It was only five months ago that a soccer team in Thailand became trapped in a murky cave system inside a mountain. The world was riveted on efforts to get them out. Imagine how stressful it must have been for those boys, all 14-15 years old, and their coach as they huddled on a muddy slope in the dark waiting for somebody to find them. It took a week before they were discovered. Parents and friends quickly gathered at the cave entrance to pray and encourage each other. It took 18 days to figure out how to rescue them and successfully get them out. Along with their parents, the whole world longed for hope, and remarkably all 12 boys and their coach were brought to safety.

The Bible is a book of hope. To the Christian, hope is steadfast, sure, an anchor to the soul. It is a dynamic of the faith. Romans 15:1 says, “For everything written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” Sometimes the circumstances are dire, and we wonder if there is any hope. It could be illness, surgeries, tests, job loss, and dark days, etc. But with God there is solid hope.

1 Corinthians 13 speaks of the greatness of faith, hope and love. Love is the greatest and faith can move mountains. Hope is also real, important and necessary.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” The passage not only defines faith, but it also defines hope.

Hope is important for us. We need anticipation for our lives and for the church. When Jesus burst forth from the cave-like tomb, He gave us hope. It makes a world of difference.

– Tim and David Johnson

Growing up in the Niagara peninsula, our house was surrounded by orchards of fruit trees and vast vineyards. The temperate climate and lots of water from two of the Great Lakes made it possible. Some of the most fertile land in the world is the result of water supplies available for irrigation.

The apostle John ended the New Testament with a description of “a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev.22:1). It’s a remarkable river because it feeds the tree of life on either side. These are trees with twelve kinds of fruit with a monthly crop! John says even the leaves are useful, for they heal disease.

We have to remember this is a vision and it’s found elsewhere in the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel 47:1-12 where the river’s water causes dry land to become fertile and salt water to become fresh. Joel 3:18 says that the source of this remarkable river is the house of the Lord. John is more precise and says it comes from God’s throne. And Zechariah says it will come from Jerusalem (14:8). If God is its source, no wonder the water is remarkable.

All of these visionary predictions aim to comfort God’s people who have been ravaged by enemies. God is saying He will help them recover and life will be much better, more secure and prosperous. Certainly, John’s description had the Roman threat in mind, but he also gives us a figurative echo of our eternal reward.

Our world presents us with many dangers and uncertainties, but God nourishes us like a river of life flowing down from His throne. Jesus said the to Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14).  

When life is hard, picture the river of the water of life. God is there for you.

– Tim Johnson

During WWI a sad letter arrived at my great-grandfather’s home in Manitoba. It was from army headquarters explaining that his son, Chris, was missing and presumed dead. Knowing that he had been training in Quebec and hospitalized with illness, his dad refused to believe the letter. In fact, he rode the train all the way to Quebec and found him in an army hospital. Sometime later Chis was sent home to a happy reunion with his family. All sadness was turned to joy.

This story, which has been handed down through the Johnson family, reminds me of the circumstances surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For a brief period of time after He rose, few seemed to believe it. When word reached the apostles from the women who had seen the empty tomb, “these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.” (Luke 24:11). But Peter and another disciple ran to the tomb and had a look for themselves. John says, “So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed.” (Jn.20:8). Some doubt persisted, but all believed when Jesus Himself appeared. One of the last holdouts was Thomas, to whom Jesus said, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here our hand and put it into my side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.” (Jn.20:27).

The disciples had their doubts at first, but their belief was tougher than we sometimes give them credit for. Two thousand years have gone by and millions still believe.

How about you? Be not unbelieving, but believe.

– Tim Johnson

This is the time of year that every gardener hates. All those beautiful flowers you enjoyed all summer are now drooping, discoloured, or dead. All of them have to be cut back or pulled out and sent to the landfill. Soon the snow will fly and cover up any trace of life. But the marvel of it is that after half a year of being buried, they’ll shoot right up again in the spring when there’s a hint of warmth. A few of them will even push right up through the last of the snow, anxious to grow.

This is God’s way with life. There are times when things seem very dark in our lives. We feel weighed down with troubles, poor health and hopelessness. For some people, all the things they once enjoyed are behind them and the future seems uncertain. But God has a way of reaching down and pulling us up again. Gloomy things become easier to handle. Suddenly weighty matters aren’t so bad. Faith in the God of life and light makes all the difference.

The apostle Paul explained he was “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal bodies.” (2 Cor.4:10-11). Life was hard for him, but he carried an optimistic, positive attitude based on his faith. This is God giving us life when darkness seems to surround us. “Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (verse 16)

And when this life is over, Jesus promises His people that He will raise them to something far better, and present us to God. “Knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you” (verse 14).

Plants and flowers will greet us in the spring. Do you understand?

– Tim Johnson

When we hear a title like that, we usually think of heaven, our ultimate place of reward. But there’s another place God has prepared for His people: the place of safety. John mentions it in Revelation 12:6, “And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for 1260 days.”

In Revelation’s way of presenting realities in figures, the woman represents the people of God, members of His church. Threatened by the devil, she flees to the place of safety and nourishment that God has provided – although temporarily, because her troubles will only be temporary. God is always watching out for His people, caring for them, protecting them, and sustaining them. This is not a literal place we can speed off to in our cars when we need it; it’s a spiritual place we can access anytime we are threatened or hassled. It is the loving care of God.

 We are living in dangerous times. Threats are thrown at us from foreign powers and homegrown terrorism bubbles up regularly. While distant governments rattle the economy, our own North American governments also upset people. The business world is worried because the stock market is once again having a merry plunge. And immorality seems to dominate the moral climate of our society. And the devil loves it all.

We don’t have to wring our hands in anxiety and fear. There have been worse times in the past and Christians have cruised right through them, although not without concern for others.

We must remember that the woman of Revelation 12 had a secure place to go where she was safe and cared for. We have that too. God’s caring hands are always present. Just as God reassured the Israelites, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever for sake you” (Quoted in Hebrews 13:5), so it is for us.

God has a place prepared for you today; have you been there?

– Tim Johnson