After the cross, and especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the lives of the disciples were radically changed. One aspect of the change the Holy Spirit of God brought in their lives was the perspective of Hope. Who could have walked away from the crucifixion of Jesus without shaking their heads and asking, “What possible good could come of this?” But after Jesus rose again they saw their lives and in fact all of history from a different point of view. They rejoiced in the most dire circumstances, because they had seen the resurrection.
The Perspective of History
Their perspective was radically changed because of how they saw all of history. In the short time before He was to be stoned to death Stephen, the first martyr to the faith, certainly with some inkling about what he was stepping into, reminded the people of what God had done down through the ages with the Children of Israel. He was able to see and show them all these things clearly because now he saw Jesus standing above all history and eternity.
The Perspective of Jesus
When we see Jesus clearly we come to a great assurance of hope. He did not simply conquer the world in spite of the evil around Him. He conquered through evil itself. James Stewart the powerful Scottish writer and preacher of the 20th century wrote these words.
“They nailed Him to a tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to His feet. They gave Him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne.
They flung Him outside the city gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out His doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy.
They thought they had God with His back to the wall, pinned helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down. He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it."
The Perspective of Eternity
Understanding that Jesus really rose from the dead has transformed the lives of people who followed Him all through the ages. They could minister in the midst of plagues at the risk of their lives. They gladly died to help their neighbors, and loved ones, and people that didn't even know. They were willing to stand for the Bible and the truth of the gospel even in the face of martyrdom.
We see this the death of Stephen. He could even pray for the men stoning him, “Don't hold this sin against them.” And he could pray, “Lord Jesus receive my spirit,” because he knew the Lord was there to receive him. And in fact itas not a unique testimony as he was dying, “Look, I see the throne in heaven and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.” I cannot help but wonder what they might have seen if they had looked. Stephen was certainly convinced they would see Jesus as he saw Him.
The Perspective of Prayer
My heart throbs at the simple prayer of Stephen, and so many others who have died from whatever cause, with prayer in their hearts and on their lips. When you come to know a risen Savior it radically changes the way you pray. And such prayer gives you hope in the face of life or death.
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http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
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Sunday, June 24, 2018
Monday, June 4, 2018
BRIGHT SPARKS OF HOPE
When our daughter was barely a teenager she came down with a rare life-threatening disease. That was a terrible time for us. We spent many months in and out of Children's Hospital in Seattle. We longed for a word from God that her life would be spared. But God was silent. That is not quite true. That was a very hot time of God speaking to us, showing us things in Scripture, and ministering to our lives. But we were desperate for a word of assurance about our daughter's condition. And about that, God seemed to be silent.
We were a full year into the ordeal when God gave us Scripture to cling to. My wife came home one night from a teachers’ meeting at church saying, “I have a word from God!”
The lady leading the meeting had shared Romans 12:12 with her. She opened her Bible and read it to me.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
We both agreed that God was speaking to us, but we were not exactly sure how it applied. We had no questions about being faithful in prayer. Even when we were discouraged we prayed. And we had many friends and family members praying with us. People we didn't even know were praying for us and for our daughter.
And we knew to be patient in the affliction. But we welcomed this reminder. It would have been much easier for us to endure our own suffering than it was for us to deal with our daughter's.
But what did it mean to be joyful in hope? Our hopes always seemed to be mixed. We would have good news one day that would be crushed the next. But we began hunting for hope. And we were committed to rejoice right away.
One of our daughter's symptoms was huge ugly ulcers on her knees and elbows. Even the doctors winced when they examined them. My wife had to dress them every day. One day a dermatologist came by her hospital room and my wife said, “I think that ulcer on her right elbow might have been a little smaller today. The doctor talked with us for a few minutes and then drew a small ruler from her pocket. Giving it to my wife she said, “Why don't you start measuring it when you replace the tegaderm?”
My wife began measuring the the ulcer every morning as she redressed the ulcers. Several days later she measured and found the diameter of the ulcer had reduced by a milometer. We celebrated! And we rejoiced one millimeter at a time until her ulcers had healed completely.
Now there is an important facet of Hope that I need to point out here. We sometimes see our hope in tiny sparks in the midst of the darkness. We could not have rejoiced in tiny hope if we did not, somewhere in the back of our minds, have a greater and deeper hope. But rejoicing in those tiny sparks sustained us, and kept our eyes on God and the ultimate hope promised to us.
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzUz7
We were a full year into the ordeal when God gave us Scripture to cling to. My wife came home one night from a teachers’ meeting at church saying, “I have a word from God!”
The lady leading the meeting had shared Romans 12:12 with her. She opened her Bible and read it to me.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
We both agreed that God was speaking to us, but we were not exactly sure how it applied. We had no questions about being faithful in prayer. Even when we were discouraged we prayed. And we had many friends and family members praying with us. People we didn't even know were praying for us and for our daughter.
And we knew to be patient in the affliction. But we welcomed this reminder. It would have been much easier for us to endure our own suffering than it was for us to deal with our daughter's.
But what did it mean to be joyful in hope? Our hopes always seemed to be mixed. We would have good news one day that would be crushed the next. But we began hunting for hope. And we were committed to rejoice right away.
One of our daughter's symptoms was huge ugly ulcers on her knees and elbows. Even the doctors winced when they examined them. My wife had to dress them every day. One day a dermatologist came by her hospital room and my wife said, “I think that ulcer on her right elbow might have been a little smaller today. The doctor talked with us for a few minutes and then drew a small ruler from her pocket. Giving it to my wife she said, “Why don't you start measuring it when you replace the tegaderm?”
My wife began measuring the the ulcer every morning as she redressed the ulcers. Several days later she measured and found the diameter of the ulcer had reduced by a milometer. We celebrated! And we rejoiced one millimeter at a time until her ulcers had healed completely.
Now there is an important facet of Hope that I need to point out here. We sometimes see our hope in tiny sparks in the midst of the darkness. We could not have rejoiced in tiny hope if we did not, somewhere in the back of our minds, have a greater and deeper hope. But rejoicing in those tiny sparks sustained us, and kept our eyes on God and the ultimate hope promised to us.
http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/
http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/
Website
http://daveswatch.com/
YouTube
https://goo.gl/PyzUz7
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