2009-10-29T09:29:49-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com http://www.gospel.com/feeds/topics/hope http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/how-to-banish-the-darkness-5949 2009-10-29T09:29:49-05:00 When it's the darkest, when it's the hardest to praise Him, that is when you need to praise Him the most, because praise is that blinding light from heaven that dispels the darkness and banishes your enemy. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/beauty-from-brokenness-5948 2009-10-28T09:59:58-05:00 They can see through your wounds the amazing beauty of a joy and a hope that only a Savior like Jesus can give. If you'll turn away from your despair, and maybe bitterness, anger, and self-pity, and give your brokenness to Him, He can do that miracle for you. The songwriter was right when he said, "All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife. But He made something beautiful of my life." http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/one-unloseable-hope-5944 2009-10-22T10:07:52-05:00 That unloseable relationship with God comes only one way, because we're away from the God we need so much; away by our choice, not His. We've repeatedly chosen our way instead of His way and we've built an eternal wall between us and God. A wall that God Himself acted to tear down by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for all our sins when He died on the cross. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2062:5-6&version=NIV 2009-10-02T15:22:40-05:00 We should find our hope in God alone. He is the only one who can give us true rest since he is our rock and salvation. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%202:12-14&version=NIV 2009-10-01T22:21:20-05:00 What is the single, central hope that lies at the center of the Christian faith? Jesus Christ, and his promise that we can be made right with God by believing in him. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015:19&version=KJV 2009-09-25T09:31:13-05:00 If Jesus' claims weren't true--if the promise of the kingdom of God and life after death was a lie--then Christians would be deluded and truly miserable. But our hope extends beyond just this life; we trust God's promise to us to reach past our short lifespan on earth. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%201:3&version=NIV 2009-09-24T15:59:58-05:00 Christians have a "living hope" in Jesus Christ. We place our trust and hope in him, who died for our sins and was raised again from the dead. http://hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters/radio-program/hannah-montanas-nightmare-8285 2009-09-18T13:58:36-05:00 Life for Miley Cyrus–a.k.a., pop star, Hannah Montana–hasn’t always been as cool as it is today. In her autobiography, she describes her pre-teen years as “friendless, lonely and miserable.” She says she was “scrawny and short” and some girls she describes as “big and tough” terrorized her; locking her in a bathroom, trying to goad her into fighting them, taunting she would never amount to anything. She lived in fear most days at school. She’s a star now, so she’s not treated that way anymore, but she’s been recycling that garbage. She said, “I didn’t dare forget the struggle. There was a reason for it. I brought that girl with me, and she reminds me to be compassionate, to not hold grudges, to be supportive, to be there for others when I know I’m needed.” http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010:23&version=NIV 2009-09-18T10:48:43-05:00 What can Christians hold on to when life is difficult, and we're flooded by trials and challenges? To the hope that God holds out to us--that Jesus saves us from our sin, and brings us into a relationship with God. http://hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters/radio-program/victim-is-not-your-middle-name-8261 2009-09-16T11:54:59-05:00 Cindy called all the way from Alaska last night to ask for prayer. She has (called) a number of times (to ask for prayer), but this call brought some painful news. Cindy was the victim of a terrible sexual assault. Thankfully, she’s getting the appropriate counseling, but she, of course, really needs prayer. And as I prayed for her on the phone, I found myself praying this way: “Lord, help Cindy to never let this experience define who she is. ‘Rape victim’ is something awful that happened to her, Lord, but it’s not who she is.”