August 2015 Partner Letter

Dear Partner,

There was a popular song several years ago, which said “All You Need Is Love”.  That’s a nice sentiment, but the Word of God tells us there are, in fact, three things that endure:  Faith, Hope, and Love. (1 Cor. 13:13).

The writer of Hebrews says this: “Now we have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil.” (Heb. 6:19)

The anchor refers to the hope generated by faith in the Gospel.  It causes the believer to stand firm in face of calamities, storms, and temptation.  An anchor is a heavy weight that is attached to a rope or chain and dropped overboard to keep a ship from moving with the current.  The iron hook takes hold of the rocks and prevents a shipwreck; a vessel that is not securely anchored does not have much ‘hope’ of riding out a violent storm.

Admiral Jim Stockdale was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer held captive in the infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ POW facility during the Vietnam War.  He was tortured over 20 times during his eight-year imprisonment from 1965 to 1973.  When asked how he dealt with the despair and hopelessness that could have overtaken him as weeks and months turned into years of captivity, he said,  “I never lost faith in the end of the story.  I never doubted – not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end.”  In answer to why he made it out and others did not, he replied:

…”You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Where there is faith, you will always find hope.  Hope ‘anchors’ you to faith, and faith gives you the ability to continue, no matter the difficulty.  The storms of life and challenges will come, but no matter how difficult life may seem, our hope in God keeps us steadfast!

Paul said it this way in Philippians 1:6: “…He who began a good work in you will continue it …and bring it to full completion.”

What wonderful news!  What God has begun, He will continue to do! In other words, if God has done it before, He will to do it again!

Thank you, dear partner, for all that you do to help give real hope to the world – the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We love you and are truly honored to serve together in the work of God.  Glory!

In His Service,
Cindy, Lois and Ray