A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Friday,
August 6,
2021
This morning
we passed this barn sale near Willow Street with a good
attention-getting prop, a FarmAll tractor!
"If
Only For This Life"
"If only for this life
we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to
be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:19).
All through life we all
have hopes and dreams. That's a healthy part of life.
We're not speaking here only in a spiritual sense but
the hopes we have throughout life.
- Children have hopes like
having a fun summer and seeing their friends when
school resumes in the fall and the various activities
of childhood.
- Families have hopes regarding a planned vacation and other healthy pleasures in life.
- Young people have hopes regarding graduation, college and career.
- Young adults have hopes regarding marriage, bearing children and having a fulfilling job.
- Later it may be the middle years with an empty nest and hopes during that phase of life such as travel.
- Seniors have various
hopes depending on their health and age. We are now a
"young" old (mid-sixties) and as our "working" years
begin to phase down Brooksyne and I have hopes
regarding what we hope our retirement years look like.
Our daily text has been on
my heart the last several days, especially the phrase "If
only for this life". We see the continuation and
increase of perilous times in our nation and world.
Regardless of what we hope for on this side it seems to
be diminishing. So many have hope only for this life and
when conditions seem increasingly hopeless they may
easily despair. What a fitting time to look beyond
this life!
When we were young
Christians we both enjoyed a popular Christian musician
named Andraé Crouch. He wrote a lot of great songs
including one that we used in our wedding, "To God be
The Glory" (My Tribute).
He
had a lesser known song with some intriguing words titled, "If Heaven Was Never
Promised to Me".But if heaven never was
promised to me,
Neither God's promise to
live eternally.
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness,
You came along and brought me the light.
It's been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness,
You came along and brought me the light.
The basic premise if that
even if there were no eternal future it would be worth
it "just having the Lord in my life" here and now in our
earthly journey. Now that's a great perspective to have
but, thankfully, we do have God's promise to live
eternally!
Let's examine today's
text. It's part of the long chapter (1 Corinthians 15) Paul wrote in defense of
the resurrection. Incredibly even in the early days of
the church an error had crept in that there was no
future resurrection for the believer. In the verses
preceding our daily text Paul had written:
"But if it is preached
that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can
some of you say that there is no resurrection of the
dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then
not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not
been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your
faith. More than that, we are then found to be false
witnesses about God, for we have testified about God
that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not
raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if
the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been
raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your
faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then
those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost"
(1 Corinthians 15:12-17).
Paul sums up this paragraph with the daily text. "If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are of all people most to be pitied."
Christ said, "I have come that they
may have life, and have it to the full". Regardless of the
conditions in which we live, Jesus Christ wants us to
have a full and abundant life. As Andraé Crouch
wrote, It's been worth just having the Lord in my life.
Living in a world of darkness, You came along and
brought me the light."
So why would we need to be
pitied?" Because Jesus Christ is
the living Lord and has indeed been raised from the
dead. The very next verse states, "But Christ
has indeed been raised from the dead" (15:20). His
resurrection is foundational to the Gospel. We serve a
living Savior!
Eternal (everlasting) life
is also at the heart of the Gospel! In what is likely
the most famous verse in the entire Bible we read, "For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
So above all else place
your hope in God and His promises, looking for the
blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ.
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ! In Your great mercy You
have given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, and into an inheritance that can never
perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept
in heaven for us, who through faith are shielded
by Your power until the coming of the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In all this we greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while we may have had to suffer grief in
all kinds of trials. These have come so that the
proven genuineness of our faith—of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by
fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when
Jesus Christ is revealed. Though we have not
seen You, we love You; and even though we do not
see You now, we believe in You and are filled
with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for we
are receiving the end result of our faith, the
salvation of our souls.
Daily
prayer: Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ! In Your great mercy You
have given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, and into an inheritance that can never
perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept
in heaven for us, who through faith are shielded
by Your power until the coming of the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In all this we greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while we may have had to suffer grief in
all kinds of trials. These have come so that the
proven genuineness of our faith—of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by
fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when
Jesus Christ is revealed. Though we have not
seen You, we love You; and even though we do not
see You now, we believe in You and are filled
with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for we
are receiving the end result of our faith, the
salvation of our souls. (Adapted
from 1 Peter 1:3-9)
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Christ
Our Hope in Life and Death" Video
Getty, Boswell, Kauflin, Papa, Merker
What
is our hope in life and death?
Christ alone, Christ alone
What is our only confidence?
That our souls to Him belong
Who holds our days within His hand?
What comes, apart from His command?
And what will keep us to the end?
The love of Christ, in which we stand
Christ alone, Christ alone
What is our only confidence?
That our souls to Him belong
Who holds our days within His hand?
What comes, apart from His command?
And what will keep us to the end?
The love of Christ, in which we stand
"Sovereign
Over Us" Video Aaron
Keyes
There
is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears
And You meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting
You're sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding
You're teaching us to trust
Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight
Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
[x2]
Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You're working for our good
You're working for our good and for Your glory
[x2]
Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
[x2]
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
There is beauty in our tears
And You meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting
You're sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding
You're teaching us to trust
Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight
Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
[x2]
Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You're working for our good
You're working for our good and for Your glory
[x2]
Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
[x2]
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us
"Living
Hope" Video Shane & Shane
Yesterday
we posed with a giant Amish man with a
winnowing fork on the property of Hershey
Farm where we are beginning to plan for
our 2022 family reunion. The giant sure
gives us the appearance of appearing as
little people! Just take a look at his big
feet!
This
family is filling up the wagon!
Finally
today:
Earlier this week
we developed a little quiz based on
employees we see who have Bible names.
Yesterday
at Smucker and Sons home improvement I
visited with these two carpenters.
Left:
He is named after one of the two spies
who gave a good report to Moses who is
not named Caleb.
Right:
He is named after a beloved physician.
I
visited with these two young men at
Kleen-Rite this morning.
Foreground
on phone: I was mistaken that he
had a Bible name but it is a rather
famous name in church history. In 165,
he was arrested for his faith. In answer
to threats of death, he is reported to
have said, "If we are punished for the
sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope
to be saved." He was beheaded under the
reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, son of
Antonius Pius, and he later became known
as ______ Martyr.
Standing in background: He is named after a man, who as a boy was rather curious as to why his father was going to a place of sacrifice without taking a sacrificial animal.
Standing in background: He is named after a man, who as a boy was rather curious as to why his father was going to a place of sacrifice without taking a sacrificial animal.
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& Brooksyne
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Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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