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There’s Always Hope In Christ

“But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

The Bible promises that times will get worse, all the way up to the end.

It’s a crying shame, but you don’t have to look very far to prove that point. The tragic shootings in Tulsa, Oklahoma are life-and-death examples that the work of Satan cannot always be understood. The world struggles to find a solution, but the Bible says that lawlessness is a mystery and will only be brought to a stop by the Second Coming of Christ.

We are not alone with the discouragement that we feel regarding what we see going on in this country. Thirty years ago, a young Indiana songwriter was also discouraged, so discouraged about what he saw happening that it helped to throw him in a state of deep and hopeless depression.

Some of you remember those times. Racial tension was tearing our country apart; the Vietnam Conflict was at its peak; and three American heroes, who wanted to see a different America, were all shot down in their prime. Why I can still remember seeing Dion on television in 1968 singing, Abraham, Martin and John, a song that eulogized the lives of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy, and praised them for the courage they showed.

Against that backdrop, this young, promising songwriter just couldn’t bear the thought of bringing another child in this world. In fact, his wife, then pregnant with their third child, described how they both felt: “Bill and I would talk about the circumstances of this world, and about this new discouragement, and wind up saying, ‘If this world is like this now, what will it be like in fifteen or sixteen years for our baby? What will this child face?’ We were filled with fear and uncertainty.”

That uncertainty turned to endless hope one spring afternoon when Bill’s father provided him with a modern-day parable. Bill had just paved a parking lot next to his office and there in the middle of the newly paved lot stood a tiny blade of green grass. His father showed him that lonely blade of grass, suggesting that it had a direct connection with of the hope we have in Christ. His wife later said, “It was confirming a truth that had been pushing its way to the surface of our souls: Life wins! Life wins!

Well the rest is history. That young Indiana songwriter was none other than Bill Gaither. And it was after his father convinced him that hope is never lost for the Christian that he penned “Because He Lives“, a reminder to us all that hope is never lost for Christians.

Life is difficult and these are dark times in which we live. But we have a gift called salvation that provides light that will show us the way in spite of what may be going on in our world. In fact, Jesus himself said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

That light still shines my friends. And Bill Gaither’s chorus to “Because He Lives” is as true today as it ever was:

Because He lives,
I can face tomorrow

Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

Hold on to the promises of God and remember what the Apostle John told us: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17)

Easter Story Provides Hope Through Failure

“Then Jesus told them, ‘This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’.” (Matthew 26:31)

The Easter Story, in and of itself, is a story of hope. In spite of the trials that Christians face, we always have hope because of what happened at Easter.

No one understood the hope that the Cross offers more than the Apostle Peter. He was one of Christ’s most trusted disciples and often served as spokesman for the group. Yet, when Christ told his disciples that they would scatter like sheep at the first sign of trouble, Peter defiantly declared, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” (Matthew 26:33)

We know that’s not what happened. The Bible records that Jesus told Peter, “I tell you the truth,…this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” (Matthew 26:34)
Peter stayed true to form because as he again staked his claim of loyalty to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you…” (Matthew 26:35)

Peter turned his back on Christ just as Jesus had predicted. “To Peter’s credit,” as Herschel Hobbs points out, “it should be noted that all of the eleven joined in and said the same thing. Peter had plenty of company—and they all meant it at the time. But they were to learn that not merely physical but moral and spiritual courage is necessary to be true to Jesus.”

All four Gospels tell of Peter’s denials. They make no effort to excuse his failure. In fact, even Peter, when he remembered what Jesus had told him, “…wept bitterly.” Peter was already repenting for his sin.
Peter truly loved Jesus and Jesus knew his heart. After his resurrection, Jesus made a special appearance to reassure him. Genuine repentance always brings divine forgiveness.

It’s hard to condemn Peter when we look at how we own up to the fact that we have denied Jesus, too. Herschel Hobbs asks, “How often do we move from professing loyalty and making efforts to follow Jesus to doing things that deny him? How often do we deny Jesus by the way we live, speak, or remain silent? Sometimes Christians go to extremes to disassociate themselves from Jesus…Perhaps we all need to join with Peter in bitter tears of repentance.”

The hope of Christian faith is played out in Peter’s life. You see, after Jesus forgave Peter, he also commissioned him to “feed my sheep”. (John 21:15-19) Isn’t it interesting that in these verses, it was Jesus who asked Peter three times if he loved him and told him three times to feed his sheep? I don’t think that was an accident.

