“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (
“You can live forty days without food; you can live three days without water; you can live eight minutes without air—and about one second without hope.”
I was listening to
Pastor Greg Laurie on the radio this week and heard him say that. He was talking about the tragic death of his
young son—and
how only through the hope that God gives was he able to survive the
sorrow. Otherwise, it would have
swallowed him up in despair.
Disappointments,
difficulties, diseases, and death are everywhere—realities we all must face. We cannot face them without hope. Somehow, we may have arrived at the
conclusion that becoming a Christian makes us immune from hurt, and nothing
could be further from the truth. What
following Christ means is an infusion of hope that transforms the very nature
of the misery into a mercy, as God promises to work all things together—even the tough
stuff of life—into
good, and ultimately uses the sharp tool of trials to carve us into the image
of Christ.
If you got up with
the sunshine and feeling fine, then praise God.
If you got up to meet a storm thank God also—for He has given
you an anchor for your storm. “This hope
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Heb.6:19 )
Our world is
desperately seeking hope, and the church has it. Our unflinching declaration is, “There’s hope and you can
find it here!”
From its
inception, the church has been a reservoir of hope. The verses from Acts 2:41-47 portray such a
joyful, expectant assembly—a
place where hope was found. That is
still to be the reality. There is hope
for the church—a
hope rooted in our worship, our witness and our walk. God willing, we will explore this further
this week.
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