ADVENT SERIES: HOPE LEADS TO FAITH

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Hebrews 11:1-3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

This first week in Advent, we have been focusing on the matter of hope through five messages so far. We have two left before we move onto the theme of peace.

Today, we turn to the eleventh chapter of Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, a chapter famously known as “the faith chapter”. Before it goes into a list of renowned Old Testament figures who stood out because of the faith they displayed in God, we find these three lead in verses. Look again at them now:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:1-3

We should note here how faith is a by-product of hope, a “confidence in what” someone places their hope in. Running this out logically, we can see then that faith doesn’t happen if hope doesn’t exist for without hope, we have nothing to have “confidence in”.

It’s also important to see how the scriptures make it clear that hope and faith share this in common. They both are associated with things that are unseen and I would also add, unknown.

In other words, it’s easy to have faith and hope in things that are tangible, known quantities.

We work for a company or organization where our pay is guaranteed and so when payday comes, our money ends up in our hands.

We wake up every day to light from the sun, even when the days are cloudy, and go to sleep when it’s dark with the moon and the stars in the sky overhead.

We cycle through seasons every year with most people experiencing all four with their associated temperature changes, hotter in the summer and colder in the winter with spring and fall being more transitional.

We can sit in a chair, drive over a bridge, and stand on the ground with the assurance we will be supported.

There are many examples like this we can turn to and see where it doesn’t take much faith or hope in those instances. In fact, they are so automatic that we rarely even think about them because we’re so sure they will just happen as they always do.

But what about when someone becomes afflicted with a serious disease like cancer where the prognosis was fifty-fifty that they could survive or die?

Or when a person has everything going for them with a good career and then abruptly loses their job with a lot of expenses that still need paid monthly?

Or a husband or wife who suddenly learns that their spouse is having an affair on them and has decided to leave the marriage, even with children still growing up in the household?

These are just a few real life examples of how life can turn upside down on someone in a hurry, times when someone can find themselves hoping in something they can’t see as they seek to develop faith in the midst of difficulties.

It’s not easy, right?

If you’ve ever been there like me, you know it’s not. We don’t have the requisite strength or courage to handle these hardships when they come and believe me, they will come if you live long enough. This is why it’s important to remember what we covered in yesterday’s message, that hope can help us focus on the Lord who is the only perfect certainty that we have.

Going back to our passage from Hebrews, here’s what we find in verse 3:

By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Here, a believer’s hope in God and His Word leads them to understand how the universe they live in was formed, not from some “big bang” theory or any other crazy scientific theory but rather through the command of the Lord. He and He alone made what we see and know, the visible, from utter nothingness, the unintelligible.

In other words, those who believe in God know that He can make anything happen out of hope in Him and this hope is best expressed through faith and trust that He can handle whatever we’re going through.

He can make the way so cancer can be healed and remission can occur, bringing life out of uncertainty where death was a probability.

He can open a door for someone to find a new job in their career field, a job where the income level helps support the bills and other expenses needed.

He can either mend broken marriages or if one spouse decides to follow their own will and go their own way, then he can provide a new, more Christ-centered partner for the abandoned husband or wife, one that will be obedient to the scriptures and love their mate with fidelity and spiritual integrity as the Bible commands.

Friends, as you read through the rest of chapter 11 in Hebrews, you will see documented, real life examples of people like you and me who faced tough trials, challenges, and/or decisions and made it through because of faith born out of the hope they had in their God.

Abel brought the more appropriate offering than his brother Cain out of His hope, faith, and respect for God, and although he was murdered, his story still inspires others to follow his lead.

Noah built an enormous ark on dry land because God told him to, speaking about a great flood that seemed improbable in that mostly arid region. This flood would wipe out all mankind but Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives, as long as an ark full of pairs of living creatures survived, all because Noah placed his hope and faith in the Lord.

Abraham left his home country with his family and possessions in tow to go to a place that was unknown at the time of his departure. He simply hoped in God with faith, trusting that He would lead them safely to the place He wanted them to be.

You can go on to read more on this as the scriptures move from Isaac to Jacob to Joseph, from Moses and the Israelites to even a prostitute named Rahab and her act of hope and faith in God found in the story of the Israelite conquest of the city of Jericho.

