Encouragement: Jesus gives us hopefulness

THE ENCOURAGEMENT of hope Jesus gives us bountiful belief for good

By Roxanne Drury

The title of this article – “The encouragement of hope” – sounds like it might be a romance novel. But it’s not. I hope you are not disappointed. No pun intended. It is, however, a love story of sorts.

Hope has been defined by some as believing that something good can come out of something bad. Genesis 50:20 says, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” Sometimes things happen in our lives that break our hearts or steal our joy. In those moments it is so easy for us to forget God’s promises or that God has a hand in every part of our lives. Think about it for a second. God had a part in every moment of Jesus’ life, too.

But let’s redirect and take a look at the disciples for just a moment. When Jesus died, it must have seemed to them that it was all over. Jesus was dead and buried. The end. The disciples were sad and afraid because He was gone. Perhaps Jesus’ followers forgot what He had said in Matthew 17:22-23: “…The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life…” He was kind of saying, “Hey, it’s okay, I am going to die, but don’t worry, I’ll

be back.” I think this was Jesus’ way of giving them hope that all was not lost. Good was going to come out of something that seemed really, really bad. Why did Jesus give them this hope? I think maybe it was because He loved them. He didn’t want them hurting. Well, unfortunately, we don’t have Jesus face to face telling us that something bad is going to happen. Or saying to us, ‘but don’t worry, God has a plan and good will come out of it.’ I think that’s part of why it is so easy for us to forget that God is in it – all of it – whatever it is. But wait. It is true, we don’t have the real live Jesus to give us words of hope, but we do have Roxanne Drury the words in the Bible. John 16:33b tells us, “…In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” There it is. You will have trouble, bad things, and tough things are going to happen. Next come the hope words. Ready for them? But take heart. Don’t worry. God’s got a plan and His plan is for good. These words give US hope! And hope is a gift! Just like the words Jesus spoke to the disciples, these are words of love, words of encouragement – the encouragement of hope. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). We can have hope because no matter what happens, we know that God has His hand in every part of every single thing in our lives. We can have hope because God is faithful and we can trust Him. We can have hope because God made a way for us to live with Him forever. We can have hope because we know that Jesus will come back again one day. We can have hope because Jesus is at this very moment preparing a place for us called heaven. Jesus comforted His disciples with these words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3). Those same words are for us as well. Out of love for all mankind – that includes you and me – God made a way for us to have hope every day of our lives to the end. We just need to grab it and hold on tight. I read somewhere that “Hope redefines what is probable and opens the paths to the impossible.” Hope keeps the doors open to what can happen when things seem bad. In the good things and the not-so-good things in your life, you can have the encouragement of hope that God is in it, God has a plan, and His plan is for good. Believe it! n

Roxanne Drury is a wife, mother, grandmother, and retired Christian preschool teacher with a teaching certificate in Early Childhood Education. She has served the Lord in children’s ministry for over 40 years and is currently on staff at Rockharbor Church.

INSIGNIFICANT... or not? The essential signature of Button Gwinnett

By Scott Riggan

It’s likely you’ve never heard of Button Gwinnett. And while you may not recognize his name, he has a special place in history as the second man to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Gwinnett may not be as well-known as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and some of the other signers, but putting his name on an official notice of separation from Britain was a brave and dangerous act. It amounted to a declaration of war.

Here’s where Gwinnett’s story gets interesting: collectors search the world trying to obtain a full set of signatures from the 56 signers of the Declaration. Letters with the signature of Ben Franklin can be found for $6,000, and other documents signed by Jefferson and Adams have sold for similar amounts.

In contrast, a letter with Gwinnett’s signature sold not long ago for nearly $800,000. Yeah, not a typo. And the only signature that sells for more? William Shakespeare’s.

Why in the world would this man’s signature be worth so much?

