Hope For Today

Ken Andrews • Feb 01, 2022

...and tomorrow

 

“…now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

(I Corinthians 13:13/NIV)

 

The Apostle Paul’s “dissertation” on love in 1 Corinthians 13 is a most articulate and insightful look into God’s love for us. Love completely, unselfishly and with a heart for others. As he wrapped up the chapter, he succinctly stated the threefold foundation for our walk in Christ. Faith, hope and love.

 

There’s no doubt, love reigns supreme, as love reflects the very essence of who God is: “…God is love.” (1 John 4:8/NIV)

 

And the Scripture clearly presents the economy of faith – faith in God and His risen Son. The author of Hebrews exhorts us to “…draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance of faith…” (Hebrews 10:22/NIV)

 

Interestingly, faith is mentioned with a key component: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1/KJV) (I’ve always loved the way the King James Version expressed that.)

 

Hope. It’s a word that for many years has fascinated me. And, in fact, it is a part of the “Big Three” that remain, though it seems to have taken a back seat the other two. So, years ago I embarked on a study of hope. I wrote articles on it, taught it in Bible Studies and presented it from pulpits. I was naïve enough to think I had it down pretty well. So I thought…

 

I recently went back to hope as a “new” study. I learned so much – it was humbling to see how much I had missed. But it was worth the exercise of revisiting the “third leg” in this Biblical foundation. So, bear with me!

 

The best definition of hope I’ve ever heard came from the late, distinguished Bible Teacher, Warren Wiersbe. He defined hope as “desire with confident expectation of fulfillment.” We’re not talking about “wishing.” We don’t have a “confident expectation” of winning the lottery. The odds are astronomical. It’s exceedingly unlikely to happen – and more likely a “wish” than a “hope.”

 

The Bible stresses where we place our hope. Simply put…our hope is in God. Our expectations are fulfilled in Him. Despite what godly Job endured, he could still say “…yet will I hope in Him.” (Job 13:15/NIV) And, back to Hebrews, from 6:10: “We have this hope as an anchor for the souls, firm and secure.” We can be absolutely confident in in this expectation called hope.

 

 

 

A little word study from the Hebrew and Greek helps…and I needed the help. Strong’s Concordance generally provides the Old Testament definition of hope as expectancy, trusting, waiting, longing for – and even - patient! The Greek from the New Testament speaks to confidence, expectation and even anticipation with pleasure. Dr. Wiersbe was right on, all along!

 

While all that may seem self-evident, I really had not deeply explored the issue of hope as it correlates to waiting and patience. (I’ve always wanted patience, just not the waiting or the process necessary to get it.) But how valuable to discover the blessings of hope as we wait on God “who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13/NIV)

 

We are living, as the Apostle Paul told us, in perilous times. We long for Christ’s return. Soon. VERY soon. All the while, we know He will come, in HIS time. In the meantime, we wait, in hope. God’s Word gives us the encouragement and instruction to do that.

 

These are frustrating, challenging times…even anxious times. The whole world is on a slippery slope. Perhaps as never before, believers are hopefully– and - anxiously awaiting Christ’s return. King David may have had some anxious thoughts when he penned Psalm 40, where he said: “I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry.” The result? David says God lifted him out of a slimy pit and “set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Psalm 40:1-2/NIV)

 

Similarly, Paul addressed waiting, patience and hope in Romans Chapter 8. He wrote: “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes or what he already has?” (vs. 24/NIV) Great question! If I already have something desired, I’ll not be hoping to get it. I’ll likely have moved on to something else I hope for – but don’t yet have. Paul brings us to the conclusion of the matter in verse 25: “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

 

That’s hard for me. How about you? Let me leave you with encouragement – even hope – from that lament from the Prophet Jeremiah. He knew about fearful times and hope.

 

“…this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
     for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
     therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
     to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:21-16/NIV)

 

Blessings,

 

Ken Andrews

VP United Ministries/KJOL

Share The Light Tips of the Day

By Dave Andrews • 04 Apr, 2024
Our annual Spring FriendRaiser is underway for the month of April; and as a part of that, our theme this year is Share The Light. As you share the Gospel and the Light of Christ, KJOL has compiled 30 tips for every day of the month. Here they are:

Songs that say THANK YOU!

