Tag: Hope

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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How Not to Comfort the Hurting

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It’s hard to see someone you love go through a hard experience. That can be almost as hard – and sometimes even harder – than going through one yourself. What do you say in such a situation? How do you offer meaningful comfort and support and encouragement? The next stop on our survey of Job’s incredible story takes us into the conversation between Job and his friends that occupies the bulk of the narrative. To call it an interesting conversation is an understatement. Let’s dive into some of the details to see just how not to comfort the hurting and some clues as to the kind of posture from which we can find the hope and help we seek.

How Not to Comfort the Hurting

Have you ever been sure you were right…until you learned you weren’t? Join me for a quick trip down memory lane, if you would. It’s a bright and sunny Saturday morning. And it’s already hot. The boys were all still little which meant they were still all getting up really, really early. They were all still getting up really early no matter what time they had gone to bed the night before…and this particular night before had been late. There wasn’t much else going on this particular day. Instead, it was one of those days when it had already felt like a long day by 9:30. In order to give everyone a much needed change of scenery, we decided to go to the local pool. But because we had something going on later in the day, combined with the fact that it was swelteringly hot, we decided to make it a fairly brief trip. What makes that significant here is that it meant we weren’t going to let the boys take nearly as many pool toys as we normally did…much to their significant and expressed disappointment. 

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Digging in Deeper: 2 Corinthians 3:12

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“Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A few weeks ago I was in the Lego Store with my family and saw their Bumblebee set. I’m not talking about the bug. I’m talking about the Transformer, great warrior, and loyal friend of Optimus Prime. It may be one of the cooler sets I’ve built because it actually transforms from a VW Bug to a robot. It’s sitting on my desk in robot mode now, but I switch it up every now and then just for fun. I love Transformers. I also love cartoons. Because of this, I was most excited to see the new Transformers movie, Transformers One. I didn’t get to catch it in theaters because life, but I finally got to watch it recently. Let’s talk about it.

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