Between Hope And Hopelessness

Scripture

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”

~Romans 4:18, NLT

Quote

Without CHRIST, there is no hope!

~Charles Spurgeon

Millions do not agree with Spurgeon but I do, “Without Christ, there is no hope.” I was reading Psalm 66 this morning and verse 18 reads...“If I had cherished evil thoughts, the LORD would not have listened, but He did listen and paid heed to my plea.” Unfortunately for me, my mind is not that pure and I can never approach God of the basis of my personal purity. Without the blood of Jesus covering my vile sins, I would have no access to the throne of God. I also read Luke 15 in the message and I saw something totally new to me. I’ve read Luke 15 a lot but I have never seen this before…After the prodigals confession to the father, Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Fathers response reads…Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time. Do you suppose the father had actually given up? He considered the boy dead so I guess you could say he had to some degree. Most don’t give up easily but when you face one disappointment after another, we have a tendency to give up and perhaps that is a good thing.

I feel sure that you are probably disagreeing but that is okay. I think there is a thin line between hope and hopelessness. Jeremiah Denton was a POW in Vietnam. They put him in a cell that had no light. You may find comfort in darkness as long as the light switch is near but total darkness is a form of torture. Denton had a rod behind his knees and his feet and hands were tied to the rod. All he could do was lay on his side. After hours of horrifying darkness, he saw one tiny ray of light slipping in under the door. He wiggled like a worm until he got as close to the light as possible. He said, “That tiny ray of light kept me from going insane.” God promised Abraham a son when Abraham was 75. I don’t have a problem believing a man can father a child at 75 but Sarah was 65 and that presents a problem. BUT God does not fulfill this promise is nine months a nine years. God waits twenty five years when Sarah was ninety. So even though there was no logical reason to hope, Abraham kept hoping. But his hope was based on God’s promise, not on he or Sarah’s ability. In other words, he had given up on the flesh and its methods and his only hope was in God.

I am not the prodigal’s father; he had no faults because he is a type of our Father in heaven. Jesus created the story to teach spiritual truths about our Heavenly Father: this Father is benevolent, infinitely resourced {the more he give, the more he has to give}, loves both sons, even the self-righteous one who does not repent and on and on I could go about the Prodigal’s Father. He is a portrait of God the Father. I can’t be Abraham either; I just don’t measure up but I can relate to both. You could say, “I have no hope,” and that would not be wrong. On the other hand, you could say that “I have a lot of hope” and that wouldn’t be a mistake either. Like Abraham, I have absolutely no hope in the flesh but I have a ton of hope in Jesus. Matter of fact, HE IS my only hope.

With 41% of the precincts in Sessions had 32.5 to Tuberville’s 32.4. June’s source has Tuberville up by the same narrow margin. Too close to call right now. By the time you read this, you will probably know. Looks like we are in a run off for sure.

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