I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. [Ephesians 1:18-20 (NLT)]
Without Christ there is no hope. [Charles Spurgeon]
According to the Greek myth, when Zeus presented a beautiful jar to Pandora as part of her dowry, he forbade her to open it. Curiosity, however, got the best of her. When she lifted its lid to peek into the jar, all the malevolence and afflictions Zeus hid inside were released. As evils like sickness, chaos, death, conflict, hatred, jealousy, sorrow, envy, lust, famine, and violence came rushing out , the terrified woman quickly replaced its lid. All that remained in the jar was hope—the only consolation humans have for the trouble and suffering Pandora let loose upon the world.
Of course, it wasn’t Pandora who brought misery into the world—it was Adam and Eve who brought sin, misery, and death into the world with their disobedience. Rather than remaining in Pandora’s jar, hope came to the world in a baby born in Bethlehem about 2,000 years ago.
How many times this past week did you hope? Did you hope the family would arrive safely, the turkey would be done on time, the rolls wouldn’t burn, or that no one would argue about politics at dinner? We hope for things both large and small—getting a raise, excellent grades, better health, reconciliation, a good night’s sleep, a winning season for our team, a cure for cancer, an on-time departure, finding the perfect gift, world peace, the winning lottery ticket, or a better tomorrow.
Biblical hope, however, isn’t about expecting better circumstances. Biblical hope is living through the storms, loss, pain, and disorder of this life while holding on to the hope that God will show up right in the middle of our mess! In the darkness of our lives and today’s troubled world, Christ’s followers have hope regardless of whether our circumstances change for the better or the worse. We have hope because we know the One who holds our future in His hands. We have hope because we know that He is with us every step of the way. Best of all, we have hope because we know how the story ends—and its end is better than anything we possibly could imagine!
Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent—the four-week season in the Church calendar dedicated as much to the Messiah’s second arrival as to His first! In observance of this season of preparation, last night we lit the first candle (the candle of hope) in our Advent wreath. A circular garland of evergreen, the wreath’s greens represent eternal life and its round shape represents God’s unending love. Often called the prophecy candle, it reminds us that the Messiah’s arrival, death, resurrection, and return in final victory were prophesied hundreds of years before His birth. This first candle represents mankind’s past hope for the coming of the promised Messiah, our present hope because of Jesus’ presence in our lives, and our future hope for His promised return.
Hope came into the world with the birth of Jesus—Immanuel—God with us. God gave us hope with His forgiveness of sins, our salvation, and His promise of peace. He gave us hope with the resurrection of the dead, the communion of saints, the redemption of creation, the Holy Spirit, the return of Christ, and the life of the world to come. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the gift of hope.
The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory—because, at the Father’s will, Jesus became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross. [J.I. Packer]
Our old friend Joe recently visited. Along with our friend Ric, he and my husband were partners in a manufacturing business in another state many years ago. Once a year, the three men would meet away from the business (with its phone calls and constant interruptions) to discuss their short-term and long-term business goals. While Ric and my husband were the legal, financial, and sales parts of the business, as a processing engineer, Joe oversaw manufacturing.
Just finishing its 5th season, the Food Network’s “Outrageous Pumpkins” features remarkable pumpkin artistry. This year’s competition matched up 14 of the nation’s best carvers into teams and challenged them to create over-the-top pumpkin creations. The pumpkin artists created horrific nightmares, constructed grisly crime scenes, and fashioned monstrous mechanical battling beasts. Using everything from melon ballers to huge saws, they they sculpted extraordinary and intricate ghouls, witches, wizards, goblins, werewolves, and monsters. As someone who is severely pumpkin-challenged (and eventually purchased a permanent Jack O-Lantern complete with an electric light), I’m amazed by the skill of these artists.
Pope Francis recently visited Singapore and, when speaking to young people at an interfaith meeting, he is reported to have said “All religions are paths to God.” After comparing the various religions to “different languages that express the divine,” he added, “There is only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sheik, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].” While the pontiff was encouraging interfaith dialogue, his words are troubling. I will not presume to know the Pope’s meaning or intention with his comments. Nevertheless, I find it important to address how the world understood the pontiff’s message.
Hebrews 11 lists the great examples of faith found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Every story, however, has a supporting cast and, while we may not remember or even know their names, they played an important role in everyone’s story. We know Moses is one of those heroes of faith but what of the midwives Shiphrah and Puah? If they hadn’t defied Pharaoh’s orders to kill newborn Hebrew boys, Moses wouldn’t have lived long enough to be found by Pharaoh’s daughter let alone lead Israel to the Promised Land!
In the Gospel stories of the two miraculous catches of fish, experience told the disciples that fishing in the light of day was the wrong time and casting a net from the right side of the boat was the wrong way to do it. Nevertheless, that’s exactly how Jesus told them to fish. If we look at those stories more figuratively, we see that night time was man’s time and the boat’s left side was man’s way. Those miraculous catches, however, tell us that the right time is whenever God says it is and the right way is however God says it’s to be done!
Devotions of the Heart 