Day 29 — Compelling Hope

1 Peter 3:13-16

13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way

If you’ve been around Gas Street for a while you know we want to be a people who gather and scatter. We gather to worship and then scatter around the city bringing the light and love of Jesus to our homes and places of work/study. 

The scattering of believers is not a new phenomenon. Many times throughout history tragedy has struck God’s people, scattering them across the globe. Peter begins his letter by addressing the persecuted believers who are scattered across modern day Turkey, many of whom were hiding in caves! Even in the face of trouble and suffering, hope was their witness. Not necessarily their ability to grin and bear it. Not because they slapped on a happy christian smile as if nothing was wrong. But because they hoped. Their eyes were fixed on a different horizon. An eternal horizon when Christ returns and brings salvation. This gave them strength in the face of trouble. The onlooking world found it confusing and made them ask where this hope came from.  

We have faced our own kind of scattering. Many of the students I work with are now dispersed back to their homes across the UK and beyond. Just like those early believers we are clinging onto an eternal hope and our eyes look to a different horizon. Not the horizon of the next review of lockdown restrictions. But the hope of being with Jesus now and for eternity when he shall wipe every tear from our eyes.  

Think about this hope, let the joy of it rise in your heart. Show your world what this hope looks like in the face of COVID-19. And be ready to explain it. Pray right there and then with your friends knowing Jesus is with you. Start an Alpha with your mates. Send a link to church online. This is not simply an invitation to church, it's an invitation to hope. 

Prayer: Jesus, I thank you that one day you will wipe every tear from my eye. Let this bring hope to my heart and give me the words to explain my hope to others.

Tim Muller
Leadership Team