Where is Your Hope?

Do you feel discouraged when you watch the news? Do you look around at the values and philosophies of our culture and wonder how we got here? Do you long for something better? So do I.

When God allows me to hear the same message from different sources, I want to be especially careful to listen and see what God has for me. I once attended a three-day women’s conference  in which the topic was “Resurrection Life in a World of Suffering," based on the book of I Peter. Imagine worshiping and studying this book with 7,200 women from across the United States and around the world. It was incredible! 

At the same time, my husband felt led by the Lord to go through the book of I Peter in our Sunday school class. As we studied it in church, I heard the same truths I heard at the conferenceand the book found deeper root in my heart.

Right at the start of the book, Peter names his audience. The Greek word can be translated into exiles (ESV), strangers (KJV), aliens (NASB), or foreigners (NLT). It is the idea of a sojourner, who is temporarily dwelling in a foreign country far from home. This word carries with it the connotation of not fitting in, of being different, and not belonging.  And though God’s people were often physical exiles, as in Egypt and Babylon in the Old Testament, in a greater sense, they were spiritual exiles.  Peter wanted to remind his readers that the world was not their true home, nor their place of belonging.  And this admonition of Peter’s is just as true for us today almost 2,000 years later.

Peter was not the only one who spoke this truth. In Hebrews 11:14-16, the unnamed author tells us that God’s people of the past acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth, and that their hope was not in the world they knew, but in a better country, a heavenly one that they looked toward in faith. For the believers of Hebrews 11, it was not an untested hope; they faced great persecution and still clung to this hope in an unseen future. Suffering is also a key theme of I Peter; this word shows up in various forms fifteen times! Living as exiles in a foreign world where we don’t fit in, especially in times of persecution, brings suffering.

Yet another key theme, and what Peter consistently calls us to throughout the letter is hope, the same hope we saw in the lives of the Hebrews 11 believers. Peter tell us that we have a living hope that because Christ was raised from the dead, we too will be raised, and we have an inheritance ready to be revealed in the last time (1:3-4). As we long for that day, we are to set our hope fully on what is to come when Christ is revealed (1:13, 21). That means we do not place any of our hope in this world, as we are often tempted to do, hoping, for example, partially in God and partially in our government. Hope in our future reality should pervade our lives, even in trials, so that the unbelieving world takes note and asks where our unshakable hope comes from (3:15).

Though the news is depressing, though our culture finds joy and entertainment in what the Bible calls sin, though the political situation in our country looks dismal, we, as sojourners in this world, have hope, because our hope is in none of these things. Our hope rests in something far greater than this temporary time and place. It rests in the promise of an unchanging, eternal God who is preparing for us our true home, where we will no longer be foreigners but know true belonging. Do others see that hope in us?

I want to leave you with a few quotes from the conference I attended, because others are far better with words than I am.

-- “God has known you deeply forever. We do not have to create our identity on our own. We are not lost orphans, but God’s children heading home.”   “We are named and we are placed by God Himself. Through Him, our exile is lit up with hope.” (Kathleen Nielson)

-- “As Christians, we must embrace our strangeness in this world.”  “We are far from home, but we are not far from Him.” “We’re people on mission to glorify God in a strange land.” (Mary Wilson)

-- “Peter calls us repeatedly to live in a way that does not make sense in this world. It only makes sense when there is an unshakable belief and hope in another world.” (John Piper)

--Amy O'Rear

Keep Praying

Let me tell you a little story about answered prayer.

One day last week, I had a meeting at the library on Broad Street in the middle of the afternoon. Parking can be a problem, but I know there are some good spots right there across Broad in front of the library. So I sort of casually asked God if I could get a spot there. I came down the block, and lo and behold, there was an open space.  I circled to get a better angle.

While I was waiting at a light, I took off my rings and put them into my lap to rub a little lotion on my dry hands.  The light changed, I turned right, got into the parking space successfully, got out of the car, fed the meter, and went to wait on a bench in front of the library, as I was a few minutes early. I sat there reading a book our dear Maylou Holladay recommended (Middlemarch by George Eliot) until everyone else arrived for the meeting. As I stood to meet my friend, I realized I didn't have my rings on, and immediately--with that sinking feeling one gets--knew that I had forgotten they were in my lap when I got out of the car. 

"I have lost my rings. I need to go check my car and the street," I quickly explained. Well, you know I prayed as I waited for the walk signal, I prayed as  I ran to my car, and I prayed standing there scanning the street.  I'll spare you the suspense, and tell you that I found both my wedding band and my engagement ring right away--incredible!--right there on Broad Street and found the other little gold ring I had been wearing on my right hand when I came back to feed the meter forty-five minutes later.

