Issue 1517 – Hope in Troubles – August 6, 2024

Today’s image is the Silver Creek fire in the interior of BC.

It is the season. I can’t open a news site or social media without  seeing wildfires, floods, or other natural disasters in my area. 

Interspersed with those events, I see murders, robberies, and tragic accidents happening in my own or nearby communities. The number of homeless continues to rise with no solution in sight. The legal system is a revolving door of criminals in and out, and consequences for even the most heinous of crimes seem few and far between

The international news is filled with political unrest, wars, and pestilence. Natural and manmade disasters are wreaking havoc on our environment and show no signs of stopping.

You don’t have to read between the lines of the financial news to know that the world’s economy is in shambles and that the system is held up by smoke and mirrors.

It’s enough to make one think we are in the end times. Of course, these troubles are always happening. It’s just through the blessing(?) of modern technology that we are made aware of them quickly and easily.

The urgency and frequency of these events are putting tremendous pressure on many people. Many people, particularly the young, are feeling weighed down and hopeless. 

The truth is that we live in a world being destroyed by the consequences of sin, and it won’t get better. That doesn’t mean we can sit back and do nothing. The Lord has given us dominion over the earth, and we must do what we can to resolve the problems.

Yet, it is also true that our hope doesn’t rest in fixing the world and all its problems.

Our hope lies in Christ and God’s goodness, grace, and mercy.

Those of us of older generations must show the younger ones by word and deed that all is not lost. There is hope for them, and they have a crucial role in God’s plan. They have a hope-filled purpose.

You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 11:18-19

While those verses are a specific part of the law for the Israelite people, they communicate a powerful principle for all believers. We must tell the upcoming generations about the hope that can be theirs.

We must tell them they can have hope and life rather than despair and destruction.

May your life be a testimony by all who watch, particularly those behind us.

Be blessed

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)