By Kurt Neuswanger • 04 Apr, 2024
During KJOL’s April “Friendraiser” month, we want to say THANK YOU to our faithful supporters. And THANK YOU to everyone who makes a first-time donation. And finally THANK YOU to God, the giver of all good gifts in our lives, starting with Jesus Christ! KJOL has a lot of new songs that say THANK YOU. I hope you enjoy them! That Thank You Song! Citizen Way Thank God Stars Go Dim Thank You Life.Church Worship I Thank God Housefires Thanks Giver Crowder Thanks and Praise Lucy Grimble and Vineyard Music A Thousand Thank Yous Sarah Kroger Thankful VERSES Thank You Jesus For The Blood Charity Gayle

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By Kurt Neuswanger • 07 Mar, 2024
In January, we told you about four new artists at the KJOL music blog . This month, we have four more new artists. Jordan Smith “This Is Jesus” Jordan Smith is a 30 year old Kentucky native who grew up singing in the church choir. In 2015, he won NBC’s The Voice. He sang “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and "Mary Did You Know." Natalie Layne “Amen” Natalie Layne is a 24 year old Colorado Springs native, where she was a worship leader at New Life Church. She received a masters degree in piano from Belmont University in Nashville. In 2019, she won Belmont’s Christian Showcase. She continues to serve as a worship leader at her church in Nashville. Terrian “Big God” Terrian (Woods) is a singer/songwriter from Memphis. She is also a member of TobyMac's band Diverse City. And she serves on the staff of AngelStreet in Memphis, which mentors girls as part of an all girls choir. Seph Schleuter “Counting My Blessings” Seph Schlueter ( pronounced “seff shleeter”) spent 7 years as a missionary. In 2020 he formed the worship collective Damascus Worship, in conjunction with the organization “Damascus” which conducts two-year programs to develop leaders who will impact their generation for Christ with the aim of bringing revival to the Catholic Church.

Oh The Many Repairs...

By Dave Andrews • 04 Mar, 2024
He had noticed we had been off the air on 94.5 FM in Delta…and I related to him it was one of “those” weekends for our poor equipment. Not only did our AM 1400 Delta transmitter go down causing us to make a very expensive replacement only weeks before, but our FM transmitter in Delta went down at the same time as our Montrose 91.9FM transmitter, and only hours after our whole network went down across the Western Slope!

February Update

By Dave Andrews • 05 Feb, 2024
The other day a kindly woman knocked on my door asking for a donation to help build the local swimming pool. I came back with a glass of water. Doesn’t it feel great to give to a good cause??

"How Great Thou Art" 75th Anniversary Edition

By Kurt Neuswanger • 31 Jan, 2024
The English version of the hymn “How Great Thou Art” turns 75 years old in 2024. To mark the anniversary, a new recording has been released, including a brand new verse by Matt Redman. First a little history… Swedish pastor Carl Boberg wrote the original lyrics in 1885. Boberg said that after a strong thunderstorm passed by, he opened his window and heard church bells ringing. He immediately was inspired to write his poem, set to the tune of a Swedish folk melody. It was translated into Russian, where English missionary Stuart Hine heard it while in Ukraine in 1931. He wrote two new verses (3 & 4) and translated it into English in 1949—which is the 75 th anniversary. British missionaries around the world soon began to spread the song. Eventually it reached Billy Graham and George Beverly Shea , who performed it during Graham’s 1957 New York Crusade. The audience liked it so much, they asked Shea to sing it over and over. Graham then used it every week on his Hour Of Decision radio program. Fifteen artists have now collaborated to record the 75th anniversary edition, called “How Great Thou Art (Until That Day)” . When you hear the song on KJOL, the first two voices are from Chris Tomlin and Hillary Scott . The remaining voices include: Kari Jobe and her husband, Cody Carnes Naomi Raine (Maverick City Music) Taya (formerly with Hillsong) Blessing Offor (from Nigeria) Matt Maher (who also plays piano) Matt Redman For the 75 th anniversary, the Stuart Hine Trust commissioned Matt Redman and Mitch Wong to write a new fifth verse: Until that day When heaven bids us welcome, And as we walk this broken warring world, Your kingdom come, Deliver us from evil, And we’ll proclaim our God how great You are! And we’ll proclaim, our God how great You are Redman said they wanted to tie the verse to Stuart Hine’s work in Ukraine, especially in light of the current conflict there. “I wanted the word ‘war’ in there,” said Redman . “It’s kind of a gritty word. But we have to sing about both the everyday and the eternal.” Time will tell if the fifth verse becomes a staple in hymnals. But few will argue that “How Great Thou Art” is one of America’s favorite hymns. And with this new rendition, hopefully it will continue to be loved by future generations.
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