you are my hope

so hey, this month, in children's ministry, we are teaching the kids about hope. so i ask myself, what exactly does that mean. what does it mean to have hope? why should i have hope? is there really anything left in the world to have hope in? or have we as a human race become so jaded that we see life as hopeless?

i mean, really! the economy is going down the tubes. the world, as a whole, seems to be at war. people all around me are losing their jobs. loved ones are getting bad health reports. shucks, even i had to go to the hospital and have my appendix removed a couple weeks ago. so, really, where can we find hope.

i've had several conversations in the last couple of weeks with people that i truly love and respect. (no, not just YOU ;) btw) and they are totally disheartened. they seem to be losing their faith because of things going on in their church. and they are on the path to being some of those old bitter sourpuss christians that we all know (and love (: ). where is the HOPE?

i must admit, there have been times when my faith was shaken. there have been times when i blamed God for the shortcomings of His people. and there have been times when i have even asked God, "are we really worth the trouble?" and every time, He gently reminds me, "yes, my son, YOU were worth it all".

you see, i have no delusions of grandeur. i know that i am just as bad as the people that almost made me bitter. i've hurt others. i've discouraged others. i've let others down. and i've broken their hearts. not intentionally, of course. but i am human, just like them. the thing that we need to understand, is that, most of the time, when we are hurt, it was NOT intentional. like the old saying goes "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". sometimes, when we are wounded by "friendly fire" it is not so much "on purpose" as it is "a fallen human was involved".

that is why the bible tells us not to put our faith in men. that is why we know that Jesus, not the pastor, or the deacon, or the assistant pastor, or the woman in the third row, etc. etc etc, is our savior, and is the one who we should look to. is the one that our faith should be in.

how many of you remember the late 80's and early 90's????? were you old enough to remember all of the televangelists that fell? and ALL of the people who fell away from the church. i mean, who remembers the group "suicidal tendencies" song "send me your money"? and ozzy osbournes' song "miracle man"? it seemed like the whole world lost sight of Christ because a few highly placed preachers, fell from grace. lost sight of the savior. my question is this, why did the world fall away? was it because Christ let them down, or because their faith was in men?

billy graham once said that "the greatest cause of atheism in the world today is christians, who say that Jesus lives, then deny that he does by their lifestyle" how true is that? i wrote a blog a long time ago that asked the question "are christians their own worst enemies?" and covered this before. so, i have to ask again, where can we find hope?

2 of my favorite groups are third day and skillet. (yeah, i know) and 2 songs that by them that i love are "my hope is you (td)" and "you are my hope (S)". it really doesn't get any simpler than that. when you are all out of hope, there is really only one place to find it. if you are tired, there is only one place to find rest. if you are scared, there is only one place to find comfort. and if you are hurting, there is only one place to find healing. it is not in yourself, it is not in a bar, it is not in a bed, it is not on the road, it is not on the run. and i've said this a thousand times before. but if you are finally at the end of yourself, and your tired of running. the best place to run, is home. to the loving, waiting arms of YOUR savior. because it truly is only there that you will ever find hope. and the hope that you are desperately searching for is there waiting for you.

i love you all
much love
theoldmusicbox

prayer and forgiveness part 2

it's time now for part 2 of our lesson. last time, we covered prayer and the importance of forgiving. this lesson, in my opinion, is more difficult to take to heart and apply to your life. this lesson deals with forgiving yourself.


ok, i know what you're thinking. forgive myself? why should i forgive myself? give me a few minutes and you will see the importance.


let me paint you a picture, but first, if it's been a while since you've read the book of St. John, read chapters 18 and 21.

in chapter 18, we see the time that Jesus was being questioned. of all of the diciples, peter was the only one that followed him close enough to watch. after all, it was peter who, only hours before said "i would die before i denied you". bold words. not surprising since it was also peter who, when Jesus was arrested, cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. but if you remember the story, Jesus said that before the rooster crows, you will deny me 3 times.

the book of Luke says: Luk 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

peter was close enough that Jesus LOOKED at him when the rooster crowed. imagine being peter in that moment. knowing your failure, and seeing the eyes of Christ at that moment. if only he had spoken. maybe he could have saved Him. at least he could have defended Him. spoken for Him. tried!!!!!! but instead, he denied Him. and knew that it was known.

John chapter 21, finds peter back in his old life. how much are we like that? when we fail, what do we do? we go back to our old lives. if we were drinkers, we go back to drink. if we were junkies, we go back to our junk. we try to find comfort in what we use to know. and just like peter, we find it to be fruitless. he fished all night, and caught nothing. fruitless.

then Jesus comes. tells them to cast on the other side of the boat. and what happens? so many fish that they couldn't handle it without help.

when peter comes to the shore, Jesus has dinner cooking and waiting. just imagine that meal. imagine peter's guilt. then Jesus does the unthinkable. He says "Do you love Me?" OUCH. knowing what he had done, that question must have cut through his heart like a dull knife. but he answers "yes". later Jesus asks again "do you love Me". OUCH. isn't it bad enough Lord that i know what i've done. "yes Lord". then finally comes Joh 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

the third time, peter's heart finally just broke. he said "Lord, you know everything and you know i love you" Jesus said feed my sheep.

let me ask you something. how many times did peter deny christ? 3 times, right? now, how many times did Jesus ask him, do you love me? 3 times, right? peter must have seen this as an accusation, but i think that this was Jesus giving peter a chance to say "I love you" for every time that he said "i don't know the man".

how many times have you failed, then ran away to your old life because you felt conviction. my friend, just like peter, you are being asked, "do you love me?" this is not an accusation. this is Jesus asking "you do still love me, don't you?"

instead of coming home, what do we do? we hide because we feel ashamed, we hurt ourselves because we feel that we deserve to be in pain, we look to porn because we feel dirty anyway, we hurt others to make ourselves feel better, we drink or do drugs to drown our pain, we run from Jesus' question, "do you love Me?" when all He wants is to call us home!

it is easier to forgive others, or to believe in forgiveness to others, because we only see in part. but us? we know all of our own dirty secrets. we know the darkness that lives inside of us. we know just how bad that we are. but to say "i know that Jesus has forgiven me, but i just can't forgive myself." in a way, is a form of idolatry. ??????? let me paint a picture.

you walk up calvary and find the Lord, Jesus Christ. beaten. broken. bloody. crucified. and at the point of death. now, imagine looking up into those eyes and saying "Lord, i appreciate everything that you're doing here. and i thank you for it, but this is not enough for me. i know you mean well and all, and thanks for trying, but it's going to take more than this to cover my sins."

i offer you this suggestion. Jesus Christ. God in the flesh. was innocent. He also was condemned. beaten. spat on. mocked. and nailed to a tree. to forgive you. YOU. if this is not enough to forgive you, what more could He do?

at the end of John 21:17 Jesus says "feed my sheep". not only did He forgive peter, he let peter know, "i still trust you with my people". just think if peter had refused that forgiveness. what all would have been lost. it was peter who stood, full of the holy spirit on the day of pentecost, and spoke boldly of Christ and won about 3000 souls.

my friends, it's time to let yourself finally feel the freedom of forgiveness. His blood is enough for anything that you could ever done. there is no longer need for sacrifices. no longer need for self-condemnation. you can be free. the bible says "who the son sets free, is free indeed". so, if you're struggling, let me ask you something. you do still love Him, don't you?

peace be to you,

in Christ,

1oldman