Sunday review: August 16-21

Surrounded by evil, assaulted daily by bad news, we can find hope in the promises of Scripture. Be encouraged as you remember or read again posts that appeared earlier this week.

August 16
As believers, we strive to be more like Jesus each day. We know ourselves pretty well—except for the blind spots. But God knows us completely. He knows our intentions and sees our weaknesses in the flesh. We, like the disciples, want to be faithful. To never turn aside from following Jesus wherever he leads. We don’t want to be the one who wounds another unintentionally, and certainly not intentionally. But pride, old wounds, and the flesh sometimes get the best of us, and we trip and bring harm to someone who looks a lot like Jesus.
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August 17
If we are not careful, it is easy to get stuck in the bad news. And some of it is truly bad news. It might be bad because it’s not accurate. It might be bad because something bad has indeed happened. As people of faith, we mustn’t allow ourselves to get stuck thinking that bad news somehow cancels our faith, our hope, our response, and our peace.
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August 18
We know that feeling. We’ve all been there. And with the psalmist we ask the Lord for help. What is going on around us is too much and we cannot solve it and we don’t want to give in to it, so we cry out for divine intervention. And rest comes.
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August 19
Jesus goes before us, is always with us, and will come again to get us and finish the work of making all things right for all time. He will never abandon, and in his perfect timing, all things will resolve and become new.
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August 20
If we try, we all can remember times when there was drought. Plants and grass no longer held their colors. Watering restrictions were common. But then, finally, it rained again, and the cycle was broken. Nature came to full bloom. Hope followed as our eyes gazed at new life and our nostrils sniffed the blossoms. Isaiah spoke of such a moment in a future the exiles had trouble imagining.
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August 21
As you pray, cling to two Scripture promises: “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9, NIV). “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16, NIV). It’s safe to say that not everyone speaking into the problem of Afghanistan would claim or aspire to be “a righteous person.” We who pursue that label can do what they will not. We can pray.
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Photo by Julian Lozano on Unsplash

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