The Bible tells us that Peter, in just a little more than seven weeks after he denied his Lord, preached one of the greatest sermons ever. Some of those present to hear that sermon were probably responsible for Jesus’ death. This time, Peter did not back down. With the courage and conviction that he had once promised, he said, “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36)

Peter denied Jesus. But his story teaches us that failure does not have to be final and carry lifelong damage with it. Peter wept bitterly and Jesus later told him, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32)

Peter stood tall in the early church and certainly has done his part to strengthen fellow Christians. He also kept his promise to die with Jesus. He, too, was crucified. However, because he had denied Jesus, he did not feel worthy enough to be crucified upright, so he was crucified head down, at his own request.

Is All Sin Deadly?

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

We have all been taught that any sin is a deadly sin, and but for repentance, it will send you to hell. The above verse certainly supports this spiritual truth. However, many of us have also been taught, wrongly I might add, that there are no degrees of sin. There certainly are degrees of sin and there are a number of verses in the Bible that point to why I would reach such a conclusion. For the sake of argument, I will provide one passage from the lips of Jesus himself:

“The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:46-48)

The greater spiritual question here, however, is what to do when there is a greater moral truth that would be served by committing one sin at the expense of ignoring another? Stay with me here. I never want to be perceived as encouraging sin. The truth is, however, that we all find ourselves in moral dilemmas where we must make choices, any one of which could be viewed as sinful. What’s the right thing to do on such cases?

I am not sure I can broadly answer such a question. In fact, it would not be appropriate for me without knowing more about the specific circumstances. However, there may some guidance in the Old Testament that at least supports that God recognizes that decisions like these occur in life. In Exodus 1, the Egyptian King was concerned about an exploding Hebrew population and commanded Hebrew midwives to kill every male newborn child. “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women,” the king stated, “and see them on the birth stools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” (Exodus 1:16)

The midwives refused to do as the king ordered, but when asked why, they lied to him about it. “So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?’ And the midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.’” (Exodus 1:18-19)

Is it okay to lie to save a child? Both are sins in the eyes of God, but none of us would blame the Hebrew midwives for their chosen course of action. Apparently, God did not either because the Bible records, “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that he provided households for them.” (Exodus 1:20-21)

Don’t let anyone tell you that any and all of life’s choices can be made free of sin. It is simply not true. The Apostle Paul clearly pointed out in his own life that he often did not understand his own actions. “O wretched man that I am!” the Apostle proclaimed. (Romans 7:24)

There are times that we must choose the more righteous course of action. As long as we have peace about it and repent of it, God will continue to love us. On that point, there can be no debate!

God’s Voice Was Loud and Clear!

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2, 4:17)

Scripture records two people who uttered those words: John the Baptist in Matthew 3 and Jesus in Matthew 4. But I heard someone else say it 21 years ago, and it changed my life forever.

I was deep in despair. The consequences of some very bad choices had brought me to a new low in my life. Suicide seemed like the only way out for me. So, there I leaned against the rail on a wooden deck outside my friend’s home along an old country road when I heard, “Repent, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

“What did I just hear?” I thought. “Was I having a nervous breakdown?” That voice was not in my mind. It came from the woods just thirty or forty yards away!

Again I heard it: “Repent, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

I was frightened because I knew I had not imagined that voice. I heard it! It was as audible and clear as if my friend next to me was speaking to me. What’s more frightening is she heard it, too!

That was on a Friday night. My friend told me after hearing that voice that she thought I was demon oppressed. I thought she was crazy. “Demon oppressed?” “What in the world did she mean by that?”

The next day, we drove by a church on our way to lunch and a church marquee read: “The Lord will deliver those who are demon oppressed.” I was startled.

I now realize that Friday night was the beginning of my journey to salvation, which we call “conviction”. But it was that Saturday, and the words on that marquee that really got my attention. “What else does the Lord have to do to get your attention?” my friend asked me.

I struggled with my decision for another day before I gave my life to the Lord. Interesting, isn’t it? Jesus gave his life on a Friday and rose three days later on Sunday. I wouldn’t give my life on a Friday, but struggled with it for three days before deciding on Sunday to trade in my old life in for a new one.

But where did that voice come from? I KNEW I heard it. It was not imagined. I later learned that two teen-aged boys went to their pastor at a small country church nearby and told him the Lord had instructed them to put a speaker in the back of a pickup truck and ride down that lone country road repeating, “Repent, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” They told the pastor, “There is someone out there preacher who needs to hear that voice!”

Perhaps more miraculous is the fact that the pastor believed those teen agers and instructed one of his adult members to drive them around while they sat in the back of truck proclaiming what both John the Baptist and Jesus said over 2,000 years ago. Those words are as true today as they were then!

Thank God that pastor believed what those two young boys told him they heard and thank God I listened. My life has never been – and never will be – the same again!