Hope Dangerously
Edie Dutton
Romans 8:18-25
The New Testament in Modern English paraphrases verse 19 as “the whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the people of God coming into their own.” What an exciting image! But too often I forget that sometimes the hope these verses describe is produced by persevering through suffering. I want the end goal without the work it takes to get there. Mary was described by the angel as “highly favored” or “blessed among women,” but don’t forget her “blessing” included being a teenage, unwed mother, having her baby in a stable because there was no room for them in the inn, and watching her beloved Son be rejected and crucified on a cross. Doesn’t sound like much of a blessing, does it? But the end result is glorious! Three truths in these verses and those that follow bring us much HOPE not only in this advent season but always. God says:
BEHOLD I have a purpose! In the end, you will have “liberation from decay” and have the “glorious freedom as children of God.”
BEHOLD I will walk with you through your sufferings and I have given you the Holy Spirit who intercedes for you!
BEHOLD I will make you more than conquerors through HIM who loved us! Nothing can separate you from MY love.
In Suzanne Collins Hunger Games, President Snow tells head game maker, Seneca Crane, that, “Hope is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous.” Let’s HOPE dangerously this advent season!
Plans for Shalom
Lance Mayes
Jeremiah 29:11-13
Have you ever thought something will never happen? You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel? You have hope, but it is becoming wishful thinking?
We were in the system to adopt for a long time (years) before we adopted Nicholas. Seeing our friends having babies and adopting was hard. We were happy for them and sad for us, thinking we might never be parents. When we decided to adopt again, we had to wait again. Would it ever happen? Then we got Leah, almost overnight.
The people of Judah can relate. They were in exile in Babylon, hoping to return home soon. Some prophets told them to get ready because God was going to deliver them. But nothing was happening. Would they ever get to go home?
Jeremiah tells them a different story. They were going to be there for a while, so they needed to build homes, plant gardens, get married, have children, and plan to stay. What a blow. Jeremiah even encouraged them to pray for the shalom of the city where they were in exile. What a tough assignment.
Jeremiah then shares God’s plan for them. Shalom. What a great promise: peace, wholeness, welfare, completeness, and human flourishing right where they were in exile. But, how could they experience shalom in a foreign land? This is no prosperity gospel. God is listening to them and will be found, even away from their beloved Judah.
Hope is not just wishful thinking. Hope is something you can count on, even when things seem so foreign.
Our dreams of parenting came to pass. We have two children whom we love. We thank God for them. (Leah’s middle name is Mattea and means “gift of God”). Did Nicholas and Leah bring us shalom? No. God already provided shalom during our journey.
God is Our Hope
Daniel Zamora
Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
This ancient prophecy was given to Ahaz, king of Judah, while Jerusalem was surrounded by the armies of Aram and Israel, its ally, commanded by their bullying kings. The bad signals were overwhelming: these wicked men wanted to cause fear, divide and conquer the people of Judah. In the preceding verses, the prophet Isaiah delivered God’s message: “be careful, keep calm, do not be afraid and do not lose heart.” (Isaiah 7:4) Easier to say than to do, considering they were in huge danger.
God was so concerned about his people that he himself promised a sign of his presence: sending his own son, Immanuel, a name meaning “God with us.”
About eight hundred years later, the apostle Paul made a similar reflection in the book of Romans: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
During this Advent season, let us be reminded that God cares for us. He is not only aware of our troubles, limitations, shortcomings and illnesses but is also interested in our wellbeing, desires, future and success.
God is our hope, today and tomorrow!
Mixed signals or which way do I turn?
The Week of Hope
You are our living hope, Lord, as we celebrate your promises for our present and our future on your birthday. We are your grateful people. Amen
Weekly Advent Prayers by Betty Claire Jackson
By Willard Teel
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-7
Mixed signals or which way do I turn?
Is your life similar to mine in the sense the world and the church give conflicting signals?
On one hand, I grew up being told to “Be All You Can Be”, you can do anything that you want to do, you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to accomplish, you need to be your own man, you need to figure things out yourself, and my Enneagram 8 number teaches me that I am self-preserving and self-reliant.
