Tag: future hope

Healing Hope

Luke Chapter 7

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This chapter is rich in content, and many sermons and classes have been built around the Faith of the Centurion, the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with perfume, or Jesus’ discussion on John the Baptist.  All very good stuff.

 

But something else stood out to me today in this chapter.  Isn’t it interesting how often scripture speaks to us in different ways based on when we read it?  That should be a very good reason to be in the word daily.

 

We have a funeral this coming week at our church for a World War 2 Veteran who lived a full life and passed away peacefully, and yet Bob will still be greatly missed.  Last year around this time, my dad passed away unexpectedly. I really miss being able to talk to him. I know many people who are currently suffering from or have recently suffered from cancer.  Someone else in our church is still suffering through a migraine headache that started three months ago. Death and suffering stink.

 

With all of these things in mind, this chapter has been an encouraging reminder for me.  In the opening account of the chapter, Jesus fully heals the Centurion’s servant who was near death.  Then Jesus raises a widow’s only son to life, after he had recently passed!  

 

Later, in verses 22-23, it reads, “At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.’”

 

Wow.  Imagine the grief you would be feeling if you just lost a close loved one (some of us don’t have to imagine) and shortly afterward, the loved one is returned to us, fully healthy and alive.  Or imagine if you have never had the ability to see, and then suddenly you did! 

 

We are promised that there will be a Kingdom where the dead will have been raised back to life and where all suffering has ceased.  That is hard to imagine as well. But here Jesus offers the proof that it is possible. Not only did Jesus raise the dead and fully heal the sick here and at other times, but many dead were also raised upon Jesus’ death, and then Jesus himself was raised to life.  Of course only Jesus was raised to eternal life. The rest will have to wait until Christ returns.

 

Friends, we have access to that wonderful Kingdom that God has promised.  What an amazing opportunity and reward that is. It is good to be reminded about that continually, but even more so at certain points in our lives.  Do you known anyone else who could use that kind of encouragement? Do you know anyone else who doesn’t share that same hope for the future? If yes, then spread the Good News!

 

Greg Landry

 

A Lesson from Russia: Restoration

 

maxsim

Missions Spotlight: Russia

Maksim works tirelessly to spread the Gospel throughout Eurasia. While trials and tribulations hit Maksim, he stands firm in the power and grace God gives him freely each day.  The evangelistic website he runs has been hacked twice and Brother Uli, a dear friend, is undergoing intensive chemo for a brain tumor. Nonetheless, Maksim keeps traveling, preaching and baptizing.

Whenever something is going poorly in my life or when times seem really hard, I think of the restoration that is to come on this earth. In December, my grandfather passed away.  Looking back on it now, the only way that my family and I made it through that hard time so well is because we had hope of a future where everything will be made right again. Isaiah 35 gives me hope for the future and I encourage you to read it all on your own sometime, but for now I am going to select a few verses here that stand out to me.

3Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
4Say to those with anxious heart,
“Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you.”
5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

10And the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting joy upon their heads.
They will find gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

It is no surprise to any of us that bad things happen to good people and I am convinced that sometimes Satan messes with our lives to try and make us lose sight of our hope and our future. He tries to get us to betray our hope and give up on God. Recently Maksim, our Christian brother in Russia, has gone through some trying events and deals with the sin of the world every day. He has had to deal with people hacking his website and undoing all of the hard work he has put in. His close friend has been diagnosed with cancer, which is trying on any Christian. He also sees the sin of the world in a unique way as he ministers to a young orphan through a big brother program. How can Maksim and others put up with the burdens that this sinful world brings? It is through our undying hope of restoration! We are looking forward to the time that God brings healing to all families, healing to all people, and puts a stop to all of the kinds of sin. Not only that, but we live with the current knowledge that God takes care of us through all things right now.

There is not a thing that we go through that God is not aware of.  That statement alone is comforting. This doesn’t mean that if you live a holy life, all things are always going to be perfect. It does, however, mean that in one way or another, in the end it will work out to your advantage, whether it be in this age or in the age to come. I know this because of Romans 8:28 which says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” God works and it should be sobering to us that God works for us. He wants to make sure that we are taken care of but more importantly He wants to make sure that we never have to deal with sin again. This is why God is putting into place a kingdom age where things will be made perfect – where everything wrong with the world will be made right. The, “lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness” (Isa. 35:6). Let’s look forward to that day and let’s praise God for this amazing plan that He has set into motion for us! Hallelujah, praise God, amen!

It is also part of our Christian duty to support those in ministry through our money, through our gifts, and through our prayer. The order I put those in was no accident because I think of those three things money is the least important and prayer is the most important. If you would like to help support Maksim and his ministry in Russia, please pray and follow this link below. May the kingdom age come soon!

If you would like to support Maksim and his ministry in Russia, please follow this link. https://www.givelify.com/givenow/1.0/MjM0MDg=/selection Thank you!

Love,

Josiah & Amber Cain