Today, we too can add to this list of those who maintained their hope in the Lord in the midst of hard circumstances and fully experienced His power through faith in His ability to do all things. Unlike the Old Testament saints, we have an additional hope that can only serve to strengthen and fortify our faith. This hope is at the center of this Advent season, the Savior Jesus, whose birth we are preparing to celebrate with excited anticipation. It’s this hope that sets us free from the uncertainties of this worldly existence, a hope that produces faith in a better life yet to come, the eternal life promised by a God who loved us so much that He didn’t wish for us to perish in Hell but rather experience eternal life with Him forever when this life ends, all through just simply believing in His Son (John 3:16).

Today and every day, let us rejoice and give thanks for the hope we have in Jesus, the hope that leads to a faith that is sure that what God has guaranteed will come to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: HOPE ALLOWS US TO FOCUS ON WHAT IS CERTAIN

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we come to our fifth message in this series on hope which is the main theme of the first week in the Advent season. To date, we have learned the following from the scriptures:

1. Hope is found in God.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/11/advent-series-hope-is-found-in-god.html

2. Hope is found in God’s Word.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-hope-is-found-in-gods-word.html

3. Hope is found in the Lord who brings strength.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-hope-is-found-in-lord-who.html

and

4. Hope develops patience through the waiting.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-hope-develops-patience.html

And this brings us to today’s text from Paul’s first letter to Timothy, the young pastor who was his protégé. Look again at these words of exhortation here:

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19

We can really sum up Paul’s words here with the following:

Don’t trust in the world. Put your hope in God and in Him alone.

Specifically, we find Paul centering on the rich in these three verses. Timothy was carrying out ministry in the Ephesian church at the time so we get a sense of the affluency that existed within the body of believers.

Ephesus itself was a very important center of commercial trade by land and sea during New Testament times and so it should be of little surprise that the Romans made it the provincial capital of Asia. It was also a center of polytheistic worship practices as the great temple of Artemis, also known as Diana, was in the city. The temple, dedicated to this goddess of Greek mythology, was renowned as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. You can read about her and how Paul caused a real uproar within the city when he brought the Gospel there and spoke against false gods in the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Acts.

Back to our scripture passage and Paul’s words to Timothy where we find him telling the young minister to have the rich place their emphasis on the following instead of their wealth:

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”  

So how could these rich Ephesians shift their behavior so radically from self-centered riches to selfless sacrifice through helping others by serving or giving?

They would have to first put their hope in God, the God who would help them become the people He wanted them to be, the people they needed to be.

And the same applies to us today.

When it comes to living this thing called life, it’s critical that we keep the main thing, the main thing, and the main thing is our Lord. For in the midst of a world that would convince us we should place our trust in everything except God, we need to resist the temptation to go there. The bottom line is that anything outside of God is totally unreliable and that goes for ourselves. He was, is, and will always be in control, the only One in our lives who can do all things.

Nothing is beyond the work of His almighty hands and if anything needs changing, He is the One to do it if it is in accordance with His will which is the only thing that really matters.

Friends, it’s hope in our God that allows us to focus on what is certain, not just in this life but in the better one to come for all who have placed their belief in Jesus as Savior.

So don’t place your hope in money or possessions or power or position that can be here today and gone tomorrow. Jesus had something to say about this too in His Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:19-21, 24

The call here is to store up treasures in Heaven and we can go a long way toward doing that by following the words from our opening passage from 1 Timothy as we “do good” being “rich in good deeds” as well as “generous and willing to share”. Paul says that “in this way”, Christians “will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life”, the eternal life only found in Christ.

Also, don’t place your hope in political parties who dabble in current and near future events but have no real authority when it comes down to it, especially in things that are eternal. Remember the words of the prophet Isaiah when he said this about the coming Jesus:

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.

And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of His government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. 9:6-7

When it comes to matters of government and politics, put your hope in the Lord who has all government on His shoulders and has been given authority over all things in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).

Finally, don’t place your hope in yourself or anyone else because we humans have definite limits to what we can do while our God is limitless. Going back to Jesus, He proclaimed this in Matthew’s Gospel:

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 19:26

During Advent, we as believers are to spend time preparing our hearts so to celebrate the birth of a certain hope, a hope that is born out of trust in a certain Lord. The season helps us to keep our focus where it should be in life, on the God who made us, the God who sustains us, and the God who will save us from Hell through His Son so we can spend all eternity with Him in His Kingdom.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: HOPE DEVELOPS PATIENCE THROUGH THE WAITING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:12-13

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When I was growing up, my parents taught me a saying that I held onto for many years.

