Message summary: There is only one lasting hope, the hope we have in Christ.

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“Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loves us. Through His loving-favor He gives us comfort and hope that lasts forever. May He give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing” (2 Thessalonians 2:16,17).

"Living hope" is a popular description of our faith in Christ, based on 1 Peter 1:3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". We have seen churches using that phrase in their name and enjoy a song by Phil Wickham with that title.

However our thoughts were stimulated when we saw a church named "Lasting Hope" as we drove along Rt 66 in southern Missouri on Monday. Lasting hope is another wonderful description of faith. The phrase "lasting hope" is not in the Bible like "living hope" but it is certainly true that we have a lasting hope!

Interestingly the church is located in a small town called Bourbon. According to the article on Wikipedia a post office called Bourbon has been in operation since 1853. The name Bourbon refers to bourbon whiskey and is believed to be the only town in the United States to be named after bourbon whiskey.

We wonder how the church leaders came up with "lasting hope" as a name. Perhaps they wanted a thought-provoking alternative to the much more popular "living hope". But I also wonder if it's a contrast to the fleeting hope that bourbon whiskey or countless other worldly sources of hope offers! There is only one lasting hope, the hope we have in Christ Jesus.

Today's text is a brief prayer by Paul for the Thessalonian believers that is appropriate for everyone. In the flow of Paul’s writing he neither introduces this prayer nor formally ends it. It seems to be woven right into the fabric of his letter. Paul on several occasions makes statements indicating how frequently he prays for people and this has often intrigued me since he had a great many churches and “contacts” under his care. Can you imagine the contact list on his phone! In other words his circle was quite extensive.

Paul made prayer a vital part of his daily walk, demonstrated by his offering this powerful but brief prayer for the Thessalonian believers as he wrote to them. He is practicing what he preached in his first letter to them: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Today we earnestly make Paul’s prayer our prayer for all our readers, especially those whose hearts are weighed down with heavy burdens. We offer this prayer as a kind word to cheer you, saying to those with an anxious heart, we have a lasting hope.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loves us. Through His loving-favor He gives us comfort and hope that lasts forever. May He give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing”.

We pray that:

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, it’s been said that “courage is fear that said its prayers”. You can change our hearts and improve our outlook even when the outward circumstances have not changed. But it requires our dependency on You through persevering in prayer which results in absolute trust. We can be assured of Your eternal encouragement and good hope as it encourages our hearts and strengthens us in every good deed and word. It is through believing in Christ Jesus our Lord that You turn tragedy into triumph, and defeat into victory as You work out all things together for our good. Amen.

Our ministry of encouragement includes not only this written ministry but the many opportunities we have in the business world through our chaplaincy ministry. As we get out into the marketplace we look for opportunities to express care to those who may share a need. Years ago I heard this expression: Everyone has either had a heartache, is having a heartache or will have one. Can I get an "amen" on that truism!

People have many burdens for a wide variety of reasons which often leads to anxiety and can weigh a heart down. Rarely a day goes by that we don’t encounter someone with a heavy heart. And to be frank, there are times that we ourselves are weighed down by a heavy heart.

As we prepare today’s message we consider people in our circle of impact who carry heavy burdens. According to how far we extend this circle the list can be daunting. Some of you, our readers, have also shared your needs with us including those we know personally, but many others we don’t.