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--- jn_en_2018_05_10 [2018/05/10 10:27] – potthast
+++ jn_en_2018_05_10 [2018/05/10 10:44] (current) – potthast
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-====== Living Hope ... ======
+====== Living Hope - through Suffering ... ======
-Thursday, May 10, 2018.
+Thursday, May 10, 2018. Often, we focus on one particular aspect of the gospel. People read the bible
+and take up one part of the message. That is, to some extent, natural. You need to go forward step
+by step, and you cannot grasp the whole story in one go. But it can also be misleading and even destroy
+faith when you do not read the full gospel, when you try to work with a part of it only and stretch
+the part until it does not fit any more to reality.
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 ** Birth into Hope ...**
+Let us read some part of Peters first letter. It starts with praise for God's mercy and gifts. But in
+its next thought it also addresses the problems and suffering which we all face in this world. Have a look:
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 </color> (from 1 Peter 1)
+Let us face the facts: for all humans there is suffering to be endured. It is for all of us, those
+with faith and those without faith. For those with faith it serves to prove genuiness of faith. It comes to
+clean our faith, to let us give up what does not fit to God's character. Trials and suffering and grief
+must come, and it can come on many different parts of our life and activity.
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-** Invitation to Everyone ...**
+** My Involvement in This ...**
+What is my personal involvement in this praise, in the hope, in the faith which is worth more than gold,
+and in the suffering? It is interesting to ask yourself. Do you have faith in Christ? Did he start to
+become the driving force in your life? Then your faith starts be become this gold, this value much more
+worth than gold.
+But what about suffering. Sometimes we face illness, which we cannot avoid. But also, we face trouble
+and conflicts where we are involved in the process. It is not only coming without our action, but sometimes
+we are part of the actions. Are we causing the trouble? Or are we just in the middle of trouble, with the
+need to deal with it? If you always give in, you might cause more suffering. Sometimes it is necessary
+to fight.
+It is not easy to find your way through life. To judge what is wrong and what is right, where to take up
+the fight and where to leave it, is a challenging part of our daily decisions. Where to flee, where to fight,
+where to ignore things, where to be very cautious. God wants to be in the middle of all this, with his
+wisdom, with his spirit, with his power. Lord, we need you, in all of this! Amen.
 (Roland Potthast)
 [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/topics_collection_ix|... further texts]]
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