40 Days of Hope Begins Oct. 15
For the next forty days, beginning tomorrow, I will be blogging the daily entries of the current Spiritual Growth Campaign among our church family. I have written forty entries on the theme of hope in order to emphasize what the Bible teaches on the topic so that we may apply it to our lives. Everyone in our church family will be "on the same page" for forty days.
The number 40 has a high profile in Scripture. The early Christ followers awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit for 40 days until Pentecost. It rained for 40 days and nights in the days of Noah. Moses was on the mount for 40 days, the spies spent 40 days in Canaan, Jesus was tempted by Satan after 40 days of prayer and fasting, etc.
It seems that God has used this amount of time to incorporate important change in the lives of His people. Consequently our church family is once again going to take this period of time to ask God to help us make positive changes in our midst. In this case we are seeking to grow in hope. Amidst the pessimism and defeatism of our culture Christ followers need to exemplify the confidence that comes from relying upon God's promises! Hope is sorely needed not only in our lives but also in the environment around us.
During His earthly ministry Jesus changed people's lives by offering hope - we want to do the same. No one has more reason to hope than those who are firmly placing their trust in God!
If you care to join us please check back daily for the next 40 days - especially if you or someone you know could use an influx of hope in his or her life. Each day this blog will recommend a passage of Scripture to read. Reading that passage BEFORE reading the day's blog entry will magnify the hope experience greatly.
After reading the recommended Scripture there will be a few brief paragraphs on a selected perspective on hope. Finally there will be an ACTION STEP for the participant to take. By accepting this ACTION STEP challenge the 40 Days of Hope participant will become a "doer of the Word" and not just a reader. (James 1:23) You will experience much more hope by doing than just by reading or hearing alone.
At any day during the 40 Days of Hope campaign I would love to hear from you about what God is doing in your life, either by leaving a comment on this blog, or by emailing me at pastoratwood@knology.net.
The number 40 has a high profile in Scripture. The early Christ followers awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit for 40 days until Pentecost. It rained for 40 days and nights in the days of Noah. Moses was on the mount for 40 days, the spies spent 40 days in Canaan, Jesus was tempted by Satan after 40 days of prayer and fasting, etc.
It seems that God has used this amount of time to incorporate important change in the lives of His people. Consequently our church family is once again going to take this period of time to ask God to help us make positive changes in our midst. In this case we are seeking to grow in hope. Amidst the pessimism and defeatism of our culture Christ followers need to exemplify the confidence that comes from relying upon God's promises! Hope is sorely needed not only in our lives but also in the environment around us.
During His earthly ministry Jesus changed people's lives by offering hope - we want to do the same. No one has more reason to hope than those who are firmly placing their trust in God!
If you care to join us please check back daily for the next 40 days - especially if you or someone you know could use an influx of hope in his or her life. Each day this blog will recommend a passage of Scripture to read. Reading that passage BEFORE reading the day's blog entry will magnify the hope experience greatly.
After reading the recommended Scripture there will be a few brief paragraphs on a selected perspective on hope. Finally there will be an ACTION STEP for the participant to take. By accepting this ACTION STEP challenge the 40 Days of Hope participant will become a "doer of the Word" and not just a reader. (James 1:23) You will experience much more hope by doing than just by reading or hearing alone.
At any day during the 40 Days of Hope campaign I would love to hear from you about what God is doing in your life, either by leaving a comment on this blog, or by emailing me at pastoratwood@knology.net.
posted by Brian Atwood @ 1:04 PM
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