“Patience is a virtue.”

I have embraced this in my life and have even used it during times when I have had to wait like in lines waiting to check out at stores I shop in. In those instances, as people might apologize for me having to wait, I will often add:

“...and I try to be a virtuous person.”

In other words, it’s important for us to develop and refine patience in our lives.

This is a point that transcends mere worldly wisdom and sayings for when we look within the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we learn this:

“...the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Vv.22-23 NLT

As Christians, we see where patience is imparted to us, not by our own reckoning or will but rather through the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling within us. It along with the other positive results that come from submitting to the Spirit are when Paul refers to as the “fruit”, the healthy spiritual nourishment that feeds our souls and breeds a greater righteousness from the inside out.

As we enter into a fourth message under this Advent theme of hope, we see where it (hope) is another developer of patience within a believer. Going back to the Apostle Paul, here’s what he wrote in his letter to the Romans:

“For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:24-25

We should also note the intersection between the Holy Spirit and hope that leads into these two verses. Look at these words from verse 23:

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

Friends, no matter what happens in this life, no matter how hard things get and no matter how long we need to wait with patience for the Lord to carry out His will, the truth of the matter is that our eternal future is secure in Christ Jesus. And it will be far worth the wait, trust me as we “hope for what we do not yet have”, the “redemption of our bodies”.

This guaranteed hope of the best ending ever for any life, one that we don’t fully know will look like but through hope are willing to wait for, serves as spiritual fertilizer for our fruit of patience, helping it grow and grow until we get to the place where we don’t even fret over the waiting anymore. Rather, we simply trust in the Lord who is always working things for our good.

And so the next time you are standing in that long line with not enough registers open to check people out, stop and breathe a little while seeing the moment as an opportunity for the Lord to cultivate and harvest patience in your life, a patience that will one day pay off when you cross from this imperfect, frustrating worldly life into the perfect everlasting one to come. And then, substitute this testimony when anyone apologizes for making you wait:

“I don’t mind waiting. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit born out of the hope I have in Christ Jesus.”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: HOPE IS FOUND IN THE LORD WHO BRINGS STRENGTH

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Life isn’t easy. Spend enough time in it and you’ll know what I mean.

Perhaps the best way to describe the life experience is that it is a test of one’s endurance, must like someone who runs a marathon. The Apostle Paul saw it that was as he wrote these words in the twelfth chapter of his letter to the Hebrews:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Vv.1-3

For thirty-three years, our Savior Jesus ran “with perseverance” the “race” that His Father God “had marked out” for Him. The final three years of that race were especially challenging as He carried out His salvation mission, enduring the cross and scorning its shame as He died in the place of all sinners, the very ones who opposed Him.

Indeed, as we look to the cross, we remember all that Christ went through as He was sacrificed in our place, purchasing our pardon so that we would one day be justified when appearing before God to answer for the way we lived. Jesus suffered through crucifixion so we could be saved by simply believing in Him. His death and resurrection were the gateway to the eternal life that every Christ disciple will gain when this earthly life is over, the prize that Paul talks about in the ninth chapter of his first letter to the believers in Corinth:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?

Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Vv. 24-25

As we run this race called life, we see the importance of keeping our eyes on the cross for it’s there that we’re reminded of all that Jesus went through to fulfill His Father’s will so to make the way for those who believe in Him to “get a crown” that “will last forever”.

The scriptures tell us this and most of us know it but still life is tough and has a way to come upon us with its hardships, difficulties, and challenges in such a way that we can feel completely overwhelmed under the weight of it all, finding hope drifting away as the strength to persist falters and fades.

Maybe you’ve been there a time or two. Maybe you are there right now.

Thankfully, we receive an energy boost from four verses found in the fortieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah as the prophet reminds us where our hope comes from, a hope that is the theme of all the messages in this series during the first week of Advent. Look at what the prophet had to say:

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31

Every time I read this, I feel as if Isaiah is talking directly to me, not the Old Testament audience this was shared with. The Lord speaking through His faithful prophet is basically asking me and everyone else who reads this passage:

“Hey, don’t you know (or maybe you haven’t heard or remembered) that I am the Everlasting God who can do all things, the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Master of all created things? Why have you lost hope in what I can do within the midst of your circumstances?”

