November 22, 2011 - Rope of Hope!
Hebrews 6:9-20The Message (MSG)
9-12I'm sure that won't happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn't miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you've shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it.
And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don't drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
13-18When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, "I promise that I'll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!" Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.
18-20We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.
I have 2 images in my mind after meditating on the above scripture, and they include all of you. The first is a big circle of people facing each other, holding a long and weighty rope. The rope represents HOPE, and it is available to each of us, though it is important that we remain in the circle, hoping and praying for each other.
The second picture is the same group, but now we are in a line, holding onto the rope, and we are being led on a cavernous and rocky path. We must hold onto the rope and the One leading us on the journey, to prevent our feet from slipping, and to ensure we make it to the promised destination. There is light in the distance, but hold onto the Rope of Hope.
Read the definition of Hope again (taken from the notes in my Spirit Filled Life Bible.)
Hope, Tiqvah; Strong’s #8615; Hope; expectation; something yearned for and anticipated eagerly; something for which one waits. Tiqvah comes from the verb qavah, meaning “to wait for” or “to look hopefully” in a particular direction. Its original meaning was “to stretch like a rope.” Tiqvah occurs 33 times, in Josh 2:18, 21, it is translated “line” or “cord”; Rahab was instructed to tie a scarlet tiqvah (cord or rope) in her window as her hope for rescue. Yahweh Himself is the hope of the godly (Psalm 71:5). In Hosea 2:15, God’s blessing on His land will transform the Valley of Achor (“trouble”) into the “door of hope.”
Prayer and Declaration ~
Thank You Father God for the Rope of Hope, Jesus Christ. He is our Hope. Thank you for imparting each of us with fresh hope today, and the encouragement that we are not alone in this journey.
My sister Lisa said this morning that she is praying, hoping and believing that each of us praying for one another, holding the Rope of Hope together, will begin “dropping off” in new marriages.
Thank you LORD that You do not lie! When You give a promise, or a desire, You have a plan for the fulfillment of the promise!
- Jesus, You are the Door of Hope.
- We agree and declare (from Hosea 2) that God’s blessings turn the Valley of Achor (troubling) into the Door of Hope! Today is the 22nd, so we come into agreement and pray Isaiah 22:22 -
- We declare that New Doors of hope, and relationships, and provision will fling OPEN, soon! And no one can shut them!
- We declare that any door that needs to be shut will close, that no one can open them. Holy Spirit - show us the doors that we need to shut.
I pray that each person reading and praying will experience THE divine appointment with their Kingdom Marriage partner - Suddenly and Soon!
Hold on, and Dare to Hope!
Expecting to be amazed ~
Barbara
© Barbara Nelson – 2011
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