebel, when we rely on our own selves and not him. He is the picture of perfect, patient love.

So, with patient love and cosmic understatement, Jesus presses the law even further. “You only have to do one simple little thing.” The man’s eyes widen with anticipation. “Sell all that you have and give to the poor . . . and follow me.”

Jesus has really just applied the first of the Ten Commandments to this rich guy: Worship no other gods but God. Serve nothing but God. Jesus is revealing to him how much he fails to fulfill the commandments because he worships his wealth so much and asking him to give it up.

Jesus does the same thing to us, too. It might not be riches, but it could be anything you love more than God. Your idol is whatever you rely on to justify your existence. This text is not really about wealth, but idolatry. We are all guilty of loving something more than God, so Jesus turns the law on us, too.

Continue at: https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/why-jesus-wants-you-to-lose-hope

Good News: Blue Christmas

by  Stephen Bedard

Advent is one of my favourite seasons of the year. It allows us to prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. Last year we started at Queen Street Baptist Church to observe something called Blue Christmas.

Blue Christmas is about acknowledging that Christmas is not joyful for everyone. For many, Christmas is a reminder that some of our loved ones are no longer with us. They may have died close to Christmas or at least their absence is felt more deeply at this time.

With Blue Christmas, we take an opportunity to light a candle as we remember those we miss. This is not about lighting a candle for the dead, it is about lighting a candle for the living. It is an invitation for God to shine his light in our darkness.

It is a powerful experience for me to watch my congregation participate in this. It is also meaningful for me personally, as I think about my parents. Christmas is a time that I really feel the absence of my mom and dad. The years have not taken that away.

Blue Christmas is an emotional experience but it is also a good one. It helps me to refocus my emotions and to be able to dwell on the good memories.

This is my Good News.

Comment at: http://www.stephenjbedard.com/2017/12/10/good-news-blue-christmas/#.Wi8Lh1Q-eN9

Hold Unswervingly To The Hope

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Read more: https://raymcdonald.wordpress.com/2017/10/11/hold-unswervingly-to-the-hope/

4 Ways Our Hope Is Visible

“Hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.”

– John Calvin

SEEING THE UNSEEN

When a person trusts in Christ, they are trusting that He exists, and that He lived a perfect, sinless life, therefore His sacrifice is sufficient to take our sins away, but we trust in a Person we’ve never met. That’s okay. I met Jesus in the Bible and I am with the Apostle Paul who said, “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2nd Tim 1:12).

Read more: https://www.christianquotes.info/images/4-ways-our-hope-is-visible/#ixzz4uH2DNvdO

Why You Should Stop Pretending You’ll Live Forever

Letting Death Help Us Live

So much of the message of the book of Ecclesiastes is “the Preacher” (Ecclesiastes 1:1) helping us to let the reality of our death sink into our bones and lodge itself deep in our hearts. But that’s because he’s writing a book about what it means to live. He wants the consequences of our fast-approaching disappearance from the earth to work their way out into all the realities of the way we see the world and the way we view ourselves within that world. The single question that animates him is this: If we won’t live forever, or even long enough to make a lasting difference to the world, how then should we live?

At the outset, Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 sketches a very basic point: Accepting death is the first step in learning to live. Wise people simply accept that they are going to die. This point may seem so obvious as to be simplistic. But, in fact, it’s highly significant when we stop and think about how much energy we devote to not accepting it.

The reality is, we spend our lives trying to escape the constraints of our created condition. Opening our eyes to this is a significant breakthrough. To be human is to be a creature, and to be a creature is to be finite. We are not God. We are not in control, and we will not live forever. We will die. But we avoid this reality by playing “let’s pretend.”

Continue at: http://churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/308771-stop-pretending-youll-live-forever-david-gibson.html