He then would share these words that we need to hear in the midst of our struggles:

“Trust in this when you place your hope in Me. I will never grow tired or weary and as for my understanding and wisdom, it is unmatched and unrivaled. If you would just place your full hope in Me, you will automatically receive an infusion of strength for your weary souls and find your weakness overcome by My power. You will run instead of walk and soar as if you were riding on the wings of an eagle. All you need to do is surrender your burdens to Me with the faith that I am in control and am more than capable of doing what you can’t.”

Friends, as we enter into this Advent season with Christmas day in our sights, let us run the path to Bethlehem’s manger with an excited anticipation and renewed vigor and energy, vigor and energy that’s grounded in the eternal hope found in Jesus, the greatest gift that God has ever given.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: HOPE IS FOUND IN GOD'S WORD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn Your commands.

May those who fear You rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in Your Word.

Psalm 119:73-74

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His Word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Psalm 130:5-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Yesterday, we entered into the season of Advent, a time for Christians to prepare and anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth on Christmas day. ‘

In light of this, I’m providing a series of messages to support this special observance with each week centered on one of the four Advent themes, themes which begin with the matter of hope.

In the first message, we looked to the Psalms and how our main focus when it comes to hope needs to be on the One who is our source of hope, the Lord God Almighty, for without Him, all people would be hopeless.

Today, we’re going to move to a truth that comes from the God who is our Maker and Master. For all believers can find hope in and through His Word. We see this affirmed as we look again to two excerpts from the Book of Psalms:

Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn Your commands. May those who fear You rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in Your Word. Psalm 119:73-74

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His Word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6

In both these instances, we find the psalmists finding their hope through the Word of the One who was their source of hope and as we read through the scriptures today, we too discover this for ourselves.

How do we know that the Bible is from God?

The scriptures tell us so and given that our Lord is perfect in truth, we know that every bit of His Word is true. Here’s what we read in

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

All means all and so every single word we read in the Bible is breathed out by the God from whom all things come. He is the great Originator, the Initiator of every holy and divine genesis that has ever happened.

Note that a Christian has everything they need in the scriptures which thoroughly equips them “for every good work”. In it, the “servant of God” finds teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” as well as, for the purpose and point of this message, hope.

This hope from God runs like blessed threads through the tapestry of the Bible, and one place you will easily locate it is within the Lord’s promises, promises that He has never broken and will always keep.

Need some examples?

Consider these assurances found in the scriptures:

As Moses addressed the Israelite people before they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, we find him sharing these words before sharing a similar message them again with Joshua who would be their new leader (Vv.8-9):

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

In other words, he was telling them to not lose hope for God was with them.

And just in case we want to think this was just an Old Testament assurance, we find this question posed by the Apostle Paul in His letter to the Romans:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” v.31

God is greater than anything and so there’s nothing a believer will come up against that He can’t conquer. He is our great Defender and Protector, and all we need to do is place our trust in Him. For with our Lord, we will always have hope, no matter what.

After the great flood when all of mankind was wiped out with the exception of Noah, his wife, their three sons and their spouses, and many pairs of other living creatures, God made a promise to never again send another flood of that sort.

What was the sign of this promise?

We often see it in the sky after a rain for it is none other than the rainbow.

“I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:13-16

Words from the Lord promising that He would never send “a flood to destroy all life” are words that fill Bible readers with hope, especially because of the truth that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). And given that all are sinners and will face judgment from an almighty, all powerful God who hates sin, I’ll finish with one final promise, the one that is the most significant of them all spoken by our Savior Jesus:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18

Friends, every single created person is going to live forever after death. No one’s body stops functioning and is simply placed into the ground to finish things.

This is because within each body is a soul and that soul is either going to the eternal damnation and torment of Hell or the everlasting beauty and glory of Heaven. We only have the latter option because of the God who is the source of all hope and extends messages that breed hope through His Word.

Here, we see that He didn’t wish for anyone to perish in Hell and so out of love, He “gave His one and only Son” Jesus so that whoever would simply believe in Him would “not perish” but rather “have eternal life”.

