S05E004, Hope Never Disappoints! Andy B 2 Minute Video
Hope can sometimes feel like a premium we’ll never be able to afford.
With rising energy costs – 80% in the UK, and that’s just the most recent rise – it can truly appear terrifying to look ahead.
As Christians we are, of course, not immune from the struggles of this world. Yes, we have a world creating God who loves to answer our prayers. However, He is not a distant magician with a magic wand; it isn’t a case of using the right words, or convincing arguments to get God to give us what we think we need.
So what is all this God stuff about then if you can’t get what you want? Well, it is super simple!
A relationship with Jesus means that we can have peace. Not a peace that can be here today gone tomorrow. Or, perhaps, here now, gone in 60 seconds.
It is a peace which exists because it does not depend on anything to do with us, our situation or the world around us. And that peace creates a hope based in something which is unshakeable.
In my book - Broken Dreams, and Hope! - I discuss this in much more depth. You can buy the book, or watch the video (for free) to find out what I’m talking about to much deeper level.
Life creates many situations which can break us. But God gives us a peace which is worth fighting for and striving for. And, the really good news, is that we neither have to fight nor strive for it. If we follow Jesus; if we make Jesus our special friend – our Lord and Saviour – that peace comes as a free gift. You don’t have to earn it. It is yours, and mine, if we simply look to Jesus and live life the way He desires us to .
So, if the world feels like it is stealing you of your hope for the future, turn to Jesus – He is ready and waiting, no matter who you are, what you have done, what you have said or what you think, to provide an endless source of peace, and hope!
You simply need to ask Him into your life, and to know that peace which transcends all understanding. It is a peace, and a hope, which will never fade, spoil, diminish or wear.
Just a thought...
Andy B
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Transcript
0:06
So another Andy B, 2 Minute Video, Hope Never Disappoints.
0:11
How can I say that? Really easily actually.
0:13
Let me read this out of the start from Romans chapter 5. It's a book in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and then Romans. And this is the 5th chapter of Romans. It's one of my absolute favourite pieces of Scripture when I want some encouragement, and to be reminded of truth.
0:28
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God."
0:43
Now, as you look around the world, we've got gas supply issues in the EU. In the UK, we've got monumentally high, 80%, higher, gas and electric costs. People are already in debt. They are already not buying food, and heating, and stuff. In the UK, our houses need to have central heating. That's how they're designed to work. Take away the central heating, you're going to have some major problems in houses, of structural damage, eventually. Problems with mould and damp.
1:09
As we look ahead, it's a very bleak winter. People cannot feed their children, themselves, cannot heat their homes, can't buy clothes, it's terrifying! But there is something that is trying to overcome each one of us, and get into our heart, infiltrate our minds. That fear is from an enemy that does not want us to find peace in God. And because that's all the devil can do, he shouts, and he stomps, and he throws doors, and it's just noise! It's very real noise. I've been there. But it is just noise, because there is something far greater. And that is a relationship with Jesus Christ.
1:46
Because when we know Jesus Christ, it is to know hope. That hope has a name. There's a song. Hope has a name, that name is Jesus. And that's true!
1:58
As a man who has lived through unemployment, going to food banks more than once, not being able to heat the home, not being able to feed to feed our children, or put clothes on them, going back a few years, I know what hardship is like and we're not in a lavish lifestyle right now, I can tell you. But I do know what it is to have hope. I do know what it is have hope through those hardships. And it's really hard when everything around you wants you to be afraid, to be fearful, to be anxious. But above all that is a relationship with Jesus Christ, which you can have access to, should you choose it. And when you learn to follow Jesus Christ, you have a sure and certain hope.
2:37
The world is shaking. The enemy is shouting, but God is still victorious!
2:42
The sacrifice of Jesus on a cross is still won!
2:47
So, don't be afraid. Don't be anxious. But if you're struggling with those things, ask Jesus into your heart to help you, and you will have peace, and a hope, that is certain.
2:56
Just a thought.