Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His sufficiency in every situation. He blessed us with His abundance during the past days. The Continentals Brass and Voices concert was brilliant and anointed. The theme of the concert was hope. The voices of the young people were strong and true, and the desire of each one to serve the Lord was evident. Hosting 3 of the girls was a pleasure, and it is a great joy to give family and home to these young people as they tour around the country, blessing the Lord with their daily concerts The theme of the concert was" Hope".
Yesterday the Lord blessed us with His very presence and grace. The worship hour was full of testimonies and praise. Our friend Dr. Warren Ayer, Jr. preached from John 10 "One Flock and One Shepherd".
Jessy and Tom came home on Friday night, and spent the weekend with us. It was a delight to go with them around the countryside to look at possible reception sites on Saturday. Our home was filled with life as we housed our friends, Warren and Linda Ayer, along with having Jessy, Tom, and Laureen home. Yesterday afternoon all went back to their homes, and all is quiet once again.
In Psalm 25:3 David declared, “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame” and in 62:5 he pleaded, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him” (NIV). The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait for (or hope in) him” (64:4). God’s name is even characterized by hope. He is the “God of hope” in Paul's benediction to the Romans, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Hope is, though perhaps not expected, often the fruit of suffering. “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us (or ESV: “put us to shame”), because God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:3-5).
The author of Hebrews wrote, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure,” Hebrews 6:19. “This hope” is Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us to God and anchored, or intimately attached us, to Him. Like an anchor in a storm, Jesus holds us securely and keeps us from losing our way. French philosopher Gabriel Marcel wrote that when we place our trust in someone, it is as if to say, “I am sure that you will not betray my hope, that you will respond to it, that you will fulfill it.” Perhaps he had Hebrews 11 in mind—“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for’’— “faith” and “trust” are synonyms in French as well as in the biblical languages. Church historian Martin Marty cited Marcel in his volume, The Place of Trust. Marty began his introduction with these thought-provoking words:
Trust is at the root of healthy human life. Psychologist Erik Erickson speaks of “basic trust” as the most profound need and outlook. The child, dependent upon elders, grows in confidence to the degree that parents and others provide reasons for trust. We base our marriages on ways of life that extend the wedding vows, which promise trust. Where trust is stretched we prop it up with contracts, documents that make possible some security. Where trust breaks down there can be no mental health….
Trust is also at the root of healthy spiritual growth. Gabriel Marcel related trust to belief in someone. “To believe in someone,” which means, “to place confidence in him, is to say ‘I am sure that you will not betray my hope, that you will respond to it, that you will fulfill it.’” To feel confident enough to say that and to have reasons for meaning it is close to the heart of what Christians call faith. They may flesh out the idea of faith by connecting it with contents: “I believe that God made me, that Christ saves me …” Yet such understandings of faith are hollow unless they are grounded in the rich notion of trust: “I believe in the God who made me, the Christ who saves me…”
This very important concept in the Bible gives clear evidence of the biblical meaning of “faith.” … At the heart of the meaning of the root is the idea of certainty. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith, expressing the basic concept of support, in the sense of the strong arms of the parent supporting the helpless infant. "Faith" reflects the concepts of certainty and dependability. "Amen" also carries with it the same ideas of certainty. Jesus used the word frequently (Matthew 5:18, 26 etc.) to stress the certainty of a matter. The term so used in our prayers ought to express certainty and assurance in the Lord to whom we pray.
God has revealed Himself as trustworthy and true to his Word, so it is not surprising that the Scriptures underscore that our trust (or hope or faith) in Him is foundational to our well being. Over and over we read, “Blessed in the one who trusts in God” (Psalm 40:4, 84:12; Proverbs 16:20; Jeremiah 17:7). Likewise, we are repeatedly warned about unbelief and its consequences. Indeed, though the Israelites neared the Promised Land, “So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief” (Hebrews 3:19).
God has “truly promised” Himself, for as Scripture tells us, “there is no one greater.” So “hope anticipates that he will ever show himself to be a Father toward us.” We can come to him expectantly, asking Him to guide us and trusting Him to steady and reassure us like an anchor and a parent’s arms in a storm.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyWOIKCtjiw
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