Hope and Sufferings

we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Rom 5: 2-5

Hope, What is hope and who can give us hope or who is our hope? How our sufferings and hope go together? When my soul is loaded and troubled how I can get peace and hope of something better? Jesus is our Hope, He says that " come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Matt 11:28-31. We can rest in Jesus words and quietly hope and wait how our Lord Jesus Christ will help us "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" Psalm 27:14. Our Lord knows our affliction, He knows our living and all troubles, our God is good and will help, "the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" 2 Cor 1: 3-4. We all need hope and comfort, and we can serve our neighbor with the comfort we have received.

Streams of Water

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and the streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. Isa 44:3-4.

God can provide water for our thirsty soul like rainy seasons for dry grounds. This summer we have had both beautiful sunny days and fresh water for plants, so we can be grateful for our God. But summers are not in all places worldwide blessing but might mean lack of food and water. Fresh water is crucial for every people, animals and plants, we who have enough can provide water and food for those who are not so lucky. Our Jesus Christ has saved our soul and filled it with his blessings and He has promised to this blessing also for our children. Can we in turn serve our neighbor and try to work for his or her best by providing water and food both for his or her soul and body?

Streams of God

You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. Ps 65:9.

Are you thirsty and need someone to fill your emptiness and calm down your restless heart?  You can turn to Jesus and He has promised that whoever believes in Him will have living waters flowing from his or her heart (John 7:37-38). Jesus will give you a life with a purpose, the target and you do not need to drift along anymore but you can be loved and taken care and with the love Jesus gave to you, you in turn can serve your neighbor. What is your target to your life? There are a huge amount of people having no clean water and safe food and God is just waiting for us to work for those who are even in worse situation than we? Do you hear God's voice?

Branch in Jesus Vine

I am the true vine and my Farther is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1-2

Are we living in Jesus Christ like a branch is living in a vine? We who have been baptized in the name of the Farther, the Son and the Holy Spirit, are we friends of Jesus, do we know Him like we know our best friend, is Jesus our best friend? Are we bearing fruit, the fruit that will last? How this is possible to bear fruit and live like Jesus lived among us? We can come to Jesus, who lives in his Words, because He is the Word, who has been from the beginning, and He will forgive us all our sins and He will give us the Holy Spirit who is in Jesus' Words in the Holy Bible. Without Jesus we can do nothing but the Holy Sprit will bring fruits as love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Jesus puts the Holy Spirit in our heart and remove from us our heart of stone and we will follow Jesus. Everyday day we need to be near Jesus and need His forgiveness, we who have our old sinful nature in us but also our new nature Holy Spirit, and these two natures are against each other so that even though we want to do good and live like Jesus we cannot, we do need Jesus to help us and live in us. This is a mystery how our God can live in us but how a wonderful mystery!

Springs of Living Water

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be there shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Rev 7:17

Our Good Shepherd, our Lamb, who died for us so that we can live. Christ offered himself in the Crucifixion together with robbers and died most shamefully and disgracefully, so that whoever believes in Him, will be saved and shall not be condemned (John 3:16). Instead Jesus will lead us to springs of living water and we will never again be hungry and thirsty but can live with Him eternally in the Heaven even though here on the earth we can have miseries and troubles for a while. But Jesus leads us through those dark days and gives us power to serve our neighbors for his or her best in our own place. Keeping this in our minds we can survive, we are serving our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Good Shepherd leading us besides quiet waters and restoring our soul.

A Spring of Water in Us

but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:14

A Spring in us? Even though I am tired, powerless and helpless, and just like to wrap myself into my blanket and sleep, I will have a spring welling up towards Jesus. Jesus is our help and He is living in us and will power us, Jesus says that His power is made perfect in weakness, in that way we can work for our neighbor not us but Jesus in us. Even though we see only darkness ahead us there will be a perfect salvation for us and Jesus is carrying us through the valley of the shadow of death and leading us beside quiet waters. Jesus is our eternal life.

Precious Promises

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4

The glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord, the divine nature, all the holiness, mercy, goodness, love and care He has and how He raises up we who have fallen and forgives us our sins and heals our wounds, how could we live like Him? We who are not like Him and need forgiveness. Jesus says that through all His great and precious promises we may participate in the divine nature, His Word is powerful to change our life and our heart, because He is the Holy Word who has became flesh and lived among us for a while, died and rose again and ascended to heaven to our Farther and now lives among us in Holy Spirit in Holy Bible and in our Church. Through His words we live in this world and through Him we can serve our neighbors and have a rich life and participate in these beautiful and precious promises which are like a treasury for all the days of our life.