Dear Hopesters,
The world has gone mad! Well, actually, not really.
The world is in fact as it has always been since from the beginning when humankind rebelled against God. At that time, we decided we would rather be our own little gods and live by our standards rather than His. The result is what we now call, sin. Sin perverts. Sin corrupts. Sin darkens. Sin distorts. Sin devolves. And the longer sin grows and deepens on this planet the worse things will become. Sin never improves or makes anything better. Ever!
Also, with the advent and growth of social media and instant communication, we now have crammed in our faces, ears, and hearts, twenty-four hours a day, the sinfulness of humankind. This unsurprisingly makes us more aware of the suffering, pain, hurt, darkness, and confusion in the world. But, these things should not catch Followers of Jesus off guard. They should not surprise us. Of all the people on the planet, we should know and expect these things. We should be aware that sin corrupts and the Evil One, the Devil, is always out to kill, steal, devour, and destroy. After all, it was Jesus who said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
My prayer has been and will continue to be that in the midst of all the heartache, despair, and death, more and more residents of this planet, will come to realize there is only one true solution. More and more will come to recognize that hate cannot defeat hate, darkness cannot defeat darkness, and sin cannot defeat sin. But rather, only true Love can defeat hate. Only true Light can defeat darkness. Only Jesus can bring true and lasting, forever, peace and salvation, if we will trust in Him as the only Savior of the World and God-in-the-Flesh.
Some of us need to repent. Yes, repent of our sins and straying from God. But, we also need to repent of our being surprised by the evil in this world and our fear. After all, we should be more aware of sin than anyone else and we should know our Heavenly Father is ultimately in absolute control and we really do win in the end.
But, what are we to do, until that times comes, in this in-between time, now until the end of time when Jesus returns? That time of which we are told no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, but only God. Are we to spend the majority of our time speculating, creating charts, theories, and teachings as to when this will happen? Are we to hunker down, cower in fear, and be paralyzed? No. We are called to go, serve, and love in the name of Jesus. We are called to be the light in the darkness. We are called to be hope in despair. We are called to lift up Jesus the only true Solution and Savior above the debilitating smoke and noise of this chaotic world.
This coming Sunday, we have the privilege at Hope, to have a person who finds himself with a front seat to the heartache and tragedy of this sinful world. Camille Melki the Co-Founder and CEO of Heart for Lebanon will be our special guest. At that time, from much personal experience, he will share with us how to be light in the darkness. Listen to this quote from him, “At Heart for Lebanon, we counter hate with love, radical thinking with a message of peace, and despair with hope in Christ alone. This can best be done by raising disciples after God’s own heart; servant leaders living the Gospel message and being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Peace,
steve
The world has gone mad! Well, actually, not really.
The world is in fact as it has always been since from the beginning when humankind rebelled against God. At that time, we decided we would rather be our own little gods and live by our standards rather than His. The result is what we now call, sin. Sin perverts. Sin corrupts. Sin darkens. Sin distorts. Sin devolves. And the longer sin grows and deepens on this planet the worse things will become. Sin never improves or makes anything better. Ever!
Also, with the advent and growth of social media and instant communication, we now have crammed in our faces, ears, and hearts, twenty-four hours a day, the sinfulness of humankind. This unsurprisingly makes us more aware of the suffering, pain, hurt, darkness, and confusion in the world. But, these things should not catch Followers of Jesus off guard. They should not surprise us. Of all the people on the planet, we should know and expect these things. We should be aware that sin corrupts and the Evil One, the Devil, is always out to kill, steal, devour, and destroy. After all, it was Jesus who said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
My prayer has been and will continue to be that in the midst of all the heartache, despair, and death, more and more residents of this planet, will come to realize there is only one true solution. More and more will come to recognize that hate cannot defeat hate, darkness cannot defeat darkness, and sin cannot defeat sin. But rather, only true Love can defeat hate. Only true Light can defeat darkness. Only Jesus can bring true and lasting, forever, peace and salvation, if we will trust in Him as the only Savior of the World and God-in-the-Flesh.
Some of us need to repent. Yes, repent of our sins and straying from God. But, we also need to repent of our being surprised by the evil in this world and our fear. After all, we should be more aware of sin than anyone else and we should know our Heavenly Father is ultimately in absolute control and we really do win in the end.
But, what are we to do, until that times comes, in this in-between time, now until the end of time when Jesus returns? That time of which we are told no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, but only God. Are we to spend the majority of our time speculating, creating charts, theories, and teachings as to when this will happen? Are we to hunker down, cower in fear, and be paralyzed? No. We are called to go, serve, and love in the name of Jesus. We are called to be the light in the darkness. We are called to be hope in despair. We are called to lift up Jesus the only true Solution and Savior above the debilitating smoke and noise of this chaotic world.
This coming Sunday, we have the privilege at Hope, to have a person who finds himself with a front seat to the heartache and tragedy of this sinful world. Camille Melki the Co-Founder and CEO of Heart for Lebanon will be our special guest. At that time, from much personal experience, he will share with us how to be light in the darkness. Listen to this quote from him, “At Heart for Lebanon, we counter hate with love, radical thinking with a message of peace, and despair with hope in Christ alone. This can best be done by raising disciples after God’s own heart; servant leaders living the Gospel message and being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Peace,
steve