Pray Network Forum

Our hope, God's hope is personal. In his 1939 Christmas message to the nation King George VI read Minnie Louise Haskins’ poem, God Knows, given him by his daughter, Elizabeth.

“I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.’

While we look forward to life beyond this life, our hope is more than what we think of as life. We certainly hope for all that we can understand of gates of pearl and streets of gold, but the heart of our hope in and beyond this life is the person of Christ.

In Titus 2:13 Paul explained our hope by saying we are,

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”

He is our blessed hope.

Hebrews 6:19,20 calls us to Jesus.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

I have cancer, and I don't know how long I will live. In all that I do I am preparing to enter the dark corridor of death. It is uncharted territory for me. But I know Jesus has passed this way before me. He is our forerunner. He knows the way. And He is holding tightly to my hand.

This is not the cold map of doctrine. This is His personal direction. He continually whispers through His word, “Trust me. Follow me. Depend on me. I will lead you home.

Relationship with Him promises continual novelty and dynamic security. I will always be held in His hands whatever we face. His wonders will be new every morning for ever and ever.

As I pen these words I am on an airplane. As exciting as technology can be, I am glad this flight is not completely automatic. We have a competent pilot. We have been told that there are thunderstorms in and around our destination. But our pilot has assured us that he will avoid them wherever they arise when we get there.

JESUS IS OUR HOPE.

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In Matthew 4:17 we are told that after His temptation in the wilderness and the arrest of John the Baptist Jesus began His preaching ministry with the call for repentance. "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Interestingly enough, the word the Lord uses here in Greek, the language of the New Testament, demands that the action of repentance be continual. When we come to Christ we enter into life-long repentance. Of course, this means a permanent change of thinking. But in our daily lives it also means we must continue to turn our hearts away from sins that inevitably creep in. Let me suggest three necessary aspects of continuing repentance.

1. A Sensitive Heart

How do you respond when someone accuses you of wrong? Do you put all your energy into defending yourself? Do you automatically attack? Or do you pray? You can ask God, "Father, is this an opportunity to repent?" Since our ultimate accuser is Satan, you may well discover that the accusation is not completely true. But even in this situation you may have an opportunity to bring your heart and your thinking more in line with your Heavenly Father's. If your heart is sensitive, what the enemy intends for evil will only make you more Christlike.

2. A Thoughtful Heart

The freedom to examine your heart comes to from saturating your mind in the truth of the gospel. Have you memorized verses that give you God's assurance? Do you think daily about their wonderful truth? You don't have to defend yourself. Jesus is actively defending you before the throne of God. (1 John 2:1) You are not condemned. (Romans 8:1) God sees you washed in His blood. (Revelation 1:5) There are hundreds more!

3. A Comforted Heart.

To react in repentance rather than defensiveness you need to be immersed in the love of God that His Spirit desires to lavish upon you. Do you regularly Give thanks for the love of Christ? Do you tremble in wonder at God's amazing grace? Only in such assurance will you be free to continually examine your heart and allow God's Spirit to bring it nearer to His own.

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For both Muslims and Christians there is a great desire for the afterlife. This world and all that it offers is still empty of what our hearts desire. We desire heaven. Because of the work of Jesus on the cross, Christians believe all their sins are placed on Him, and it is because of Jesus they will enter heaven. Christians have confidence in the finished work of Jesus. For Muslims, they do not have Jesus' righteousness, all they have is the wish that Allah will allow them into paradise, there is absolutely no assurance. If they follow the Quran and the Sharia Law perfectly there is no assurance. Pray that all that Jesus has done will be understood in the Arabian Peninsula. Pray that the name of Jesus would grow in honor.  Pray that local people of the AP would so long for heaven that they would seek the only way there - Jesus Christ. May the power of the following Scripture move you forward in your prayers.

"We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus." Romans 3:22-26