Hope in Jesus
Coming to know who Jesus is, the Son of God who sacrificed everything for each of us, marks a beautiful transformation in life. It’s the beginning of real HOPE. We all feel a deep longing in our hearts to know and be known. I can remember as a child trying to wrap my head around the idea that the God of the universe sent His only son for our sake, and that His son, who is one with God, loved us enough to die for our sins. I didn’t realize I was a sinner. I thought I wasn’t so bad. And then life’s twists and turns allowed me to be broken and realize my great need for someone to love me exactly as I am. I began to go further down and deeper in. I began to read my bible to learn more about Jesus. Aloneness and heartache can help us know Him better. Sometimes when we find nowhere else to turn we cry out to Jesus. And what I learned in the darkest hours alone was an increased understanding of Jesus’ great love for me, of His unchangeable character and trustworthiness. The thread of trust was woven into a strong and coherent bond. If we can just know Him better, we will trust Him more fully; and when we trust Him, we can stop focusing on our troubles. And that is where we find HOPE.
Even if we sort of fall into trusting Jesus because we have no other choice, He is so kind to meet us there and show us His character. Pray to Him; read His book. Knowing that someone all-powerful is trustworthy and will never leave me gives me great hope. All of the Old Testament pointed forward toward the coming of Jesus, our Savior. “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:2-3
God’s word all points to His great love for us, the gift of His son Jesus, and His desire for us to know Him through His son Jesus. If you feel a deep longing in your heart to be loved, exactly as you are, you can ask Jesus to fill that desire and He will answer. And you can get to know Him better by reading the bible and learning more about what He said while He was here on earth. And the more you get to know Him, the more confidence you have to face everything with HOPE for the future. Because if you read the end of the story, you see that Jesus is victorious and if we accept Him as Savior we will be with Him. That’s hope.
Bringing HOPE to Baltimore through Mercy Chef's
AmazingGrace.Life is making neighborhoods safer and bringing people closer to God with our partner, Mercy Chefs. Here we are in Baltimore spreading our love through food, conversation, and passing out our pamphlets to help people #JoinTheJourney. A dozen people accepted Christ here, it was truly incredible.
Our friends at Mercy Chef's live to love others. The Baltimore Police Chief, Melvin Russell says events like this reduce crime by 23% for the next 90 days!
And in this picture, the man in the middle was truly honest. He told us he was fresh out of jail after nearly 5 years behind bars. He then asked if he could cook and serve with Mercy Chefs to do something positive.
We believe in the power of the human spirit and the beauty of what God can bring to each of our lives.
What are you doing to bring HOPE to your community!?