The Hope That Assures

Faith is the solid ground on which we stand as we await the fulfillment of God's promises.

An elderly man who, on his seventy-fifth birthday, received an invitation to fly over the little West Virginia town in which he had spent his entire life. Although he had never before flown, the man accepted the gracious offer.

After circling the town for about twenty minutes, the pilot safely returned his passenger to the ground. The man's grandson greeted him excitedly, asking, "Were you scared, Grandpa?" "No," he replied sheepishly, "but I never did put my full weight down."

Unlike that hesitant grandfather, true faith trusts fully in its object. For the Christian, that means resting in God and His promises. That's the primary characteristic of each faithful individual listed in Hebrews 11. They all believed God and responded accordingly.

People often confuse faith with a wistful longing that something, however unlikely, will come to pass in the future. But "assurance" in Hebrews 11:1 speaks of essence and reality— the real thing, as opposed to mere appearance. Faith, then, involves absolute certainty.

For example, the Old Testament saints had the promise of a coming Messiah who would take away sin. They believed God, even though their understanding of Messiah was incomplete and somewhat vague. They knew their hopes would be fulfilled, and that assurance dominated their lives.

It's the same for New Testament believers. Peter said, "Though you have not seen [Christ], you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls" (1 Pet. 1:8-9).

Man's natural tendency is to trust only in the things he can see, hear, touch, or taste. But our physical senses may lie, whereas God cannot (Titus 1:2). Far better to believe God and trust in His promises.

Which promises of God are especially meaningful to you today? Thank Him for them and reaffirm your commitment to living on the basis of His Word.

Skim Hebrews 11 and note all the divine promises you find there. To gain a fuller understanding of each one, find other Scripture references that mention the same promises.

>>People often confuse faith with a wistful longing that something, however unlikely, will come to pass in the future.

Let those of us who read the above insights continue to look to the Lord in true faith when we do our praying; not viewing it as an exhibition of a wistful longing .

Those of us who read the above commentary and sother scattered born-again-type Freeper threads have an obligation, a GREATER obligation than others who browse this site. We understand that *prayer* is far more than a wistful longing. Beyond that, we may go freely before the Father's throne and pray in the name of Jesus Christ -- not just "wish upon a star," not hoping God give us a "nice guy" allowance, not asking the "Holy Mother" to speak to her son. No -- we know that prayers of the redeemed are regarded as sweet incense in the throne room of God. (Rev. 8:4)

For the next two days we should be combing thru these threads looking for items to take before the Lord. THIS is the time we "fast and pray!"

My list from this morning alone:
*possible election fraud in Philadelphia
*injured policemen
*the relentless, courageous President
*Kyle Rittehause
* Presidential appointments of judges
*lawless Antifa/BLM
*Corrupt/Partisan FBI

Gracious Heavenly Father

Thank you for the above commentary on faith, a reminder that it is far more than wistful thinking. Our faith is heavily anchored in Your gracious provision for mankind's failure and dilemma. That provision, Christ, our Lord, we secure our faith to.

Lord, we are on Election Eve, a day away from a momentous Crossroads, a day upon which Satan's salivate in anticipation, a day upon which the upright invest faith to a Sovereign God who has lavished blessing upon our country.

Waking up this morning we see dark forces afoot in Philadelphia and other parts of Pennsylvania to delay the vote count for days, perhaps providing time and cover for the lawless to manufacture fraudulent ballots. Such activity would be done outside the sight of man but vividly before the eyes of You. If any such shenanigans are instigated, we pray that you would both prevent them and cause them to backfire. With regard to Pennsylvania we ask that you be especially mindful of their vile governor, attorney general, and leftist mayors.

Father, it is because of such leftist, godless, "progressive" leadership (including complicit judges) that rioting and looting occur. Wicked and vile thugs and thieves roam about seeking to harm and destroy. We pray for the complete humiliation and destruction of BLM, Antifa, and similar groups -- may their minions receive just recompense.

The wicked ones in the "Swamp" and city councils everywhere seek to defund and disarm the Blue shield that protects us. Those whom Paul said were sanctioned by You to protect us from this evil. While they are at their posts and doing their duty in riot control, the street savages assault them. Many of our policemen have received serious injury including everything from death to blindness. Bless, O Lord, our protectors in blue and overwhelm their families with your grave and love.

Father, our President is constrained in his actions. He seeks to bring calm, but our ensconced judges and demigods prohibit him. He is impugned by former "allies" Mattis and Kelly, and undermined by "current" allies Sec of Def Mark Esper and General Mark Milley. Both Esper and Milley have signaled a "stand down" in case of a future insurrection. Lord, we refer to these undependable associates in his cabinet as "swamp creatures." Remove these from the government with the dispatch Michael will one day use on Lucifer. Surround the President with faithful and vigorous allies as he strives to "drain the Swamp."

Father, along this lines we would be remiss if we failed to call attention to the evil embedded in the Department of Justice and FBI. It seems as though those tares have completely choked the good wheat. They conspire to frustrate the efforts of the President and do damage to those who would help him. In this vein I ask that You punish those who "slow walk" efforts to uncover the evil afoot. Please, punish whoever was responsible for hiding away safely Hunter Biden's laptop.

Lord, I need a breather but will be back on another thread to pray some more . . .

May His name be extolled forever and ever!!!

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