Be Encouraged – November 22nd, 2016

beencouraged10

beencouraged10Hope is a vital ingredient for a worthwhile life. Just stop and think about life if there was no hope, nothing to look forward to. Imagine being in school with no hope that the lunch or final bell would finally ring. Imagine having a child with no hope that changing diapers stage would ever end. Imagine having a job with no hope of ever getting it right. Hope is an essential ingredient for every aspect of life no matter how big, small, special or mundane. But there is one type of hope that is more vital than all the rest. One hope that sustains and gives value to everything else we hope for. It is the hope that our life will have an impact that goes beyond ourselves and beyond our life on this earth. Considering this, the Bible points to a powerful reality. Proverbs 11:7 says, “When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish. And the hope of the unjust perishes.” Now it’s important to remember that the wicked man isn’t referring to just the Hitler’s of this world. It’s refereeing to anyone who is not on God’s side. Anyone, today, who has not placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Anyone without Christ may can have temporary hopes, but in the end, all their hopes to be of a good eternal impact perish. And to that you may say, “John, I thought this blog was called ‘Be Encouraged.’ This is not encouraging. Well, just wait. It is if we can say that we are not the wicked individuals this is referring to, but people who have placed our faith in Christ and have been made righteous in Christ. If we are Christians we have an everlasting hope. A hope that does not fade away. A hope for eternal rewards. A hope that as we display Christ, and others except and grow in Christ as a result, that it will be of eternal value. Be encouraged. As believers, we have the hope that sustains and gives value to everything else we hope for in Christ!

Pastor John Wright

Pastor John is married to his beautiful wife Kimberly and has 6 young children. John holds a Master’s of Theology (ThM.) from Dallas Theological Seminary and has been serving in full-time pastoral ministry for 11 years. John is passionate about declaring the truth of the Gospel and leading people in their knowledge, understanding and application of God's Word.