First, Button Gwinnett was never as prominent a figure as the other signers, and so his signature is much rarer. Second –

and without minimizing his one very significant contribution to history – Gwinnett didn’t really do much of anything else that was notable. Except … he ran up a lot of debt. So the documents that have been found are mostly I.O.U.’s. Whenever I hear about objects like this that are assigned great value – i.e., a comic book, baseball card, celebrity signatures (Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe), etc. – I always feel like the value seems a bit arbitrary. But in the collecting world, value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay. Scott Riggan You may not feel like you occupy a significant place in history. Your life may never be the subject of biographies or TV news stories. Fame and notoriety may not be in the cards. But don’t ever forget how much value God places on you. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.– Romans 5:6-8 ESV n

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DESTINED for Victory Living with certainty, despite uncertainty

By Pastor Paul Sheppard

In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, we read:

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!

I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved; and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. – Philippians 1:20-30

Notice how the apostle Paul juxtaposes uncertainty with certainty. Paul is both uncertain and certain of how his future will play out.

Let’s explore that complexity, layer by layer. To begin with, we already know that Paul is imprisoned in Rome when he writes this letter. He has been in chains for about two years. He doesn’t have any idea what the outcome of his imprisonment will be. He might be released, or he might be executed.

Then in verses 25 and 26, he says he desires to depart to be with the Lord, “but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain.”

He’s not entirely convinced, because in verse 27 he says, “Whatever happens…” He wouldn’t say “Whatever happens” if he knew for sure that he would get out of prison.

We see here that Paul has a rather strong belief that he’s going to stay alive, because God is not finished with him on earth. And yet on the other hand, he has no guarantees. So here Paul is, balancing this certainty against an equally strong uncertainty.

You and I know that life comes with no guarantees. You may be strong and healthy and in the prime of life. You have dreams and visions for the future. You are looking forward to God’s abundant blessings.

And yet in the back of your mind, you know all of that could change in a heartbeat. You don’t want to live in fear, but there’s always an uncertainty about your future.

Paul believes he’s going to stay and minister to the church at Philippi. He tells them they will have joy because he will

continue to be their spiritual leader. But then he says, “Whatever happens,” stay true to the Lord. As a mature man of God, Paul knew he had to say that, because he didn’t know how much time he had left. He knew he might not get out of jail. Later, Paul did in fact write his last words – basically his eulogy – in 2 Timothy 4, saying that he fought the good fight. Sometime later, church historians believe Paul was beheaded for the gospel. But before that happened, Paul did have more time on earth to bless his spiritual children with letters, prayers and words of encouragement. Pastor Paul Sheppard Like Paul, you should never worry about the future. God has big plans and dreams for you. The best prescription I can give you is to expect to live, but be prepared to die. In fact, you aren’t ready to live until you’re ready to die. Go to Jesus and get that death thing straightened out, even if it feels like you have all the time in the world. There is no fear of death, as long as you abide in Christ. Paul illuminates the joy we have in Jesus in this first chapter of Philippians. To live is Christ and to die is gain. … I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. In Jesus, we have full assurance of eternal glory. We have no doubt whatsoever about the afterlife. All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. We will join together with God, in whose presence is fullness of joy. That fact is more certain than the ground under our feet. Our certainty in Christ must always overshadow the lesser uncertainty about what tomorrow holds. One temptation many Christians fall into these days is to be so busy with worldly possessions and commitments that they don’t take time to plan for eternity. Don’t believe that your physical strength and stamina will last forever. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes: For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 That’s a hard passage for young people to take seriously, when they have all their strength, vitality, muscles and good looks. A hundred years from now, we’re all going to need a new body. Like Paul, we have to anticipate what is ahead of us, while teaching and encouraging those who are younger. They might have youth and vitality, but you have some wisdom they haven’t stumbled upon yet. Give them what you’ve got, and tell them what you know. They need you to help prepare them for the time when this earthly house goes down. They need to know how to get a better building that will last forever. n This is an excerpt from the series “Keeping THE Main Thing the Main Thing” by Pastor Paul Sheppard. You can hear Pastor Paul’s radio show, “Destined For Victory,” weekday mornings at 9 a.m. MST on 94.1 FM or online at www.941thevoice.com. For more information, consult www.PastorPaul.net.