We are returning to 301 ElCano Drive to worship at Mountainside Church Easter Sunday

We Need Hope

We Need Hope

It was this time of year when I was a young boy when hope flowed more so than the rest of the year.  The Christmas catalogs began to populate the mailbox, and the hardware store began to put up decorations in the store windows.  Even the little town where I spent much of my childhood began to put decorations on the lamp poles lining main street. It was a sign of the fast-approaching holidays and all the celebrations and parades to come.


I remember one Christmas season vividly.  Christmas day had come and gone, and the family was standing in the airport.  The mood of the family matched the cold, rainy, and dreary weather outside. My father was about to board a plane for his first deployment to Viet Nam.  As the oldest son, he pulled me aside away from my siblings and charged me with taking care of my mother , my brother and sister. It was a heavy responsibility for a ten-year-old boy.  But my father whispered words to me that I’ll never forget; he said, "I’ll be back son." They rang in my ears day after day, week after week, and month after month until his return a year later.  His words gave a young man hope.


It seems there are very few sources of hope these days, with all the turmoil in our nation and even around the world.  We recently celebrated Veterans Day, a day in which pride and admiration abound to those who are and have served. But we need a sense of hope daily in our lives.


Pets sit patiently in windows, waiting on the return of their owners.  And when they see the car pull into the driveway or hear their voice, excitement fills their entire bodies!  They even have hope in an event; one over which they have no control. We can take a big lesson from our pets.


When Jesus ascended into heaven, scripture says two men in white appeared beside the apostles.  The apostles stood and watched as Jesus rose from the earth and disappeared into the clouds, no doubt with the mouths wide open!  These two men asked them a very pointed question – ""Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.'"


After all they had been through in recent weeks and months, their hearts had to filled with hope.  They had been on a roller coaster of emotions, but they stood there witnessing a physical act of their Savior ascending into the clouds.  The words of these two angels gave them hope.


Jesus is coming soon.  His words should give us all hope, a hope in glory.  Revelation 22:20 Jesus said, "Yes, I am coming soon."  We need to prepare daily for this promise to be fulfilled!


  Mountainside Church · 301 Elcano Drive
Hot Springs Village · AR 71909

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