Humble and Hopeful

Confident Hope Faith Gives Us Hope Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    Hope Eternal 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 The Message 7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best! 13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! For Reflection We cannot boast about ourselves. We are not perfect. Those who doubt that we are capable of carrying the message of hope miss the point. We are not powerful. God's power flows through us. See the hope in our torn and battered imperfect life. See our peacefulness.  See our trust in the promise of God. See our willingness to risk our lives to follow the way of Jesus.  Pray Pray witness to the living God. Forward to a friend