Hope

TITLE: Hope
DATE: May 12, 2019
TEXT: Romans 15:13 English Standard Version - 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Where were you in 1991?

Me? I had just taken a call to a new church in Danville, Illinois.  Two of our children were in high school and our youngest had just made the grade-school cheerleading team. Today they are all college graduates and have families. In 1991 my hair was still black, curly and full, and I weighed less

But where were you in 1991?
Perhaps I ought to ask, “Who were you in 1991?” You have seen a lot of changes?  Your hopes, your dreams, your desires have probably seen radical changes. Do you remember way back to 1991? The average American home sold for $120,000.00,   the average  income was $29,430.00 and a gallon of gas was $1.12.

In 1991 there were only 7-million cell phones in the United State. Of course that wouldn’t have helped Munira Abdula. Munira was living in the United Arab Emirates when she was in an accident with a school bus. Since there were few cell phones nobody called for help and she had to wait for house before someone arrived.

By then her rare brain injury had set in. It was a condition which left her minimally conscious but totally unresponsive. That was 1991. By 1992, the Physicians were saying there is no hope.

After three years had passed without any change the Doctors became more confident. There was no hope. The future would always be this way.

Then, in 2018, Munira heard her son arguing with someone by her bedside. Her son had been four when the car accident took place. He had been four when she took the brunt of the accident and shielded him with her own body. He had been four and now Munira’s son was 31, the same age as she had been at the time of the accident.

After all those years in a twilight, Munira came back.

Her son said,” "I was flying with joy. I always had a feeling that one day she will wake up."

And what is the message of this devotion? Her son says, "not to lose hope on their loved ones.,"

Years ago, a wife emailed me and said, “I have prayed that my husband would become a Christian. I have prayed for 24 years. He’s still  the same? What should I do?” I wrote back, “Pray the 25th.” A year later she wrote back and said “The Holy Spirit got Him in the year 25.”

Don’t lose hope.

THE PRAYER: Lord we don’t know what the future holds. We can only pray we be given hope as we place ourselves, our loved ones, and eternity in the hands of the Holy Spirit and the grace which is ours in Jesus Christ.” In the risen Savior’s Name we pray. Amen.

The devotion for today was inspired by various recent news articles. For further reading you may wish to go to this site:  https://www.newser.com/story/274262/churchs-easter-gift-to-residents-is-worth-22m.html  and the article written by ,:Arden  Dier on April 23, 2019.

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html