With this, we see where Jesus is the determinant as to whether a person will face God’s condemnation or His salvation. For anyone who believes in Christ “is not condemned” but someone who has refused to believe “in the name of God’s one and only Son” will go unsaved and destined for a life forever in Hell.

The blessed truth here is that God’s Word conveys His most significant action, an action that brought the best hope ever to anyone who believes in His Son Jesus. This Advent season, as we anxiously wait to celebrate our Savior’s birth, let us remember that it was God and His communicated Word that makes this hope possible.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: HOPE IS FOUND IN GOD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:5

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today marks the start of the Advent season as we begin to prepare our hearts and souls for the celebration of our Savior Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day. Given we’re entering this special time of year on the Christian calendar, I’ll be taking a break from our Old Testament study of the Book of Numbers and write a series of messages to help us ready ourselves for the moment where God came down from Heaven to earth so to walk among His people in the flesh, fully divine yet fully human. It was a moment best known as the Great Incarnation.

Now, during every advent season, each week leading up to Christmas carries with it a particular theme. There are four total beginning with hope followed by peace, joy, and love in that order. Most Christian churches will have candles for each of these themes and each week, a new candle will be lit.

At our church today, as was the case on many other churches, the hope candle was lit and with this, I am also lighting the first message of this series on hope, one of seven messages before we turn to a week of messages on peace, then joy, and finally love. I pray these will be a blessing to you, greatly enriching your Advent experience through the scriptures.

We begin today where we should, understanding that all things come from God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Indeed, He is the source of any hope we have and we see this acknowledged in two passages from the Psalms. Look again at those now:

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge. Psalm 62:5-8

Anytime we see a verb used as a command, it is really a demand from the Lord. It isn’t meant to be treated as if it’s optional.

Here, the order is clear.

Put your hope in God.  

As we see in the second Psalm, any hope we have is from Him.

“...my hope comes from Him.”

Hope doesn’t come from within our own capabilities. It doesn’t come from any person or organization. It comes from God and God alone, the One who never fails or falters and so we, like David, can proclaim:

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge.

All that we have and all we will ever need through all eternity is found in the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Master of all creation, the One through which all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Friends, this is why David could find rest for his soul. He knew that God would provide for him, strengthen him, steel his courage, protect him, and ultimately save him. And He will do the same for us today. All we need to do is place our hope in Him.

And so as we begin Advent this year, let us do so with the right spirit and attitude. Let us gladly receive and carry out the following exhortation from David who wanted others to gain the same hope he had:

“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him.”

Throughout this wonderful time of year, won’t you join me in putting your full hope in God while giving Him all the honor, glory, and praise, for He, and He alone, is the One who made salvation possible through His one and only Son Jesus, the real reason for the Christmas season.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

OVERWHELMED AND FRUSTRATED? GOD WILL PROVIDE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the Lord, "Why have You brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease You that You put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do You tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."

The Lord said to Moses: "Bring Me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone."

So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.

However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua, son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!"

But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!"

Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Numbers 11:10-17, 24-30

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It wasn’t long after setting out from Mount Sinai to Canaan that problems began to happen as the Israelites began to whine and complain about their circumstances with Moses, their leader, who was getting an earful from them.

Imagine what he (Moses) had to deal with for a minute.

First, we all have had to deal with a person or a few people who chose to protest about seemingly everything and anything possible. I know I spent eighteen years in senior enlisted leadership while serving in the United States Navy and this matter of grumbling about things tested my patience on a near daily basis.

Now, let’s picture ourselves having to deal with 600,000 plus people like Moses was, most venting their dissatisfaction with the way things were. That, my friends would drive even the most tolerant person to where we see Moses ending up as he vents his frustration to the Lord, saying:

"Why have You brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease You that You put the burden of all these people on me?”

We often hear someone lamenting, "Why me Lord? Why me? and there’s little doubt that this is the place we find Moses in here.

But Moses didn’t stop there. He had more to say:

"Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do You tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers?”

Through these additional questions, Moses is essentially saying to the Lord, "I didn’t create these children of yours. You did and yet You have passed on the babysitting of them to me."

