Enduring to the End

Beyond the Present Time
Resurrection Hope
Equipped with Hope

Matthew 24:9-14

The Message

^9-10 “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.
^11-12 “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.
^13-14 “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come. 

For Reflection

What does it take for you to stick with it in spite of criticism, challenges, and apparent failure?  A hope beyond reason carries you through to the victorious end.  Considered a foolish hope by some but for you, in Christ, a foolish hope is wisdom. 

Pray

for the strength in hope to finish in spite of difficulty.  Pray that you will never bend to ungodly ways. Pray that you will reject the foolish ways of common wisdom and embrace Gods role for you.

Credibility in Christ

Beyond the Present Time
Resurrection Hope
Equipped with Hope

Titus 1:5-9

The Message

A Good Grip on the Message

^5-9 I left you in charge in Crete so you could complete what I left half-done. Appoint leaders in every town according to my instructions. As you select them, ask, “Is this man well-thought-of? Is he committed to his wife? Are his children believers? Do they respect him and stay out of trouble?” It’s important that a church leader, responsible for the affairs in God’s house, be looked up to—not pushy, not short-tempered, not a drunk, not a bully, not money-hungry. He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself, and have a good grip on the Message, knowing how to use the truth to either spur people on in knowledge or stop them in their tracks if they oppose it.

For Reflection

Aristotle defined a credible speaker as a "good man."  What defines a good man in his day is no different from what defines a good man today.  If one is competent (He knows what he is talking about.), fair ( perhaps just) and trustworthy he is thought of as credible.  Whom do you know that fits that category?  If a man or woman fits the criteria listed in Titus, then he or she is probable God centered.  To what extent is your credibility based upon a God centered life? 

Pray

that you will seek knowledge and wisdom.  Pray that you will be fair and just in all of your interactions.  Pray that you will act in ways that will warrant the trust others place in you.  Pray that when you speak of your faith others will find you credible.

The Beginning of Knowledge

Beyond the Present Time
Resurrection Hope
Equipped with Hope

Proverbs 1:2-7

The Message

Wise Sayings of Solomon

A Manual for Living

1 ^1-6 These are the wise sayings of Solomon,
    David’s son, Israel’s king—
Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,
    to understand what life means and where it’s going;
A manual for living,
    for learning what’s right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
    and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,
    still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
    the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

Start with God

⁷ Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
    only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

For Reflection

So many people, so well schooled and so uneducated!  It seems that our educational systems fail to produce wiser people.  Compassion and justice do not seem to out weigh efficiency and maximizing profit at the expense of people.  Selflessness gives way to self-centeredness and vulnerability to corruption justified by the common place wisdom of our societies.

Paul tells us the wisdom that comes from God is interpreted by the common culture as foolishness.  The common wisdom of the world is opposed to God's wisdom. Those who are wise start with God.

Pray

Pray for the wisdom that comes only from God.  Pray for the Spirit to enter all of your decisions.  Hope for the wisdom of compassion and justice.

Full of Goodness and Knowledge

Beyond the Present Time
Resurrection Hope
Equipped with Hope

Romans 15:14-21

The Message

^14-16 Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another. So, my dear friends, don’t take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It’s not criticism. I’m simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God’s Holy Spirit.

^17-21 Looking back over what has been accomplished and what I have observed, I must say I am most pleased—in the context of Jesus, I’d even say proud, but only in that context. I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformingly present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. In such ways I have trailblazed a preaching of the Message of Jesus all the way from Jerusalem far into northwestern Greece. This has all been pioneer work, bringing the Message only into those places where Jesus was not yet known and worshiped. My text has been,

Those who were never told of him—
    they’ll see him!
Those who’ve never heard of him—
    they’ll get the message!

 For Reflection

What accounted for the success of Paul's mission?  Pure and simply, Paul passed on knowledge of the Christ event and the value of a new way of establishing a new transforming relationship with God.  How about you?  Is this offer of a right relationship to God as compelling to you as it was to those whom Paul addresses. 

Pray

that all who have heard will listen.  Pray that all who have seen will understand.  Pray that the new information about the transforming power of the Holy Spirit will be embraced by all.

Hope in Gods Faithfulness

Beyond the Present Time
Resurrection Hope
A Living Hope

Lamentations 3:19-24

The Message

It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God

^19-21 I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
    the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
    the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
    and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

^22-24 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left. 

For Reflection

Hope is the powerful counter measure against fear.  Hope motivates supportive action.  Fear motivates defensiveness.  Fear results in a downward uncontrollable spiral of declining trust and confidence.  Gloom and doom surrounds you as a dark cloud out of which you cannot see.  Hope lifts the cloud of doom and restores trust and confidence.  Hope in the Lord.  You will never be disappointed.

Pray

in your darkest hours for God to lift the cloud of fear that surrounds you.  Pray for the hope that defies all reason.  Pray to find God extending His hand of grace.

The Lord Preserves the Faithful

Beyond the Present Time
Resurrection Hope
A Living Hope

Psalm 31:19-24

The Message

^19-22 What a stack of blessings you have piled up
    for those who worship you,
Ready and waiting for all who run to you
    to escape an unkind world.
You hide them safely away
    from the opposition.
As you slam the door on those oily, mocking faces,
    you silence the poisonous gossip.
Blessed God!
    His love is the wonder of the world.
Trapped by a siege, I panicked.
    “Out of sight, out of mind,” I said.
But you heard me say it,
    you heard and listened.

²³ Love God, all you saints;
    God takes care of all who stay close to him,on
But he pays back in full
    those arrogant enough to go it alone.

²⁴ Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up.
    Expect God to get here soon. 

For Reflection

Have you ever wanted to scream, "Stop the world, I want to get off!"  When frustration reaches that level is precisely when God shelters you, comforts you, and brings you peace.  Wait on the Lord.  Be obedient to His will.  He will pay you back in full for your suffering allegiance to Him.

Pray

that you will face life bravely in the confidence in tomorrow that only God can provide.  Pray that you don't give up.  Pray deeply and often so that you expect God soon!

My Times Are in Your Hands

Beyond the Present Time
Resurrection Hope
A Living Hope

Psalm 31:14-18

The Message

^14-18 Desperate, I throw myself on you:
    you are my God!
Hour by hour I place my days in your hand,
    safe from the hands out to get me.
Warm me, your servant, with a smile;
    save me because you love me.
Don’t embarrass me by not showing up;
    I’ve given you plenty of notice.
Embarrass the wicked, stand them up,
    leave them stupidly shaking their heads
    as they drift down to hell.
Gag those loudmouthed liars
    who heckle me, your follower,
    with jeers and catcalls. 

For Reflection

Do you presume to tell God what to do?  This psalmist seems to presume so.  It strikes me that his talk with God is authentically human, filled with emotion and passion.  He approaches God in a relationship filled with trust, hope, and a deep conviction that God will listen and answer.

Pray

authentically.  Let your humanness show.  Assume a healthy family relationship with your God.  Listen for his answer and pray for an active hope that His will be done.