Power, Hope, and Forgiveness | Discipleship Prayer Day 30

Hope and Power

God wanted to make the glorious riches of this secret plan known among the Gentiles, which is Christ living in you, the hope of glory. This is what we preach as we warn and teach every person with all wisdom so that we might present each one mature in Christ. I work hard and struggle for this goal with his energy, which works in me powerfully. (Colossians 1:27–29)

Our hope is built on nothing less than Christ, living in us, and we in Christ. In Christ is our hope for doxa — a brightness being that radiates from God’s presence and empowers us to live meaningful, missional, Christlike lives. As we ourselves are maturing in Christ, we also walk with others (by energetic power of Christ) for the purpose of seeing this same hope-filled doxa growing in them.

Forgiveness and Hope

I cry out to you from the depths, LORD- my Lord, listen to my voice! Let your ears pay close attention to my request for mercy! If you kept track of sins, LORD- my Lord, who would stand a chance? But forgiveness is with you- that’s why you are honored. and I wait for God’s promise. ― Psalm 130:1–5

At the deepest depths of despair, when we are unable to stand any longer under the weight of our sin…the LORD hears…the LORD pays attentions…and the LORD forgives. Our response to God’s forgiveness is to qawa (wait) and yahal (hope) — we hope, we wait, we trust, we depend on, and we patiently look for that which God has promised to those who hope in the LORD.

Power and Forgiveness

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ― Colossians 1:13–14

Those who put their hope in Christ have been forgiven, rescued from the power of sin and darkness by the power of God. They have been brought into the kingdom of Christ, where there is light, life, and love. God’s kingdom is a kingdom of grace that:

• calls out to us before we can make any move toward the Father;
• forgives, saves, cleanses, sets free, and sanctifies as we cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives;
• empowers and equips us to live increasingly Christlike lives, sustaining us through every situation we face.

Let your kingdom come; you kingdom of hope, forgiveness, and power.

2022 is bringing lots of changes to the Fairbanks family and to the Do Everything In Love Community substack. We’ll be sharing some of those with you in the weeks ahead. For now, let me take a moment to thank several of you who have become paid subscribers over the past couple of weeks. Thank you! Please comment, like, and share posts and stories! Please help keep the Do Everything In Love Community substack moving forward by subscribing, moving up to a paid subscription, gifting a subscription to someone you love, or donating at any time. Thank you so much! Give a gift subscription Share Do Everything in Love Community

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S.E. Fairbanks is the founder of Do Everything In Love Community, and author of Beautiful Grace: The Heart of Transformation (written under a pseudonym) and the Beauty of Small Things. He is a cross-cultural educator, ordained minister, and fan of the Portland Trailblazers who loves spending time writing, photography, singing, and spending time with his wife and three children.

Image credit: S.E. Fairbanks

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