On the way home, I reflected on God's goodness to give me that parking space and then to allow me to find my rings. It was a wonderful reminder of His care for even the small things in life. But what about the big things? I confess that I felt a bitterness creeping into my thanksgiving because of the really "big" prayers I've offered up for months and years. What about those things? Who cares, really, about rings? They are not eternal souls. It was a little bit of a crisis as I drove along. I had no answers.

But on Sunday morning, we heard a wonderful testimony of a huge answer to prayer, and I was reminded to keep on offering prayers for eternal souls. Over and over I've heard to not give up in prayer. Luke 18 relates the story of the unjust judge who granted a woman's request because she refused to take "no" for an answer. This story illustrates the truth that we "ought always to pray and not to faint."

I don't understand how prayer works and why some prayers are answered right away and others are delayed. But I do understand that I "ought always to pray and not to faint." I can follow instructions, and by faith I will keep going to God for the big as well as the small needs I see. I am grateful He can handle all of them.

--Sherry Poff

Water

Before Mother’s Day this year, I told all of my family that “I do not want presents this year.  I want your presence.” Guess what? It worked! It was wonderful!  My children, teen granddaughters, and my married grands with our great-grands came by to stay a while. My daughter gave me such a special card that, in fact, it is still sitting out!  I didn’t mind that my son David and his family brought me a beautiful hanging plant of huge, pink impatiens.

We have had so much rain on and off here in Cincinnati that I have hardly had to water my flowers. But...oops! This week I looked out - those beautiful, pink blossoms were totally drooping their heads low - I mean low!!! I hurried and watered them thoroughly and am so glad they are pretty again.

That plant made me think of “water,” which led me to a subject for a blog...the water of the Word of God and why it is so vital to our existence as Christians.

It cleanses us; it makes us fragrant, alive, useful, and encouraging to others...just as those beautiful pink flowers are to me as I see them through our front window.

We definitely want our seat-mates on a plane to have “been cleansed” before boarding. Our lives will definitely be more pleasant to others and to the Lord if we, as in Ephesians 5:26, have been “cleansed with the washing of water by the Word.”

In Psalm 119, just about every verse teaches us something about God’s Word.

            Have a Difficult decision or choice to make?

²⁴ Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.”

Overwhelmed with sorrow or burdens?

²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word.

Want to be an encouragement, to be “fragrant”?

                        ⁷⁴ May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your Word.

           

Dealing with temptation? ²⁹ Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me Your law.

           

Need a good topic of conversation? ¹⁷¹ May my lips overflow with praise...¹⁷² May my tongue sing of Your Word, for all Your commands are righteous.

Those beautiful flowers bring joy to my heart. The Psalmist states that God’s Word, the “water of the Word,” ought to give us joy:

            ¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.    

--Maylou Holladay

What Would You Do?

A while back I felt compelled by the Lord to change banks, because our bank’sadministrators did not support biblical teachings. This bank had taken a stand against Christian values, and to me, it felt like a slap in God’s face. I was offended, because God is my Father. Would I tolerate someone slapping my earthly father? Would I give them money? What a hassle to change banks, but as I said, I felt compelled.

Recently, we had to make another decision similar to this one. We had a little money we wanted to put into a CD. Our new bank had CDs to purchase but for a lesser interest rate than other banks that had questionable values. These banks could probably double our earnings. What to do?

How important is it to do business with those who honor God? Does it really matter? What if a person cannot find a business that shares his or her values? As image bearers, unbelievers have the ability to develop great businesses. They too contribute to society in a valuable way. I asked the Lord about this, and this is what He gave me:

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord with your wealth (my emphasis), with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

Matthew 6:33, “Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” says this, “A person who has the promise of God’s provision, does not have to cling to things.”

There are many things that could be said about these verses, but I’ll just point out a little of what is there. God asks us to put Him first and trust Him even when things don’t make sense. We can ask for guidance and then obey, leaving the outcome to Him. Why? Because He is good. He’s on our side! We can stop clutching our wealth! It’s exhausting!

I can testify that God has greatly blessed my husband and me when we put Him first with the money and possessions in which He has entrusted us. (We are but stewards.) It is not always in ways we expect, but He is faithful.

joyce hague

Hope for the Journey

God has created us to understand things by making comparisons. One particular kind of comparison is the metaphor, in which we understand an idea by comparing it with something that is different in kind but with which we are familiar. One metaphor we all know is the one used in Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd." By thinking of the characteristics of a shepherd--watchfulness, tenderness, faithfulness--we understand God's love and care for us in a more concrete way.