Indeed, the brunt and weight of caring for so many people had worn Moses down. He’s obviously tired and frustrated as he finishes sharing his aggravation with these words:

"Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how You are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."

Moses had voiced his exasperation to the Lord but his complaints were different than the ones of the Israelites. They weren’t satisfied with what God had provided and chose to gripe about it. On the other hand, Moses wasn’t satisfied with his ability to help the people he was leading and respond to their requests. Through his words, we see where he knew he couldn’t possibly meet all the needs of the people, understanding that he was only one man. The burden had become more than he could bear and we know this because he makes it clear to the Lord that he would rather die rather than go on in the present circumstances he was in.

Maybe you have been there or know someone who is there now, feeling bottomed out in life, overwhelmed and frustrated. If not, perhaps you may be some day and this message contains an important truth we all need to know and embrace. For in these times of difficulty, when we feel like we can’t go on, God intervenes and provides.

Let’s look at what happened in the case of Moses.

Going back to the scriptures, we see where the Lord honors Moses’ request and blesses him with help, giving the Israelite leader the following commands:

“Bring Me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone."

So we find Moses complies with God’s request telling "the people what the Lord had said" before bringing "together seventy of their elders" to the Tent of Meeting. Once this assembly had gathered, we read where "the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him (Moses), and he took of the Spirit that was on him (Moses) and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again."

So what happened here?

Simply put, God spiritually ordained a group of helpers for Moses who spoke prophecies to show the people that they indeed possessed the same spiritual power as the Israelite leader. This was of critical importance because if the people didn’t see the elders as being like Moses then they wouldn’t go to them instead of him, completely defeating the purpose of what the Lord was trying to accomplish in the first place.

Before I move on, one last thing about Moses, something that reveals that his heart is different from the other Israelite complainers.

For when we get right down to it, all Moses wanted was to do was make life better for his brother and sisters. In fact, we should note that when the Lord decided to ordain the seventy elders who would assist Moses, he didn’t respond as if threatened by others now having the same blessing of spiritual leadership under God that he had. No, instead, we find Moses saying this:

"I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!"

In other words, Moses wished that everyone would have the same relationship with the Lord that He had. Indeed, the world would have been a better place, just as it would be today if we could only get everyone to surrender their lives to God and God alone through His Son, Jesus.

So what are our takeaways from this scripture lesson for today?

I think there are two important points we should embrace.

First, no one person can get it all done in ministry by themselves.

There is no Superman or Superwoman in any church and this includes the pastor. Rather, success in accomplishing the Lord’s work will only come when the entire body of Christ comes together, each using their collective spiritual gifts to work toward the common good of the Kingdom (Romans 12:4-8).

We can take this to another level by looking at the state of the world today, a state that could easily leave any one person discouraged and defeated. We so want to see things better and know that this will only happen when people turn to Jesus but the problem at hand just looks bigger than we are. It’s simply more than we can handle, for sure.

But think about it.

Jesus didn’t just tell one follower to go forth and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). No, He told ALL of His disciples – you, me, and every other Christian believer – to go and He expects all of us to do just that to get the job done that’s hand.

To do it together.

Friends, there’s absolutely no reason we can’t meet that goal but we all need to do our part to make Christ disciples who then go and make disciples themselves. Evangelism begets evangelism on an exponential level as we carry out the Great Commission through the collective power of the Holy Spirit moving and working within us.

The second takeaway here is that there is a difference between whining about things that aren’t kingdom enhancing and those that are.

The people of Israel became a coveting people when they weren’t became dissatisfied with the manna God was providing, whining about wanting meat or anything else that they might have had when they were enslaved in Egypt, as if their captivity there was better and more blessed than being with God.

On the other hand, Moses had a heart for God and making a difference through serving Him. He so wanted to keep his people happy but quickly came to find out that this can be an impossible feat, especially when you are leading an ungracious people. Out of disappointment, his cries to God were more out of feeling like a failure to meet the people’s needs more than anything else. His heart wasn’t inclined toward his own gain but the gain of others.

In closing, if you are feeling like Moses or may feel like him at any other time in life, my prayer is that you will come back to this scripture passage and allow it to be a comfort for you, reminding you that help from the Lord can be just a single heart’s cry away. When things seem overwhelming and frustrating, place your trust in the God that can and will provide for you according to His will for your life, the same God through which all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.