hope

ARE YOU A LAST-MINUTE PERSON? I was having a nice conversation with a good buddy, and we were laughing at how we are so different from our wives. In his case, he says, whenever he and his wife go on a trip, he’s a last minute kind of guy, whereas his wife, Marite, wants to prepare way in advance. I remember my youngest daughter, Nicky. When our family had plans to vacation abroad, Nicky would be packed one month in advance! That’s how ready and excited she was.

In fairness to us, last minuter husbands, I’d say, we’re not really careless; but because we already know what we need and know where our stuff is easily, it doesn’t take much to pack up and go.

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There’s a story in the gospel of John (5:1-9) about a man who was an invalid for 38 years. He lay by the side of the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, waiting for the water to be stirred up. Apparently, it was the belief of people at that time, that the first person into the pool after the stirring of the water “was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted” (John 5:4). When I read that, my first reaction was to admire that invalid’s tenacity and hopefulness. Thirty-eight years invalid!! I don’t know if he had been waiting there all those 38 years, but I can imagine how much he had longed to be healed. But then when I read further about what happened, I was saddened.

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hope

JESUS IS COMING BACK

FROM HOPELESSNESS TO HOPEFULNESS