"Living hope" is a popular description of our faith in Christ, based on 1 Peter 1:3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". We have seen churches using that phrase in their name and enjoy a song by Phil Wickham with the title, "My Living Hope".

Once when traveling through southern Missouri along Rt 66 we passed a church named "Lasting Hope". Lasting hope is yet another wonderful description of our faith. The phrase "lasting hope" is not in the Bible like "living hope" but it is certainly a biblical truth that we have a lasting hope!

How did the church leaders come up with "lasting hope" as a name? Perhaps they wanted a thought-provoking alternative to the much more common expression, "living hope". The church was in a small town called Bourbon named for the whiskey (see here). So I also wonder if it's a contrast to the fleeting hope that bourbon and countless other worldly stimulants provide for the moment! There is only one lasting hope, the eternal hope we have in Christ Jesus.

Today's second text is a brief prayer by Paul for the Thessalonian believers that is appropriate for everyone. In the flow of Paul’s writing he neither introduces this prayer nor formally ends it. It seems to be woven right into the fabric of his letter. Paul, on several occasions, makes statements indicating how frequently he prays for people and this has often intrigued me since he had a great many churches and and a vast network in his charge. Can you imagine the contact list on his cell phone! In other words his circle was quite extensive.

Paul made prayer a vital part of his daily walk, demonstrated by his offering this powerful but brief prayer for the Thessalonian believers as he wrote to them. He is practicing what he preached in his first letter to them: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Today we earnestly make Paul’s prayer our prayer for all our readers, especially those whose hearts are weighed down with heavy burdens along with the uncertainty and disappointments of short-term outcomes. We offer this prayer as a kind word to cheer you, saying to those with an anxious heart, we have a lasting hope.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father who loves us through His loving-favor give us comfort and hope that lasts forever. May He give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing”.

We pray that regardless of what you might be dealing with in the short-term:

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13