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| Evangelist John Bosco |
HOPE REASSURED
LONG time
ago when calamities befell our ancestors, they looked for the root causes and,
or solutions from their gods whom they found normally in the forests, caves,
mountains and other places of concern. They had mediums of connections called
the translators, sorcerers, in Buganda they are called by names like Ssalongo,
Nnalongo or Mukasa. These, they believed that they could find the root cause of
certain problems or can predict the future and restore hope. Those were mythical
beliefs which actually did happen as they believed. They were actually in
direct contact with the dead world where Satan transformed itself into a
talking stone, tree or any other objects. This is true because Satan did ever
spoke to human being transformed into an object or animal like snakes. Our
ancestors and even current parents are fooled into believing that. Do they get
what they want? NO!
IN
Israel, things happened the same way our traditional people did. Due to that,
many were led into sin of fornication, adultery, witch craft, fortune telling and
liars actually. Nothing improved when they were involved in contact with dead
world spirits. Many battles were lost, hunger and calamities heightened,
bareness and death felt everywhere in Israel.
Every
time, the Israelites forgot God, prophets were sent to teach and warn the
people. Prophet like Isaiah, Amos, and Samuel were used by God consecutively to
tell the Israelites why something was happening the way it was and what should
be done.
JEREMIAH
was one of the prophets sent to the people of Judah to tell them to turn away
from their wicked ways to be blessed and see good days.
God
was so angry with the people of Judah, He told Jeremiah that, ‘The sin
of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with the point of a diamond, is
ENGRAVED on the tablet of their Heart’ Jeremiah 17:1.
First,
there are three objects used here by God, iron pen, diamond point and the heart.
WHY are these three objects used together to describe the position of Judah
sins. The heart is a soft and delicate object in the body, how comes the iron
pen with a diamond point abled to write in the heart? Does it mean the hearts
have become hard and cannot be changed? Certainly yes!
God
was telling Jeremiah even if he goes to the people of Judah, their heart would
not be changed because their sins have be engraved like words engraved on
stones hence difficult to remove.
Because
of that, God spoke to Jeremiah in 17:56 saying, ‘Cursed is the man who trust in
man and make flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he
shall be like shrub in the desert and shall not see when good come.’
Being unfaithful to God and trusting in man will make
Ø The
person lives a life like Plants which struggle to survive in desert lands. (no
enough water, no fertile soil, too much heat mmmmm so bad)
Ø The person
NOT know what happiness is like
Ø The
person’s future look dimly and doomy.
Ø The
person be hopeless
In
verse 7 and 8, God gave assurance to the person who trusts and hopes in Him
only. He said, ‘blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is
the Lord. For he shall be like tree planted by the waters which spreads out
its roots by the river and will not fear when heat comes.’
While the
one who trusts solely in the Lord and whose hope is only the Lord.
Ø Will
be like a tree planted by the waters
Ø The
life would be full of happiness
Ø His
hope is completed
Ø Will
lack nothing in life
Ø His
security is assured in the Lord (Hebrew 13:6, ‘the Lord is my helper, I will not
fear, and what can man do to me?’)
IN South
Sudan, Nimule in practical today, it is different; many people no longer trust
in the Lord and are hopeless because they see nothing good. There are many who
search for hope in their uncles, in their own understanding and wealth. Many at
times, people visit witchdoctors to see why they are suffering, why they are barren,
why they are in war and why are there deaths in their family, these are more
are just additions of problem unrealistically.
Let us
take for example, why are there more children in the church than adults, and
why are there more women in the church than men? Simply because many have lost
the hope of why they were in the church and now want to find hope in the way
they understand, do they? That is just vanity
People
hope in their own strength and wisdom, they have forgotten the owner-God. If
there are sufferings, it is simply because we trust in man more than God; our
hope is not centred in the Lord, our desires are wicked desires beyond our
knowledge
IN spite
of all those, God still has some assurance of Hope to Israelites and us today,
in Jeremiah 33:3, He said, ‘call unto me and I will answer you and show
great and mighty things which you do not know’ He didn’t only stop
there but again he said, ‘for I alone know the thoughts that I think
towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Call
upon me and pray and I will listen to you, I will be found by you’ Jeremiah
29:11-13
Only
those who call on the name of the Lord will find Him, only those who do His
will, will see happiness, love, joy and good future like trees planted by the
side of the waters. Only those who trust in the LORD, will be blessed
NOW let
us see from our side, how do you understand the word hope? Do you really have
the hope that you know? Where has the hope gone if it is not with you? Why has
it gone away from you? Do you think it is possible to return the hope that you
desire? What about if it does not want to come back to you? What are you doing
nowadays to retain or return the lost hope? By fighting, digging, consulting
the ancestral spirits, taking your properties to the witchdoctors, looking for
miracles or what is it?
The
hope that we need cannot be found from witchdoctors, our relatives, they will
let you down, in the caves, in the valleys, forests or mountains but only in
Jesus Christ
JESUS is
very clear, He alone is the source of hope, if you feel you have no hope in
your life, come to him, if you feel that, the president will not bring the hope
you want, come to Jesus, if you feel that the hope for the family is shuttered,
come to Jesus, if you think you have failed to attain what you like for your
children come to Jesus, He will give you Hope, Hope everlasting, Hope at free
cost, the cost is just your decision, decide now and call onto Him.
Note: You don’t call on the Name of the Lord by shouting in the street,
sleeping in bars, doing immoral acts like sexual sins, from under waters, on top
of mountains but you have to call the name of the Lord for just reasons He
accepts and only through commitment to prayers.
DEAR Lord Jesus,
Thank you so much for the free gift of
life, I am here looking to restore my hope, my family hope, hope for my futures,
I have moved around in search of this hope, but all vanity, to day I choose to
try you, receive me and restore the hope and your plans for me as you said, I
am here Lord as a reformed sinner, forgive me my Lord Yesuuah Al Messhia. Amen
© Evangelist
John Bosco