A common metaphor for life is that life is a journey. We use this one all the time. We talk of coming to a "fork in the road" when we have a decision to make, for example. We speak of "going through life," as if it's a trip we're on. A truth that has risen to the surface of my mind recently (See what I did there? My mind is now a vast ocean--or maybe a pond.) is that one must have hope to travel the road of life successfully.

This last spring a friend gave me a book that I'm just now getting time to read. It's On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior. In this book, Prior talks about twelve virtues through the lens of great literature. In the chapter on hope, she cites Thomas Aquinas, who said that "the four conditions of hope are that it regards something good in the future that is difficult but possible to obtain." So, as we're seeing it here, hope involves looking to the future for things to be better. We realize that the road may not be easy, but we trust in the possibility of good to come.

Of course, scripture tells us--and Prior would not disagree--to hope in God:

Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted within me?
hope thou in God: 
for I shall yet praise him, 
who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
(Psalm 42:11, KJV)

The author goes on to suggest that two kinds of hopelessness are presumption and despair. She explains, "Presumption  . . . assumes that one's hope will be fulfilled; despair anticipates that one's hope will never be fulfilled." These ideas have given me much to meditate upon as I pull weeds and fold laundry this summer. And a song by Cynthia Clawson came to mind. It's called "The Journey." Listen to it when you can. I think it will do you good. She says, "Give me the heart to be pure; give me the faith to be sure; give me the strength to endure all my tribulations."  www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzY-IMkUIp8 (The song I want you to hear starts at 1:15, but the intro piece is good, too.)

God, give us hope.

--Sherry Poff

Voices From the Past

I like paper, as in books. In a book, I when I want to go back to a certain passage, I remember where it was on the right- or left-hand page, and approximately how far through the book it was. I’ve often said a book on a “device,” be it phone or tablet, is like a book with no page numbers and no binding. The pages float, somewhere, no one knows where, and if you did not put a bookmark on that thing you want to remember, well, good luck.

Having said that, I do love my ESV Bible app. Maybe it’s because I know the book well enough that I can navigate and not get lost. But the app lets me click on a cross-reference and right back to the starting point in a flash, saving a lot of page-turning. So, I actually do look up many more of those than I do with a “real” book.

OK, let’s leave that and go on a short detour. Every now and then, I like to “speed read” or just scan through a long portion of the Bible. It gives a different perspective and usually brings up some connections that I have entirely missed for my whole life.

Recently I was reading rapidly through the book of Matthew. Or, I would have been, if not for the reference notes in my app. I discovered, verse after verse, piling up almost faster than I could click there and back, references tying everything in the book to a prophecy in the Old Testament. Some were put in by the author (Matthew) and some by Jesus Himself, but all said the same. Everything Jesus did and everything that happened to Him was “to fulfill what the Lord spoke by the prophet.” Clicking on those prophecies took me all over the Old Testament. “The Prophet” was Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Jeremiah, Malachi, David, Zechariah, Moses, Daniel.

We know these things, but it was quite enlightening to see them all together.

We sometimes get the idea that it’s OK to ignore the Old Testament. After all, the New Covenant supersedes the Old, right? We don’t live under law, right? It seems pretty obvious that if we don’t understand the Old Covenant, we aren’t going to have a full appreciation of the New. But, here is the lesson from Scripture. Jesus quoted the Old Testament through the entirety of His ministry, giving it His entire trust and His own endorsement. (That’s not surprising, since He wrote it.) The Gospel writers quoted the Old Testament through their entire narratives. The Apostles, including Paul, quoted the Old Testament continually as the basis of their arguments that Jesus is the promised One and the only way of salvation. And all that quoting was based on the principle, “the Lord spoke.”

If we accept the fact of our own sin and accompanying fate and we accept that He is the Rescue for our impending disaster, then we do accept all that the Old Testament has said about those things. We do not need to evade, excuse or downplay the Old Testament. We cannot reject parts of the Old Testament, based on current “science” or politics or even our own laziness (it’s so long!), and then pretend that we absolutely do believe the New Testament. Understanding the point and purpose of the Old is the only way to make sense of the New. Let us follow the example of Jesus, the Gospel writers and the Apostles.

--Lynda Shenefield

The Lessons I’m Learning in the Midst of my Husband’s Cancer

We all know that one phone call can dramatically change a day, upcoming months, or one’s entire life. For me, one of those phone calls came when on May 7^th, my husband called to tell me that his doctor wanted him to come into the office because something unusual had showed up on his CT scan. Kelly had been experiencing severe stomach pain in two different days-long bouts over the previous month. Prior to seeing the scan, the doctor believed it was some form of colitis and he was going to send Kelly the results of the scan on-line. So, the fact he was now calling and telling Kelly to come in was not a good sign. Riddled with fear, I got on my knees and begged God that it would not be anything life-threatening. I turned to Psalm 139 because of the promise I knew I would see there of God’s sovereignty over our very lives.

