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2 Corinthians 4:16 This is why we do not lose courage. Though our outer self is heading for decay, our inner self is being renewed daily. 17 For our light and transient troubles are achieving for us an everlasting glory whose weight is beyond description. 18 We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.
5:1 We know that when the tent which houses us here on earth is torn down, we have a permanent building from God, a building not made by human hands, to house us in heaven. 2 For in this tent, our earthly body, we groan with desire to have around us the home from heaven that will be ours. 3 With this around us we will not be found naked. 4 Yes, while we are in this body, we groan with the sense of being oppressed: it is not so much that we want to take something off, but rather to put something on over it; so that what must die may be swallowed up by the Life. 5 Moreover, it is God who has prepared us for this very thing, and as a pledge he has given us his Spirit.
6 So we are always confident — we know that so long as we are at home in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord; 7 for we live by trust, not by what we see. 8 We are confident, then, and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and come to our home with the Lord.
9 Therefore, whether at home or away from home, we try our utmost to please him; 10 for we must all appear before the Messiah’s court of judgment, where everyone will receive the good or bad consequences of what he did while he was in the body.
"Hope, Now and Forever" by Author: Olivia MetcalfIt’s easy to be discouraged. We hear of violence and sickness and wonder what is happening. We look in the mirror and see we are aging and weakening. Day by day our world seems to break. Moment by moment we find ourselves closer to death. Yet, as people of faith we know that in Christ there is a restoration of all things! It isn’t just something that will happen some day off in the future. It is happening right now.
Paul tells us there are terrible things happening but that isn’t what we hold on to. Instead we hold on to the hope that Christ’s life, death and resurrection mean something right now and for eternity. My eyes tell me I am getting older and my faith says I am daily being renewed. The news tells me the world is falling apart and my faith tells me God is at work even in the darkest places. People die and my faith tells me this is not the end of the story. This is our hope. It is not merely a hope we dream of and pray about, it is a hope we are invited to participate in. May we be people of hope!
Hymn for Today: "Open My Eyes, That I May See" by Clara H. Scott
1. Open my eyes, that I may see
glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
2. Open my ears, that I may hear
voices of truth thou sendest clear;
and while the wavenotes fall on my ear,
everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!
3. Open my mouth, and let me bear
gladly the warm truth everywhere;
open my heart and let me prepare
love with thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Thought for Today:
"Adonai takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who wait for his grace." [Psalm 147:11].
Please pray:
Please pray:
For faculty and students as they prepare for Christian ministry in Malawi.
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