Spurgeon on the rigors of the walk of faith.

Ah, LORD, Thou wast in Thy lowest state when before Thy persecutors Thou wast made to stand like a criminal! Yet the eyes of Thy faith could see beyond Thy present humiliation into Thy future glory. What words are these, "Nevertheless - hereafter!" I would imitate Thy holy foresight, and in the midst of poverty, or sickness, or slander, I also would say, "Nevertheless - hereafter." Instead of weakness, Thou hast all power; instead of shame, all glory; instead of derision, all worship, Thy cross has not dimmed the splendor of Thy crown, neither has the spittle marred the beauty of Thy face. Say, rather, Thou are the more exalted and honored because of Thy sufferings.

Jan 31, 2023

 

By now, many of us have already given-up on half-hearted "New Year's Resolutions", promises made that we had no plan for, things that we could not sustain.

Thankfully God is so much better than that; His promises do not return void.

Also, we're coming up on the 7th anniversary of this iteration of the Internet Missionary, basically which was only a Facebook page at the time.  That page continues to grow gradually.

The old conservative Baptist leader took a look at it, back in the day, 2016, and said, "that's a great idea!".  He was of the old stripe, and a glutton for conversation when out in public.  He had a knack for shifting the conversation to the Gospel, and he worked on strangers all the time, inviting them to church and also sharing with them his own testimony.

we are his hope; he is our hope.

I struggle with this idea....

first.  We are His hope in glory.

second.  He is our hope.

But our hopes, so often, as even the Bible says, that the understanding is darkened and there is inequity in the heart.

Yet we are His hope.

Like the faith that moves mountains, can we harness this to achieve the best of our desires?  The most providential?

I come down on the side of that, if it fits God's plan, if it doesn't destroy another maybe, that we could be granted something.....  but such parameters are so vague and foggy.

I'm inclined to think my faith is a powerful tool, as per Word of Faith pastors.

What we are not given is a set of parameters or conditions; Christ says the mountain will move, if one's faith is set on it.

Dare we think parabolically, a kind of circles-in-on-itself way that we can remove, by mindset, various lapses in judgement, dignity, personality flaws, all by will, and the will the tip of the spear of the believer's own faith?

We could pray for a million, or we could already have the effect, the happiness of the "million" of popular thinking.

We could have that feeling, and that feeling is pretty much as good as having the million dollars, and that accomplished by will, like we moved a mountain inside our own minds.....

We are His hope.

He is OUR HOPES.

Paul orients this towards the endpoint of our earthly existence, to keep our eternity in focus.  Eternity matters so much more than arguing with the people next door, anyway, but what indeed of the everyday minutia?

We have various interpretations, mystical things, like feeling the feeling of victory irrespective of the reality, contemplating victory, speaking it out to make it happen, or just settling back like lambs waiting, lambs waiting but all the while, petitioning the Shepherd for the outcome.

Or those that force contentment, and that no false peace from the inner perspective, but very real, all the while, trying to ignore the world, trying to think not on the things of man.

At time of writing, Eagle Mtn church is airing basically a political rally hosted by a dubious politically-oriented pastor.

At time of writing, the Catholic church is throwing weight behind what is politically offensive for some.

At time of writing, my good friend and compatriot LD Oneal takes unto himself mostly, for days at a time, and keeps a circle of believers at his little country church.  He stays inside himself, but in frequent prayer, and then also interacts with that tight-grained, tight-knit church family, advising and encouraging, guiding, and staying on the look-out for God's will and purpose.

I'd say this, of God being my hopes manifested: not all my hopes are just or good, and God's plan, and God himself, is always just and good.  Therefore I suppose God is the most just and good of our hopes.

*God is the most just and good of our hopes.

He is our hopes, and we are His hopes.  We loved him, because He first loved us.

If God is the most just and good of our hopes, as believers, all we can hope is that our own private hopes are as just and good as God himself, that there is nothing that God has to overlook, or at least not much, not much to bypass or ignore in His love for us.

Let us be just in our hopes, and as Paul says, Let brotherly love continue.

Pray for the addict that still suffers, pray that the poor are fed, and the meek in spirit are lifted up.