YOUR HOPE LIVES, SO TAKE HEART!

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES God's Secrets   CURRENT TV SERIES Unchained

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit… --1 Peter 3:18 What difficulties are you facing in your life right now? Do you have challenges in your family or business? Is there a physical or emotional illness? Well, in the verse above, Peter is saying that regardless of the pain and suffering in our lives, Jesus is the ultimate answer. Peter is describing a conquering Jesus! The day Jesus died on the cross, heaven cried and hell celebrated. It was mankind’s darkest day. But it didn’t stay that way. No, Jesus invaded the forces of hell and conquered death. And he now rules and reigns preeminent as Lord and King! And in those conquering actions, Jesus died not only for your sin, but for your pain and suffering, too. He died and rose again for the wounded, the brokenhearted, the hurting, and for those in pain. He died for all. Now Jesus wants us to take courage in who he is and what he has done for us. You and I have a Savior who lives. And for that reason, your hope lives, too. Jesus is the living source of our confidence, courage, and faith. Whatever your challenge today, take heart! Trust in Jesus. There is no greater hope and no greater promise in the world than that which is found in the conquering Jesus. YOUR HOPE LIVES, SO TAKE HEART!

Acting in Belief

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.”
1 Kings 8:54–56

When Hudson Taylor first went to China as a missionary, there were few people actively involved in the work of evangelism. Taylor found that most of the “missionaries” were spending all their time with the British businessmen working in the cities rather than going out and reaching the Chinese with the gospel. Taylor devised a radical plan—to recruit teams of missionaries who would go into the interior of the country and focus on reaching the lost Chinese. But the hardships and obstacles were many, and for a time, Taylor despaired of meeting his ambitious goal.
After a time of prayer, Taylor moved forward, deciding to trust God. He later wrote, “The Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God for this service. I told him that all responsibility as to the issues and consequences must rest with him; that as his servant it was mine to obey and to follow him.” Taylor launched the independent China Inland Mission, and, by 1876, one of every five missionaries to China was part of this group. Taylor believed God’s promises and acted on them. Our faith is not measured by what we say, but by what we do. If we truly believe God’s promises, then we will claim them and act on them. We will never accomplish what we should for God if we do not trust Him.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

When we do not claim God’s promises and act on them, it reveals a heart of unbelief.