The devastating news we received that day was that there was a mass on Kelly’s stomach; the doctor said it was serious. We were told not to look up stomach cancer on-line; I knew enough to know that, humanly speaking, the prognosis is not good. That evening and night were the hardest in my life with thoughts and fears of the future crowding in. Kelly was scheduled for an upper endoscopy the very next day that would hopefully give us more information. That morning before we left for the hospital, I begged the Lord for some word of hope as a result of the biopsy we were about to receive. God was so gracious in answering my prayer: It was not stomach cancer but a different type of cancer in the stomach muscle rather than in the gland itself. This cancer, though still malignant, is not as aggressive as stomach cancer. More great news followed in that the doctor believed the tumor could be completely removed. I know the biopsy could have revealed different results, and that that would not change the fact that God is good, but oh, how thankful I am, that this is the path we’re walking and not the other!

I want to share three big lessons I have learned so far as a result of this experience. Kelly and I have talked several times about our desire to not let this journey be wasted in our lives. We want to learn what God has for us and be changed to be more like His Son as a result of going through it. Maybe these three things will challenge or encourage you as well.

1. Trusting God’s Sovereignty is imperative in hard times.

               This was something I said to Kelly just hours after the news that he had a mass on his stomach: “If we don’t have God’s Sovereignty, we don’t have anything.” In that moment, I was grief-stricken and fearing a future without my husband, and I knew that the only thing that could sustain me was believing that IF such a thing happened, God would be sovereign over it and have a good reason for it. Partly due to this experience and also due to my proneness in general to worry, I have started Jerry Bridges’ book Trusting God which shows from Scripture God’s sovereignty over circumstances, people, and simply every detail of our lives. The time to ground ourselves in the knowledge that God is in control of all things, and that in the midst of that He is all-loving and wise, is perhaps not in the storms of life but in the times of calm. Then, when the storms do hit, we have the Scripture and truths hidden in our hearts to fight the lies that inevitably come when we face trials.

2. Our brother and sisters in Christ are vital to us in hard times.

               Each text I received was a reminder that we were not alone in this, that there were people who cared about us and loved us. I started making a list of the verses that people shared with me, and I was so very grateful for the prayers of others. Scripture itself teaches that the prayers of a righteous man (or woman) avail much. The morning of the biopsy, I received a text from a dear friend who told me that she was crying with me, and that she and her husband were committed to walking this road with us. At that point it still looked like stomach cancer and that road could have indeed been long and hard, but to know that this friend was going to walk this road with me was true friendship and God’s love on display. We also received cards with encouraging words, a care package from a sweet lady in our church, several who offered to help with kids or meals when we needed it, and many who told us they were praying. Friends, this is what the body of Christ should be. It showed me how much I have been lacking in this area in my own life.  I can be so busy with my own responsibilities and tasks that I miss opportunities to show care to others in hard times. Oh, how I want to change in this area!

3. God’s Word comes alive in different ways when we go through hard times.

               The passage I most associate with the early days of Kelly’s diagnosis is Isaiah 43:1-3. Interestingly enough, in my verse memory plan this was the first passage I memorized this year, and this was also the passage that Kelly opened up the worship service with two days before the tumor was found! “Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” I think this verse was the first thing I said to Kelly through tears after a mostly sleepless night that Tuesday. He responded with the passage he’d been preparing for his upcoming message: “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). And it’s not that these verses immediately took away the fears or gave us a great sense of peace, but they were something to cling to that we could claim as true, even if we didn’t understand how it would all work out. God had placed both of those passages in our lives at the right time, because He knew we would need them that very week. Also, several women in our church have been memorizing Psalm 34 this year, and two different women memorizing that passage used it to encourage me. Of course I had come across all of these verses before, but you hear and understand them differently in times of hardship.

               Walking this road over the past month has shown me the importance of God’s Sovereignty, fellow believers, and Scripture. Maybe I mostly wrote this Cup of Grace for me, to keep before me the things that God is teaching, but I hope that God would use this somehow in your life as well. And Kelly and I covet your prayers as he goes in early tomorrow morning (June 17) for surgery. We are praying specifically that the doctor is able to remove the entire tumor, that Kelly would be able to keep his spleen, and that his acid reflux would not get worse (as the doctor feels it very likely will). But all of this we must leave in the sovereign hands of our loving, all-wise God. We are also praying that we could bear Christ’s aroma throughout our week in the hospital. Thank you for your love toward us and for your prayers, dear Sisters in Christ.

              

--Amy O'Rear