This week we had the opportunity to share a message of hope with the staff at one of the largest Christian radio stations in Australia. As we walked into the LightFM building, we could not help but notice the huge sign over the reception desk and the powerful words that assured us that God had placed us there at just the right time, for such a season as this…
LightFM every heart alight with Christian hope!
We went along to LightFM to share Bethany’s story of hope and were also interviewed in the studio in order to share this hope with our city! We talked in depth about real issues of the heart, including the faith challenges that came along with the sorrows and the joys of Bethany’s life and suffering and how she lived and died with tangible, authentic hope in Jesus Christ.
Christian hope is so unique and often poles apart from the way we think and talk about hope in our culture. Mere words from me cannot possibly explain Christian hope in a way that will set your heart on fire, so here are a few gems from the Bible that we shared with the LightFM team. May they help your body, mind and soul to BE alight with Christian hope!
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS AN ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL:
So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Hebrews 6:18-19
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS FULL OF PATIENT WAITING:
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were 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. Rom 8:22-25
CHRISTIAN HOPE GROWS THROUGH TRIAL AND WILL NOT DISAPPOINT:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD:
My soul waits for the Lord, and in his word I put my hope. More than the watchmen wait for the morning, yes more than the watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6
CHRISTIAN HOPE EXPRESSES ITSELF IN WORSHIP:
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. Psalm 42 & 43
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS A GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Spirit. Romans 15:13
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS ALL HEADED TOWARD AND CENTRED IN A PERSON:
In his name the nations will put their hope. Matthew 12:21
There are countless verses in Scripture about authentic, unified hope in Jesus. May you keep searching for more treasures of hope if yours is wavering right now because hope doesn’t just happen – it needs to be fed, nurtured and actively taken hold of!
My hope was failing earlier in the week and through a kind friend, God reminded me of this precious diamond of hope. As I took hold of it, He again proved Himself faithful to His Word. No friends, our hope is not misplaced if it is anchored in Jesus!
THE LORD RENEWS OUR STRENGTH AS WE WAIT IN HOPE FOR HIM:
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
To listen to the Wake’s hope-filled interview go to: http://lightfm.com.au/in-conversation-with-clayton/ ‘In Conversation with Clayton’ Sunday August 13, 2017, after 9pm or in Melbourne, tune into 89.9 FM around 8pm 🙂