Category: Hopeless

Politics and Misplaced Hope

11/10/2024

Recently we have just walked through an election, and survived. Elections are time consuming, trying, and tiresome. The difficulty is that in an election process we have a way of looking at our life and seeing all the things that need to be fixed. In our mind they are things that only a political candidate can fix. We just need to choose the correct one, support the correct one and vote for the correct one. In the process we elevate an individual and place our hope in a candidate as the answer to our problems. So what is the solution? First, we need to remember that all people are broken and do not measure up to God’s standard (Romans 3:23). Second, we need to realign our hope. It is easy to trust in the things of power in this life. However, the psalmist David writes that some may trust in military powers, “but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). Third, we need a consistent message of real hope. If we are a believer in Jesus Christ as our savior, He is to be the source of our hope, and He is to be the source of hope that we declare to others. The winds of cultural change and the ebb and flow of political tides will cause insecurity, questions and even hopelessness. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:24-27 that when we build our life on Him and His word we will have a secure foundation. There are many people who have incorrectly placed their hope in politics, ideologies, and the things of this life. Our message must not be one of political hope, but of hope in Jesus. Will we be the ones who faithfully carry the message of hope in Christ to those who have built their hope on the wrong foundation?

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Future Hope

3/3/2024

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Ruth 4
The other evening I walked outside and glanced at the clear, dark evening sky. There, illuminated against the backdrop of the stars and rising moon was a long ribbon like cloud. We had just felt the furry of colliding weather fronts and their strong winds. Now that the storm had mostly subsided, it left this ribbon of cloud stretched across the sky from west to east. As clouds do, it changed as it was carried along with the breezes aloft. The weather pattern must have trapped the moisture forming the cloud between two unseen air currents. I was mesmerized. I had never seen anything like that. In fact, it lasted through the night and into the next morning, dissipating as the sun came up. Through the simple beauty captured in the sky I was reminded of God’s faithful loyal love toward us. We may not recognize all that He is doing, but His faithfulness like a beautiful ribbon flows through our world. We just need to stop and recognize His handiwork. That is exactly what happened in Ruth chapter 4. Naomi and Ruth waited as Boaz went to the city gate to discuss with a closer relative the plight of Naomi’s family and land (1-6). That man was unwilling, so Boaz stepped in to redeem the family through the purchase of the property and marrying Ruth (7-12). A son was born and the women of the town reminded Naomi that God has not left them helpless and hopeless, instead He has provided a redeemer. Where ever we turn we can see the work of God who loves us and sent His son to be our saving redeemer. Like the women said to Naomi, David also says to us, “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits (Psalm 103:2).”

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Hopeless

2/11/2024

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Ruth 1
Have you ever faced the fear of uncertainty and the pain of loss? We all have to one degree or another. There is the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one or the loss of health. Each one of these carry with them their own complications, uncertainties and fears. A while ago I was talking with a friend who had lost his job. It was pretty easy to see his pain and hear his frustration. The answers of why and what next were not clear. However, through the present hopelessness he did not waver in his confident belief that God was in control and that somehow God would provide either where he was or some place new. At that juncture in time he was not willing to move unless God made it absolutely clear. Would you be able to display that same confident faith in God alone and His provision? As we pick up the story of Ruth, we see in chapter one that Naomi has faced the loss of her homeland and her family (1-5) and now she plans to make the transition home empty handed with nothing but personal hopelessness (6-14). In the midst of her pain God provides the blessing of a faithful and loyal daughter in law, Ruth, who even though she is grieving the loss of her own husband is led to be a blessing to her bitter mother in law (15-18). Ruth trusts God and seeks to display her faith by following Him, serving Naomi, even if that takes her away from her own homeland. We all face painful, heart wrenching situations in life. Let me encourage you to be used by God, even when you lack hope, to be a blessing to others like Ruth. In contrast, Naomi turned bitter toward God (19-21). Remember, God is at work redeeming even the worst of our life situations. Don’t go to another place or seek another position unless God makes it clear. Trust in God alone.

For more see RUTH

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Walk Humbly: Confident Hope in God

7/3/2022

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Micah 7:1-20
Yesterday I stepped in a water puddle in the kitchen. No, there was not a hole in the roof, but I did discover that there was a hole in a pipe. Previously I had heard a scraping noise in the kitchen. I later determined it was a mouse. Yet now, a water line to the dishwasher sprang a leak. Unknown to me, the mouse had chewed the water line but not enough to cause a flood until later. However, there was hope. The very reliable and well stocked hardware store was still open. So after a trip, purchasing a new hose and some time for installation the dishwasher is back to being useful and reliable for the future. In Micah 7 we see that the nation of Israel was hopeless without God (1-6). They were facing the consequences and ruin of sin that had chewed away at their life. Now, God is calling them back to a correct walk with Him. However, because of the sin, the present situation is troubling. Micah, in verses 7-10, presents a confident attitude of trust in God even when things are looking bad. Micah reminded the people to walk humbly with God and rely on Him alone for their future to experience His restoration and work through them (11-20). The same is true for us today. We must walk through life humbly following God and His directions. If we do not, we will end up in trouble like the nation of Israel with leaking un-contained sin. However, if we do choose to walk with God and allow Him to properly orient our life we will find hope in the present. In walking with God we will find that He is completely reliable now and in the future. Micah desires that we, like the nation, find our confidence and hope in God. Are we walking humbly with our God?

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Politics and Misplaced Hope

Future Hope

Hopeless

Walk Humbly: Confident Hope in God

Pastor Ken

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