Hope For When Trouble Comes

2/12/2021

This verse has been on my mind a lot lately. Trouble. Trouble never seems to be far away these days. I don't know about you, but my mind often seems to be thinking and churning about the troubles in our world, and right now there are a lot of troubles.

I recently found out that my friend's niece has cancer. Trouble. I'm trying to teach Thea how to properly use a spoon, and now food often ends up everywhere. Trouble. A friend of mine no longer wants anything to do with God. Trouble. These are just a few of mine, and I'm sure that your life has its own trouble as well.

One thing that I have been reminded of lately is what Jesus said in this verse: "in this world you WILL have trouble." Jesus was speaking to the disciples before his crucifixion. It was the night that he was betrayed by Judas, and he took the time to serve and then exhort and encourage his closest disciples. And he told them this: they WILL have trouble. Not that they might have trouble or they could have trouble but that in this world they will have trouble. That statement is a promise, and what is true for the disciples is true for us. In this world, we will have trouble. It's inevitable. It's gonna come. It's not going to wait until we're in a good place to handle it either.

Trouble will come.

Well that's depressing.

But Jesus doesn't leave the disciples there and he doesn't leave us there either. Yes, trouble will come, but take heart! Why? Because Jesus has overcome the world.

I wonder what the disciples thought when Jesus said that last part. I wonder if they were confused or if they heard Jesus say those words and wondered the same thing I wonder at times, "How??" How does Jesus overcoming the world give us comfort and hope when we face trouble? What does it mean that Jesus overcame the world?

Well, we could spend a lot of time talking about that, but what we do know is that after the evening in which Jesus spoke this to his disciples, he was brutally crucified on a cross. He was crucified and he died. In this world he had trouble. But that was not the end of the story, because on the third day he rose again and defeated sin and death. Jesus overcame the world. Life this side of heaven, always leads to death, but Jesus overcame death. He overcame the curse over this world.

Most of the troubles that we face in this life are caused by the curse of sin on this world as a result of Adam and Eve's original sin. We see the curse at work everyday. Your computer refuses to connect to the internet. You try to repair a broken relationship, but the other person wants no part of it. Your child disobeys you and lies about it. Your family member or friend gets Covid. This world is full of trouble caused by the curse of sin. And ultimately the curse leads to death literally and figuratively.

BUT Jesus was able to overcome the curse. Death could not hold him. He rose from the dead to a new resurrected life. And the amazing thing is that those that believe in Jesus for salvation from the curse of sin can experience resurrected life as well.

If we believe in Jesus, troubles can no longer affect us the same way. When our computer has issues, it still has issues, but we can patiently work to fix it knowing that one day we will live in a kingdom with Jesus where things will never break. When we experience broken relationships, we can work to repair those relationships but also remember that one day we will live in a kingdom where no relationship will ever be broken again. When our loved ones get sick and maybe even die, we can mourn their death, but also remind ourselves that there is a resurrected world waiting where sickness and death will be no more.

We can have hope when troubles come (and they will come), but we can take heart when we face them knowing that Jesus has already overcome the world. And he offers us a new resurrected world where troubles will be no more.

I hope this reminder encourages you today with whatever troubles you may face. Take heart, my friend. Jesus overcame the world.

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2/25/2021 11:56:15 am

As concerning the Word of life, Luke 10 section 25-28 says: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
Luke 18 section 18-25 says: A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'" "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Matthew 5 section 43-48 says: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
In Old Testament, the Jewish people and their ancestors were given the Law to observe. First, What Adam and Eve should observe was that they could not eat the fruits from the tree of wisdom. Then, their son Cain was told that he should not kill. As sins became increased, the laws were also added more. Up to the generation of Moses, the Law in Old Testament was given to Israelites. We know that the Law is good and the Law is used to punish people who commit sins, but people cannot obey the Law because the sinful spirits are in people. Even that we know stealing and giving false testimony are sinful, but greedy and pride spirits in us drive us to do sinful things. So as Old Testament prophesied we need to get rid of our sinful nature from our spirits.
Jeremiah 31 section 31-33 says: "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Ezekiel 36 section 24-27 says: "'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
The prophecies are fulfilled when Jesus begins to teach love. The two greatest commandments are " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Love is above the Law and if people have love they are free from the law of sin and death. People who are full of love will not think about stealing or giving false testimony but are merciful and they feed hungry people or give thirsty people something to drink or invite strangers in or clothe people who need clothes. The Law is for people who commit sins. Nobody will say that he will get reward because he does not steal before. But love is the grace we get. And with love we will get eternal life.
Romans 13 section 8-10 says: Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Luke 17 section 2

Hope For When Trouble Comes

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