Ekpo uses the Christian belief of hope to related to others in they’re time of need. He discusses his own troubles of facing the unknown when leaving his home to come to Australia. By doing this he put his trust in Jesus and gave him hope for his new life. He explains that “There is always a tomorrow” in the Christian faith and “God will be in that tomorrow” (Everlasting Life). Ekpo idea derives from the New Testament, but is especially emphasised in 1 Corinthians 2:9. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” The verse explains that the future is unknown, yet, God gives his believers hope that the future is favourable. Ekpo’s highlighting and educating
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright is a must read for any Christian looking to expand their understanding of faith. Surprised by Hope gives us a full understanding of salvation as it is revealed in the Bible. This book also tells us how we should act in our lives and in this world as God’s redeemed people. It reveals incredible insight that is important to us because it explains just how crucial our role in this world is. Wright talks about the way things currently are and how they will be with the resurrection and our salvation. The book expands on the Christian mission and what it means to live with hope and faith and attempts to answer the very famous question: What is heaven?
develops the theme of “god is always watching over you, even through the hard times”. The eyes of
Meanwhile, we must look to Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” for he is the hope to our soul towards us having a better life once this world is over.
Hope, which is another one of the theological virtues, means a continual looking forward to the eternal world. Many people think that this is a way of escaping reality – wishful thinking, but he says that this is one of the things a Christian is meant to do. By focusing on the eternal life, he leaves this present world in a more improved state than what he found it. Because Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world and have begun to think more of the things of this world, they have become ineffective in improving the existing conditions of the
In the book Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright, he discusses salvation, the new creation, what our bodies will be like after Christ returns. Will the heavens come down to earth or will humans go up to heaven? These are all points that Christians need to ask themselves and begin to think about. He lays these topics out in clear, concise ways so the reader can comprehend what his points are.
It was first time to read the Gospel of Thomas, and I found one passage which I like. That is, “He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in.” Although, I have heard of the quote several times, I did not know that it came from the Bible. As I remember, this concept is often encouraged in books written about self-development, not about Christianity. My interpretation of the quote is, “Do not give up, go forth, then you will find a way” even if the original mean did not include the nuance as I found. Anyway, I find hope or future in this passage, and I am happy now. I have never imagined that there is a lesson I can understand in Christianity. I had tried to read the Bible several times in a past, but I had never understood what a
In a world that does not know the Gospel anymore, we must indulge in it, and love our fellow community though they may not share similar values, but find balancing in still remaining in our own values. Though many of times we find ourselves in opposition of the majority of the world, we must exude Christ love onto others as He does to us unconditionally. The author addresses ways in which we are able to live out our faith and still find a place within our community though they may not share similar values.
I think this means to not worry and to trust in God that your needs will be met, but only if one believes in the Lord.
We will see that – as prophet Isaiah writes in today’s first reading – even if a “woman will forget her sucking child... yet I will not forget you.” God will love and care about man even when he’s faithlessly tracking in the wilderness, even when he’s existing outside the church community. Jesus also tells us today that we should not be overly concerned about our life. Given that we say “Our Father” and we express the need: give us this day our daily bread, it should be clear – we trust in God’s Grace that He knows what we will need today.
Ultimately, it was through the work of the early Church, Christianity had been able to have its magnitude. It makes one wonder, what did they bring up that brought multitudes to Christ? Well, it was a very simple tool that it is in the hand of every believer today—the testimony. Their testimony and our testimony centers around the Resurrection and the transformative power of Christ. Yet, what makes each testimony unique is God’s unique plan for everyone’s life. Our lives and how God intervened in them provides an avenue for us to relate to the struggles of others showing them that God can change their life too. All my blessings and struggles have been beautifully woven into a testimony that I can share with those that need to hear the Gospel, yet there wouldn’t be a testimony if God didn’t save my life.
This is very good! But He goes beyond it and provides permanency through His resurrection, without which, we could not have eternal life. This is even better! However, the another application of His love for us is in the restoring quality we receive through Sonship. This is His utmost and supremely His best! Sonship is the standard and end goal for our Lord in his pursuit of us and so it should be the standard for the Christian as we pursue the work of missions to aid not only the poor, but to befriend our neighbor, reclaim our enemy and being a true friend. Without it, we can aid the poor, we can develop communities and provide permanency through financial security, but if they do not gain Sonship (a relationship with the Father), all of our work will have an insignificant legacy that only this world can appreciate. God does not provide the model as an “end”, but only as “means” to a greater and more complete harvest, a kingdom that He alone can fathom, and an everlasting joy in Sonship we will someday fully
In times of waiting there can be various cycles of emotions that occur, beginning with hopeful expectation. This expectation may elicit excitement or dread, depending on the expected or desired outcome. This stage of waiting seems to hold the most hope for those who are waiting. They are either waiting for the fulfillment of desire or the hopeful abatement of fears, with both offering a positive expected outcome. However, in this time of expectation, there is a great capacity for greater hope, as demonstrated in the Bible by followers of Jesus Christ awaiting his return. The early church waited with eager joy and energy for Christ to come back as he promised before ascending to heaven. His followers faithfully and obediently worked to
Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:1-2, 5, 9)
I think this verse means that in hard times one will be okay if they don't lose hope; if they
Conversely, there is an alternate way of looking at eros. In order to have hope, God has to appear to human life as not a receding horizon but an absolute savior. Human beings long for the truth and due to the constraints of science and history, Jesus is seen in an alternate way because he is no longer limited by space or time. In this case, Karl Rahner and Saint Augustine both agree that God always initiates the relationship with human life. Namely, they asserted that we are constantly drawn to God and God is not drawn to us. Because of this, we have the option of forming a better relationship with God. Rahner said that God dispenses his grace to all human beings of every religion in and God is continually accepting. Chiefly, it is not God’s choice to accept or deny us, for that is not his matter . Anthony De Mello describes another explanation of human fulfillment to us. He explains to us that in order to have human fulfillment, we must detach ourselves from our worldly attachments. As human beings, we allow ourselves to believe that we cannot be happy without a certain thing or person in our life. Thus, that is not