SEARCHLIGHT
How do you have hope when things appear to be hopeless?
SCRIPTURE
But when they looked up, they saw the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as He told you.’” Mark 16:4-7 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
At 9/11, there was one sight that became a symbol of hope. Amy Bartlett, who was an editor for Guidepost books, witnessed that sight. She wrote “Be Still America” which is a book compiling the stories of how God caused triumph to flow out of tragedy, after the United States was attacked by 19 terrorists. This was the day the World Trade Center crumbled on 9/11, 2001. There were 2,996 innocent people who lost their lives because of 19 terrorists who committed murder.
One unbelievable story focuses on the collapsing debris of the Twin Towers. Ground Zero was that “there appeared a massive cross formed by steel beams. It had fallen from the wreckage of Trade Tower 1 into the rubble of the World Trade Center…It was originally found in an area where rescuers couldn’t immediately get to…It was untouched by human hands…It was proportionately perfect…an 18’ steel beam, it was found standing up…It was found on the 3rd day after the 9/11 attack…How significant!” The immediate human response was extremely unusual for New Yorkers. People just didn’t say “Oh look at the cross,” or “How interesting.” In the midst of the destruction, and devastation, people began gathering around the cross. They were not discussing it. Instead, they just sat quietly and grabbed a moment to refocus, having been working amidst the gruesome sites. Frank Celetia was an ironworker who was the first to see the significance of the cross. He spray-painted on the wreckage walls “God’s house” and painted arrows to point them to the cross. Frank began taking people down to the site of the cross. People like Benjamin Netanyahu, Barber Walters, and Jeb Bush.”
In the midst of terror and darkness, THE 9/11 SYMBOL OF HOPE became the cross. Never forget! Hope comes from the cross and the empty tomb. Hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and the grave stone rolled away. Today the Ground Zero cross is installed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
The only hope man can really count on comes from the cross Jesus hung on, and the tomb Jesus walked out of. Today’s Scripture emphasizes Jesus Christ was crucified and has risen. Jesus’ death and resurrection provide all the hope that is needed in dark times and any time.
You can have hope when things all around you appear to be hopeless. Unending hope springs from the blood stained cross and the empty tomb. Is the cross and the empty tomb front and center in your sight? This is where you will always find strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow. HOPE COMES FROM THE CROSS AND THE EMPTY TOMB.
SOMETHING TO DO
Hope will become real to you when you take the following 6 steps:
#1 Trust the Bible as being God’s Word just as Jesus did. - Matthew 5:17,18
#2 Trust Jesus and never regret obeying any of His commands. - Luke 24:26,27
#3 Experience abundant life now and eternal life forever. - John 10:10; 3:16
#4 Live knowing that someday you will be reunited in heaven with family and friends who follow Jesus. – John 14:3
#5 Pray daily to Jesus knowing you are not talking to a dead man. – John 14:13,14; Acts 7:59
#6 Leave your despair and worry behind you. – Romans 15:4,13; 5:1-5
You will greatly benefit yourself by taking time to look up the Bible verses mentioned above. Your hope is built on knowing Jesus Christ died and arose from the dead.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for dying on the Cross and arising from the Empty Tomb. You said you were going to do it, and You did just as You said. You are my reason for having hope to live in a world which is often filled with hopelessness. My eyesight is on the Cross and the Tomb. I know my hope is not wishful thinking but real because of You, Jesus! AMEN