Hope Shared

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

How we thank God for you!  Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.  Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.  May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon.  And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.  

1 Thessalonians 3:9-12

Sharing our great hope in Jesus Christ with others is the main thrust of what we commonly call The Great Commission.  This was the job description Jesus gave to his followers on the day he ascended back to his Father in Heaven:

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

The “work” is really a privilege and joy.  In his letter to the Thessalonian believers Paul outlined that work in four “pillars” that hold our witness together:

Rejoicing

Apostle Paul said he thanked God for his relationship with the church at Thessalonica, and his joy was great because of their faith growing stronger. 

When the genuine joy of knowing Christ courses through your veins, sharing that blessed hope of Christ does not have to be manufactured with a memorized speech, or pamphlets; it speaks volumes of winsomeness.

Praying

Paul’s prayer life was night and day for the presence of God to grow strong in those with whom he had shared God’s love.  When you’ve taken the bold and vulnerable step of sharing the love of Christ with others, they will not slip from your mind.  You are vested in what God will do with them in His kingdom.

Hanging-out

Because of the interest in filling-in the gaps of faith many new believers might experience, you want to be with them to nurture faith at whatever point they are challenged.  Hanging-out with believers increases faith; growing joy is the wonderful result of that fellowship.

Blessing

Paul wasn’t reproducing “Paul” in these people; he was seeing the mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory[1] manifested in those who had accepted Christ by faith, and were living under His Lordship.  His fatherly blessing was an act of love and prophetic hope…he was passing-along the faith once delivered to the saints[2].

For You Today 

Throughout my life many saints have poured-in strength and help as I’ve lived and grown.  Jesus said:  to whom much is given, much will be required.[3]  This speaks of our responsibility to pass along the joy with our prayers, presence, and always being a blessing – never an adversary – to those who need to know Christ.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] Colossians 1:27

[2] Jude 1:3

[3] Luke 12:48

Holding Tightly to the Faith

Friday, June 16, 2023

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Hebrews 10:23

One of the reasons true Kingdom Families hold together better is that we were designed to be people of faith.  The how of holding tightly to our hope is that little phrase:  without wavering.  It is certainly easy to get sidetracked these days.  I see it every year when we attempt to enlist people to serve.  Holding fast to God’s faith has more to do than just being convinced in your mind that Jesus saves.  It has to do with serving consistently. 

 Every believer who draws near to God’s house should hold tightly to the faith with his service.  The why of this is found in what Paul said about the promises of Jesus, they’re faithful; they always come true.  Jesus promised rewards to His followers who serve Him faithfully, and it is a true promise!  The issue of holding tightly to the faith is important for making an impact on this world…at the very least, the small space we occupy in that larger world. 

I am only vaguely aware of how God fits everything together.  But looking back we see more clearly.  I was searching through some old papers and came across a note from Sarah Hollis.  Sarah was our daughter’s friend; they were both age 10 when we moved to Jacksonville, Florida.  She rode our van to church each week; her parents never came.  I had the privilege of baptizing Sarah.  One Sunday she came to me with a two-fold request.  She wanted me to pray for her uncle and his wife, and also go see them to “baptize their baby”.  When I met Sarah’s uncle and his wife it was clear they had very little church background.  What they had was worried hearts over a very sick, premature baby in an incubator. 

They wanted me to baptize their baby; the doctors said he was going to die within a day or so.  My heart went out to them.  As a Baptist pastor I couldn’t baptize this infant, but I would pray for him with everything I had.  I was fearful of the trust that couple placed in me as they asked me to talk to God for their son.  I told them the little kitten-sized child was in God’s hand.  I held their hands and we prayed.  That was in 1990.  Five years later Sarah wrote me this note:

…I still remember the day you prayed for Scott (my cousin) and gave his parents faith and helped them believe.  On the 28^th of this month he turns 5 year[s] old.  Today is his party.  Thank you for giving me the faith and hope.  Thank you, Sarah

Sarah remembered that day as a time when her pastor gave her faith.  At the time my main thought was frustration over Sarah putting me in an awkward situation about baptizing a baby.  I’d never even laid eyes on his parents.  I went, because I was her pastor.  But I went, mostly because I couldn’t deny Sarah’s pleading eyes. 

Looking back, I know, and she also probably knows, it was God who gave her faith.  In the end, God used a pastor doing his job to build faith in a little girl.  And God used a 10 year-old kid’s faith to spur a forty-something, Christian pastor into good works.  Sarah impacted my life with her faith, and my faith was strengthened because of her impact[1]. 

For You Today 

God keeps his promises…if you forget everything you hear today, but you learn to trust in that one fact…and hold tightly to it…your faith will be rock-solid in the only One who holds the keys of Heaven, hell, and eternity.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Root System  and  Living Into the Seed of Promise  and  Holding Tightly This Promise                                        

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] See Isaiah 11:6 …a little child will lead them all.  Also Hebrews 13:2 …entertained angels without realizing it.