Then, during the holiday season, which begins near Halloween and continues through New Year, our time is preoccupied with festivities and the busyness of the season. There is always something to do or something that needs to be done. The season is loud and noisy and hectic.
So, what does it mean for us to turn away from “I” and the brightness and fullness of fall and winter celebrations for our soul to wait in silence? And, how will we find our salvation within that silence?
Who do we choose to trust? Do we trust ourselves, or do we trust silence to help us find ourselves?
It is easy to see that the signals are mixed between the “I” and acknowledging that God is our rock and salvation and in that, in silence, we will find God.
Too often in my life, I’ve chosen to trust myself and go it alone. God made me; therefore, He/She must want me to figure things out myself. But, the Psalmist says “hush”. We are called to know that God is, well, everything. All things on earth pale when compared to God. God is our Rock and Strength. Within God we find safety and strength and refuge.
Within God, the mixed signals disappear. The “I” disappears. The holiday frenzy disappears.
Which way do I turn?
Which way do you turn?
Where do we find our Hope this Advent season?
The answer lies within each of us in the silence from which we find our hope and strength. What will you choose? I choose to embrace the silence and God.
A Lot of Hope
The Week of Hope
You are our living hope, Lord, as we celebrate your promises for our present and our future on your birthday. We are your grateful people. Amen
Weekly Advent Prayers by Betty Claire Jackson
By Ken Williams
Romans 8:18-25
My New Testament of the Jerusalem Bible entitles chapter 8 as “The life of the spirit”, verses 14-17 as “Children of God” and verses 18-27 as “Glory as our destiny”. So, in a nutshell, the scripture assigned to me is about what those of us with the indwelling spirit of Christ can hope for.
Verse 18 starts with our sufferings on earth. Today is the 77th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor which, according to Wikipedia, killed 2,467 Americans. That attack led the US into WW II, the deadliest military conflict in history, resulting in over 70 million deaths worldwide. That’s a lot of suffering. But that level of suffering doesn’t compare with the glory God has waiting for us. That’s a lot of hope.
The other verses expand our hopes for:
- Freedom we can get from slavery to decadence by relying on the spirit of Christ without which we can never completely overcome the temptations of the unspiritual world and…
- Salvation based on our faith in God’s promises, i.e. our hope for things not seen.
With that terse overview, based on no theological education whatsoever, let’s end in prayer:
Our dear father in heaven, there is no way we can thank you enough for sending your son to earth. For he showed us the way to become one of your children. We also thank you for your spirit which enables us to overcome our struggles on earth and look forward to a glorious eternal life in heaven. Amen
Look Everywhere
The Week of Hope
You are our living hope, Lord, as we celebrate your promises for our present and our future on your birthday. We are your grateful people. Amen
Weekly Advent Prayers by Betty Claire Jackson
By David Goree
Jeremiah 29:11-13
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart,” the Lord says in Jeremiah 29.
When I’m looking for a lost item, I can imagine it everywhere. When I misplace my wallet, for example, I picture it in the likely places: on my desk, on the dresser, on the dining table, and in the car under the driver’s seat. As I continue searching, though, I can also picture it under the couch, and in the dryer, and on top of the refrigerator. I dutifully check each of these places, no matter how improbable. After all, once you’ve pictured your wallet falling into the recycling bin, how can you not take a quick look for it there?
When we seek the Lord, I think we look for Him in the likely places. We seek Him in church, in Scripture, and in the hospital waiting room. What if we sought Him everywhere? What if we sought the Lord in the voices of our aging parents, and in conversation with a stressed-out coworker, and in the voice of the neighbor’s kid, determined to explain a video game to us? What if we sought the Lord in the storm clouds—both real and figurative? Is this seeking Him with all your heart? I’m not sure, but once you’ve pictured the Lord in an unlikely place, how can you not look for Him there?
God With Us
The Week of Hope
You are our living hope, Lord, as we celebrate your promises for our present and our future on your birthday. We are your grateful people. Amen
Weekly Advent Prayers by Betty Claire Jackson
By Lisa Shinkins
Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
As I read this verse and thought about what to write about it; I kept thinking back to the day I found out I was pregnant with Killian. I was in a taxi on the way home from the Farah Hospital in Amman, Jordan. Kieran and I had been praying and praying for a child and, at that time, had gone through three miscarriages and were on the seventh round of IVF. I was so excited and scared at the same time. I remember the joy I felt at the news because my hormone numbers were great but I was terrified that this pregnancy would fail just like the rest of my pregnancies. To me the “sign from the Lord Himself” was the high hormone levels. Obviously, the pregnancy was successful as Killian Gerald Shinkins was born on January 31, 2013.
