THE GLORIOUS HOPE

Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with God

Hebrews 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.


THE GLORIOUS HOPE


During the Cold War, a famed scientist remarked, "The United States has 100,000 atomic weapons while Russia has 50,000. Yet, only four thousand such weapons can destroy the entire human race." Another scientist said, "I am not optimistic that the human race will survive another ten years." Bertrand Russell once bitterly said, "I wouldn't give a 50-50 chance that one person will be alive on this planet forty years from now."

Winds of despair often blow across our dying planet until we all live in an uneasy tension. We wonder what shattering blow will hit us next. Terrorism, pollution, and violence permeate our daily lives.

Man without God has absolutely no reason to hope. Without question, our scientific accomplishments have outstripped our moral strength. We recklessly rattle rockets and threaten ourselves with total extinction. Pitted against the blackness of the hour, however, is the promise of centuries ago: "I will return." Christ promised to return to our world and bring order out of chaos, joy out of despair. This is the glorious hope of the believer.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come." What a remarkable petition this is. When Christ's Kingdom comes, there will be no more war and hatred. Babies will not die of starvation and neglect. When Christ comes, human suffering will cease. No wonder the believer should daily pray, "Thy kingdom come." The true believer longs for his Lord's return.

.

RAT ON THE PLANE

Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with God.
Wed Apr 25

Day 66 of 365.
Colossians  3:1 in Reader .1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

RAT ON THE PLANE

Flying over heavily-wooded terrain, a pilot heard gnawing noises in the back of his small aircraft. Panic gripped him as he realized that a rat was chewing through wires vital to the plane's operation. By the time he could get to an airport, it might be too late. Then an idea struck him. He nosed his airplane as high as he could without losing consciousness and put on his oxygen mask. In just a few minutes, the gnawing stopped and the rat was dead.

Many shuffle through life with gnawing doubt, fears, guilt, and inferiorities until these things overcome them. They have tried many ways to get rid of these overwhelming naggings, but all have failed. One thing, however, has never failed. When we nose the craft of our lives upward, real relief is ours. Isaiah promised: But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). Doubts, fears, guilt, and inferiorities cannot last in the pure presence of our Christ.

The psalmist added: You will show me the path of life; In Your Presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). When doubts return to gnaw at us, it is time to nose heavenward to bask again in His presence. These "rats" of doubt die as we soar higher and higher into the pure presence of Christ.

.