Tag: Hope

Digging in Deeper: Romans 12:12

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“Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As a longtime fan of the Kansas City Royals, I know what wishful thinking is. A decade ago now, all the metaphorical baseball planets aligned, and we were genuinely really good. Since then? And for most of the thirty years before then? Not so much. In just the last 25 years alone they’ve lost more than 100 games seven times, and gotten close to that grim marker of a truly terrible season another four times. And yet in almost every season there’s a stretch when they actually look like they’re going to be a real baseball team. The fans start getting excited. And you let yourself think, “This is finally the season they’re going to turn it around.” But they almost never do. Instead, we have learned to be patient in affliction and persistent in prayer. Real hope, though, has not given us much reason for rejoicing. As it turns out, all three of these ideas are commands Paul issues next in his list of lifestyle characteristics of a follower of Jesus. Let’s keep rolling with him.

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Digging in Deeper: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

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“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Comic books have always been about more than the tales and exploits of super-powered heroes and villains. They have always served as vehicles for exploring and addressing deeper topics and themes. The X-Men comics, for example, have been about tolerance for those who are different. Superhero movies do the same thing. Wandavision (and Dr. Strange 2, which was just a continuation of the Wandavision story) was a study in grief. Captain America 4 was about seeking justice for the oppressed. Iron Man 3 was about dealing with anxiety. The Infinity Saga was about the infinite value of every single life. Marvel’s second-most-recent release follows this same pattern. It’s a story about heroes and villains, yes, but it’s about a whole lot more than that. I finally got to watch Thunderbolts* this week, let’s talk about why it’s so very good.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 22:3

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“A sensible person sees danger and takes cover, but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever wanted something really badly, but couldn’t seem to get there for some reason? Maybe you didn’t have the resources to achieve it. Perhaps there was something physical holding you back. It could be that culture simply wasn’t allowing for it. Whatever the reason, you were feeling denied something you really wanted or even felt like should be yours by right. What did you do then? Did you give up and go in another direction, or did you keep right on going, pressing on until you got it no matter what the cost happened to be? The newest Marvel offering from Disney+ is about just such a character. She couldn’t get what she wanted on her own, so she just kept pushing until she got it. And that’s the problem. Let’s talk today about Ironheart.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 8:24-25

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“Now in this hope we were saved, but hope  that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Faith is a word that is essentially connected with the message of the Gospel that can be hard for someone who has not yet embraced it to understand. The nature of Gospel faith is often misunderstood—including by Jesus’ own followers. Another Gospel concept that can be similarly challenging to wrap our minds around is the word hope. Gospel hope is often mischaracterized as little more than wishful thinking. Yet that falls woefully short of what it actually is. Let’s talk a bit about hope, why it is so essential to the Gospel, and what it actually means.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:23

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“Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As a pastor, I’ve done a lot of funerals. Now, by virtue of pastoring churches with a number of young families that aren’t mostly gray-haired, aging congregations, I haven’t done as many as some guys who have been in ministry as long as I have, but I’ve done my fair share. There is a kind of groaning that comes with age. Some of it is, of course, physical and audible. But a bigger part is existential. We know we are slowly dying (or perhaps quickly dying depending on circumstances), and we long for relief from it. Not the relief of death, but something entirely more substantial than that. We long for restoration. Well, this is part of the Gospel’s good news. Let’s explore it some today.

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