Saturday- 12/15- Heb. 6:11,12,
19a- Hope as an anchor for the soul
11 We want each of you to show this
same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully
realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy,
but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been
promised. 19 We have this
hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
(Anchor parament in Lake Murray Presbyterian. The Alpha and Omega (beginning and end) intersect the anchor of hope. The anchor also is a cross- which is the hope of forgiveness and eternal life).
Thoughts: Is it possible to find hope in the midst of tragedy? If we know that this life is not all there is... if we believe that we will see our loved ones who have faith on the other side... hope can be something we desperately hold onto when life or evil seems to snatch our joy away from us.
The people in Connecticut are grieving and will need to grieve over such a horrible shock of shooting and over the tragic and senseless death of helpless children and teachers who could not protect them. As the governor of Connecticut said, "Evil visited us today."
We grieve with them today. Jesus wept at the tomb. Jesus showed he cared about the death of a young child when he raised Jairus' daughter. He also showed his ability to give life to children when he raised her up from the dead. David said at the death of his child- through days of tears, "He will not come to me, but I will go to him." He was not just talking about dying, but these were hopeful words of life and togetherness to come (2 Samuel 12:22-23).
While we grieve desperately, feeling love for our children who are gone from our sight, we do not need to grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). When everything else has left us, hope has not. But the verse above reminds us that we need to focus on hope, to do the work of focusing on hope. Evil would have us despair, fear, and give into hopelessness, or give a fake hope. Our hope is deep- it is an anchor for our soul.
We grieve with them today. Jesus wept at the tomb. Jesus showed he cared about the death of a young child when he raised Jairus' daughter. He also showed his ability to give life to children when he raised her up from the dead. David said at the death of his child- through days of tears, "He will not come to me, but I will go to him." He was not just talking about dying, but these were hopeful words of life and togetherness to come (2 Samuel 12:22-23).
While we grieve desperately, feeling love for our children who are gone from our sight, we do not need to grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). When everything else has left us, hope has not. But the verse above reminds us that we need to focus on hope, to do the work of focusing on hope. Evil would have us despair, fear, and give into hopelessness, or give a fake hope. Our hope is deep- it is an anchor for our soul.
Hope is what
we have always needed. Hope is the anchor
of the soul- meaning when the storms of life come and would wash us out to sea,
hope is there. When the ones you count
on the most- your family, your friends fail- there is still hope. When your health fails you and your old
reliable body breaks, hope is your anchor.
Our passage reminds us that hope is fulfilled not by coasting- but by diligently and patiently persevering. Hope takes some attention. Stoke the fires of hope this advent.
Our passage reminds us that hope is fulfilled not by coasting- but by diligently and patiently persevering. Hope takes some attention. Stoke the fires of hope this advent.
Prayer: Lord, when so many around us have no hope- may I put my
anchor down on you- my rock. Do not let
me drift away in the storms of life- but may my anchor hold.
Application: Children are a sign of hope. Do something special for a child today.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!(PH #379)
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!(PH #379)
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