Hope Archives - Page 2 of 3

In Bible Study, Blog, Luke on

June 20, 2022

Jesus Draws Near to the Hopeless

For many, many years, anxiety has been my nemesis. It looks and feels different from day to day. Sometimes I get this panicky, jittery feeling in my chest or I have difficulty breathing normally. Sometimes I develop stomach aches or become very scatter-brained when I try to think through what needs to get done for the day. Sometimes I’m much more emotional about something than I might normally be. There are some days when I barely feel any anxiety at all, but they are other days when I am absolutely miserable and wish it could all just go away.

I’ve struggled with anxiety for a long time, and I’ve prayed over and over again that the Lord would take it away from me. But He never has. I know there must be a reason that God has allowed me to wrestle with these feelings and symptoms for so long. I know He is no cruel dictator and that He loves me greatly, far greater than anyone else ever could. However, at times, I just feel hopeless, like there’s no hope of ever being free and at peace.

Perhaps you feel the same way—hopeless, like you have no chance of finding any peace or relief from whatever is your greatest struggle. But these people—those who have lost all hope—are exactly the kind of people Jesus draws near to. And we can see this clearly in Jesus’ encounter with a hopeless woman in Luke 8.

Tristany

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In Bible Study, Blog, Genesis on

January 17, 2022

Savior of the World

I am very thankful that I had the privilege of attending Bible college. I know it’s not an opportunity that many Christians have, and I’m glad that I was able to spend five years of my life studying theology and the Bible on a more academic level. Those five years made me into the theology nerd, Bible student, and writer I am today. During my bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, I learned about a lot of fun topics, like exegesis and hermeneutics, aseity and theophanies, cessationism and special revelation, double imputation and substitutionary atonement.

One of my favorite theological topics I learned about was typology. Theopedia defines typology as “a method of biblical interpretation whereby an element found in the Old Testament is seen to prefigure one found in the New Testament.”^[1] Essentially, a type is someone or something in the Old Testament that foreshadows a greater someone or something in the New Testament, and many of the types found in the Old Testament point forward to Jesus and the salvation He provided for us. One such type was a man named Joseph.

Tristany

In Bible Study, Blog, Luke on

January 3, 2022

Jesus Draws Near to the Hurting

By some miracle, I’ve managed to never test positive for COVID-19 over the past two years. I say it’s a miracle because I’ve continued working throughout the entire pandemic, and I come into contact with a lot of different people at my job. I’m convinced that I have had it at some point and was just asymptomatic or had really mild symptoms and didn’t realize it was COVID.

I’m very grateful that I’ve never had COVID (or at least had no COVID symptoms) for many reasons. But one of the main reasons I’m thankful for never having COVID is that I never had to quarantine. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was hard enough to only go from home to work back to home again and never go anywhere else or see anyone else other than my immediate family and co-workers. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be isolated for days or even weeks on end and never see anyone or even go outside. I can’t imagine what it would’ve felt like for everyone to avoid me at all costs.

Sadly, many people, whether they’ve tested positive for COVID-19 or they’ve been diagnosed with something else, have been avoided, shunned, made to be outcasts because of their illness or disease, both in present times and in ancient times. And we can see this clearly in the story of Jesus cleansing a leper.

Tristany

In Blog, Book Reviews, Suffering on

November 29, 2021

More Than a Healer

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus healed a lot of people. He healed the sick (Matthew 8:13). He healed the blind (Matthew 20:34). He healed the lame (John 5:8-9). He healed the afflicted (Mark 5:29). He healed lepers (Matthew 8:2-3). He healed the demon-possessed (Matthew 12:22). He even healed those who were dead (Luke 7:14-15). Jesus was known as a healer, and everywhere He went, people would flock to Him, hoping that they or their loved one would finally receive respite from their suffering.

Because of His great healing ministry, we often expect Jesus to heal us today. Preachers across America and all across the world teach this idea that it is always God’s will to heal us physically. This teaching is fueled by verses like Isaiah 53:4-5 –

“Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains… He was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.” (CSB)

But you and I both know that our lives are not free from sickness, pain, or injury. There are times when we pray and pray and pray for someone to be healed, and they never receive healing during their time on this earth. The preachers I mentioned earlier would just say that we simply do not have enough faith. But this is not true, and Costi Hinn addresses this dangerous lie in his newest book, More Than a Healer.

Tristany

In Blog, Names of God, Theology on

November 15, 2021

He is Jehovah Nissi

During America’s Civil War, flags were enormously important to soldiers. They were so important that soldiers would sacrifice their lives to protect their flags from enemy capture. State and regional regimental flags were morale builders, and they were a great source of pride for the soldiers. They also had a more practical purpose. Battlefields could get loud and confusing, and it could be easy for regiments to become scattered. So, a regimental flag would mark the position of the regiment and be a visual rallying point for the soldiers to follow.^[1]

But America isn’t the only nation who has treasured her flag in battle. Even nations in ancient history would fly their flag or banner at their front lines. Seeing their flag at the front lines would give soldiers a feeling of hope, and it was a focal point for them during their battles.^[2]

Shortly after their exodus from Egypt, ancient Israel fought against the Amalekites. During this battle, Moses went up on a hill with his staff. When he held up his hand and staff, Israel prevailed. But if he lowered his hand and staff, the Amalekites prevailed. Two men, Aaron and Hur, went up with Moses to help him hold his hands up during the entire battle. Israel ultimately won the battle and defeated the Amalekites.