As you go through this Advent season, my prayer is that you focus on what Immanuel means — “God with us.” God is with us through every season in our life, even though sometimes we may not feel his presence. As Kieran and I went through all of our struggles with our pregnancies, we clung to the hope that God would grant us a child. Never did we dream that we would have two healthy children. God does fulfill all his promises to us. He did that through the birth of Immanuel.
Gifts of Light
By Daniel Zamora
Isaiah 9:2-3
Increase your Joy and Rejoice!
Have you ever tried to walk in the darkness, at least a few steps to reach the closest light switch or perhaps when the power is out during a big storm, and are trying to reach your cell phone or any other source of light? We tend to do it very slowly to avoid bumping into furniture or stumbling on a toy or rug. Suddenly, you reach the light switch or the power is back. Can you picture yourself with a big smile on your face?
Yes, after struggling with limited or no visibility, the light is back on and we can see everything around us making it easier to walk or returning to our previous activity with a joyful attitude. It has been said that people who live in areas with limited lighting tend to be sad and depressed while those living in sunny places all year round have a more cheerful mood. If one light gives us that much joy, two or more lights can bring us lots of it.
In Advent, we light a candle to symbolize each of the gifts that God sent with Christ: hope, peace, joy and love. These presents are not part of a menu from which we choose from but, they come altogether. Thus, the light coming out of these candles increases every week and finally, on Christmas Eve, the Christ candle is lit giving us the better perspective of what the prophet Isaiah referred to seeing a great light.
During this season, let every light be a reminder of increasing our joy and rejoicing before the Lord.
We are a People of Hope
By Lance Mayes
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-7
I really love our mission statement: “We are a people of hope seeking to proclaim the love of Christ.” Hope is one of my favorite words. I’ve known too many people who had no hope. They felt they had nowhere to turn, nowhere to go. They thought that no one cared. They felt like no one would miss them if they were gone. What a sad place to be.
We see in our verses for today that in God we find hope.
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
I’ve been there — felt like there was no hope. No one understood. That part was likely correct; no one truly understood what I was experiencing. But there was hope. People did care. God always cares.
I tend to deal with feelings of hopelessness in two extremes. One, I busy myself and try to forget those feelings. I become a human doing instead of a human being. Two, I withdraw. I get quiet. I don’t share what is going on. These options are not really “waiting quietly before God.”
A third way is the best way. Remember that God alone provides hope. God may give hope through a still, quiet voice, through nature, through people, or through other means. We can “wait quietly before God” and let God remind us that we matter, that we are loved.
Then, we need to pass on that hope to others. For “we are a people of hope seeking to proclaim the love of Christ.” How can you share hope and the love of Christ? A smile? A listening ear? An encouraging note? A kind word? A thoughtful gift?
May God bless us and make us a blessing to many.
Hoping and Waiting
By Lee Weems
Romans 8:18-25
The typical scenario at the Malls for many families is to stand in the long line with children and/or grandchildren. There each person waits, seemingly forever, for a child to sit on the lap of a white-bearded Santa. Then, in a deep voice, Santa asks THE question, “What do you want this Christmas?” After hearing a quick response from the child, someone else takes a memorable photo and the child exits so the next child can have a seat, answer THE question, and then move on.
Paul the Apostle penned the book of Romans and in today’s scripture, he addresses the idea of being a child and living with hope. How do we recognize our relationship with God and patiently await our future? Hoping and waiting for some of us includes high wishes and low patience. To develop a longer patience defines the journey of one’s Christian faith.
In reading this passage, Paul reminds me of the inheritance of being a child of God and trusting in Jesus Christ. To be mindful, that one is a Child of God is humbling and exhilarating for me. And I don’t have to wait in line or talk to a stranger in costume. I just remember that I am always in the presence of a loving and relational God no matter the season or situation. There is no better gift.