Prisoners of Hope

I was talking to my friend Dave yesterday and sharing some of the stuff that has been going on in my life and at Fellowship. Dave has been through the gauntlet, let me tell you. It is unfortunate the amount of spiritual abuse that goes on in the name of Christianity. He is on his way back…God will settle the score and use what the enemy has meant for evil and turn it into good! During our talk Dave said, John, you know we are all just “prisoners of hope”. “Wow Dave, unpack that some more for me…that sounds awesome!” We talked some more and then hung up and I paid for my stuff at Acme. It’s amazing how God can speak to you anywhere.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “so we don’t look (focus on) at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” Prisoners of hope are people that learn to live above the fray. We learn to see the world through our spiritual eyes. Sunday, we talked about the new environment we live in because of our relationship to Christ. We are no longer dependent on our 5 senses alone…we have new “spiritual radar”, the Holy Spirit in our lives. I love the word gaze…not glance, but gaze! There is some deep focus of energy here…meditation if you will.

I wonder…what are you a prisoner of? Is it hope? Are you living today as if it could be your best and last day? I meet people who are prisoners of depression, debt, disillusionment, gossip, grief, and addiction. But I now know so many Christ Followers who have that stuff in their rear-view mirror. Sure they still have troubles and struggles, but they no longer walk alone. They are prisoner of hope.

I am a prisoner of hope. Yes, there is always negativity, struggles, the “haters”, but through it all, I can’t help but be excited and optimistic about our future. I love what God is doing at Fellowship. Our Staff is the best! Our volunteers are off the hook! Sunday rocked! I met some great new families from Florida and Ohio! So let's keep praying that people will get set free this week. The best is yet to come!