Oswald Chambers: Hope - A Holy Promise Sample

It is a snare to continually think about defects. Imagine anyone who has seen himself in the light of Jesus Christ thinking of his defects! Why we are too filthy for words, and to be concerned because of the spots upon us is absurd. Leave the whole miserable thing alone; we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God, and there are no specks in God.

The background of God’s forgiveness is holiness. If God were not holy there would be nothing in His forgiveness. There is no such thing as God overlooking sin; therefore if God forgives there must be a reason that justifies His doing so. In forgiving a man, God gives him the heredity of His own Son—He turns him into the standard of the Forgiver. Forgiveness is a revelation—hope for the hopeless; that is the message of the Gospel.

Reflection Questions: In what ways do my faults and failures stunt the growth of my hope? What reason do I have for hope if I refuse to grant or accept forgiveness?

Quotations taken from Not Knowing Where and The Shadow of an Agony, © Discovery House Publishers