Happy Wednesday

Hope Does Not Disappoint Us "For in this hope we are saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Romans 8:24-25, NIV The day before writing this I met with a group in the afternoon and another group in the evening to pray. Both of these groups are extremely small but I believe God has led me to join them because the issues of prayer are on His heart for the days in which we live. Prayer is sometimes a battle. It doesn’t seem humanly possible that what we’re battling for will come into reality. This led me into digging deeper into the biblical meaning of hope, which is very different from the usual meaning. Webster’s dictionary says that ‘hope’ implies little certainty, but suggests the possibility that what one desires or longs for will happen. In brief, the world defines hope as a desire for some future thing which we’re uncertain of receiving. Christian hope is different. It’s the assurance that, when God leads you to pray, He’ll make something visible which you can’t see now. Hope gives the tenacity to hold in against all the odds, because hope gives rise to faith. Christian hope means that, when God has promised something, you put your trust in that promise. Christian hope is confidence that what you’re praying for will come to pass, because it rests on God’s unfailing promise. God can’t break a promise, so, resting on His unchanging character, doubt is dispelled. As our text for today tells us, when we’ve already received something we don’t hope for it, but we hope for that which we’re waiting in faith for. When the desires of your heart are His desires for His kingdom purposes you will receive that which you’re praying for in hope. Hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God has poured His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us (Romans 5:5). True hope comes because we know we’re loved by God, and through the indwelling Holy Spirit we’ve come to love Him in return. Prayer: Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your amazing love and faithfulness and for Your unchanging character. Please show me the things on Your heart and teach me how to pray with hope for Your purposes to be fulfilled, for Your glory. Amen. Today's Writer : Margaret Silvester

My Hope Is Built

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

Daily Smile:
“Doctor, you told me I have a month to live and then you sent me a bill for $1,000! I can’t pay that before the end of the month!”

“Okay, you have six months to live.”

In The News:

Family Groups Warn of 'Explosive' Consequences if Supreme Court Affirms Gay Marriage
As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry -- the challenge to California's Proposition 8 -- and Wednesday in United States v. Windsor -- the effort to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act -- pro-family groups across the nation are expressing concern over the ramifications for the country if the Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage, the Christian News Network reports. "This would be a devastating setback for our country," said Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. "This would be the Roe v. Wade of the homosexual issue." Attorney Stephen Crampton of the Christian legal group Liberty Counsel said: "The ramifications for all of society would be absolutely explosive. I think we have not taken adequate stock of what we're playing with here. This is a radioactive kind of issue." The men explained that the consequences would reach much farther than just the issue of marriage and would essentially affect every area of society -- such as businesses, schools, churches and dissenting Christians. "[Gay activists] will leave no stone unturned into trying to turn society into a monolith that is supporting, and in effect worshipping, at the altar of homosexuality," Crampton said.

Russell Moore to Lead Southern Baptist Ethics Commission
The Southern Baptist Convention has selected Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, to be the next president of its Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), WORLD Magazine reports. Moore, 41, will succeed Richard Land in the post dedicated to addressing public policy and the nation's social and moral concerns. Land praised the choice, saying in a statement: "Dr. Moore is a godly Christian minister, a devoted husband and father, and convictional, committed Baptist. His excellent academic preparation, combined with his keen mind and his tender heart for God and His people, make him a person uniquely suited to serve our Savior and Southern Baptists in this crucial role at such a critical moment in our nation's history." Moore has been dean and senior vice president for academic administration at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., since 2004. He also teaches Christian theology and ethics.