[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-picture-of-hope":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-picture-of-hope-surround":85},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":11,"columnName":68,"date":69,"description":17,"extension":70,"image":71,"meta":72,"minRead":73,"navigation":74,"path":75,"postType":76,"publication":77,"publicationUrl":71,"seo":78,"stem":79,"topics":80,"__hash__":84},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fa-picture-of-hope.md","A Picture of Hope",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10],"Proverbs","Revelation",{"type":12,"value":13,"toc":64},"minimark",[14,18,21,24,27,30,37,43,49,55,58,61],[15,16,17],"p",{},"Even if \"a picture is worth a thousand words,\" no artist could improve on the fascinating word pictures that appear in the Bible.",[15,19,20],{},"Ever sprain your ankle or endure a rough visit to the dentist's office? An unreliable friend, the Bible says, is \"like a bad tooth or a lame foot\" (Proverbs 25:19). Can you think of a better picture of a nagging, quarrelsome spouse than \"a constant dripping on a rainy day\" (Proverbs 27:15)? If you meddle in someone else's quarrel, you're likely to get hurt, \"like one who seizes a dog by the ears\" (Proverbs 26:17).",[15,22,23],{},"Some of Jesus' word pictures focused on the great outdoors: sowing seeds, harvesting grain, pruning grapevines, catching fish, raising sheep. Others came from the business world: merchants buying expensive pearls, landowners paying their workers, homebuilders constructing houses. Jesus even found spiritual insights in ordinary household tasks: a woman mixes yeast into her bread dough, a family gathers around the dinner table where a son asks his father for bread, a woman loses a coin and sweeps the house until she finds it.",[15,25,26],{},"But some of my favorite biblical word pictures appear in the closing pages of Scripture where the apostle John describes his vision of Heaven. There's a wedding supper. A river filled with crystal-clear water. A tree that yields fruit every month. City walls decorated with precious stones. A golden street illuminated by the brilliant glory of God. And 12 gates, each made of a single pearl. Even more marvelous, though, is the promise John heard thundering from the throne of God:",[15,28,29],{},"“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3, 4).",[15,31,32,36],{},[33,34,35],"em",{},"No more death."," No more terrible phone calls in the night telling parents that their son or daughter has been killed in a car crash. No more murders, suicides, and abortions. No more sleepless nights, waiting for a terminal disease to take its toll.",[15,38,39,42],{},[33,40,41],{},"No more mourning."," No more weeping widows and widowers spending holidays alone. No more visits to mortuaries and cemeteries. No more obituaries printed in the newspapers.",[15,44,45,48],{},[33,46,47],{},"No more crying","—because there will be nothing to be sad about. No more hurt feelings, broken dreams, or abusive families. No more bullies to prey on the weak; no more injustice, famine, and war.",[15,50,51,54],{},[33,52,53],{},"No more pain."," Gone will be the breathtaking pressure of a heart attack, the sickening ache of a migraine, the nauseating effects of chemotherapy, the burning sting of nerve damage. Gone will be the emotional pain of rejection, depression, and separation. The pains of earth will be forgotten, dissolved into everlasting praise for the One who bore our pain and our sin in his body on the cross.",[15,56,57],{},"Jesus says, \"Behold, I am coming soon!\" He will close the book on this old tired world, open the book of life for Judgment Day, and introduce his people to a new and better dwelling place. But before he comes for us, he wants us to come to him. \"Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life\" (Revelation 22:12, 17).",[15,59,60],{},"Hymn writer J. Wilbur Chapman painted the picture with beautiful words of his own:",[15,62,63],{},"Living, He loved me! dying, He saved me! Buried, He carried my sins far away! Rising, He justified freely, forever: One day He's coming—O glorious day!",{"title":65,"searchDepth":66,"depth":66,"links":67},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","2000-12-17","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-picture-of-hope","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":17},"articles\u002Fa-picture-of-hope",[81,82,83],"Biblical Theology","Intergenerational Ministry","Spiritual Formation","FA63wHkK6SKkVP8G-t62Hm13wXNbKYGIBxjb6zMGWPU",[86,91],{"title":87,"path":88,"stem":89,"description":90,"children":-1},"A Peek at the Devil’s Playbook","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-peek-at-the-devil-s-playbook","articles\u002Fa-peek-at-the-devil-s-playbook","It was a scandal that rocked Major League Baseball. The Houston Astros used a video camera in the center field seats to steal signs from opposing catchers, and players or team staffers banged on trash cans so the batter would know in advance what pitch to expect. Sign-stealing is a time-honored tradition in baseball, but doing so with electronic devices goes beyond what anyone considers fair. Opponents are easier to defeat if you know ahead of time what plays they plan to run.",{"title":92,"path":93,"stem":94,"description":95,"children":-1},"A Reason to Believe","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-reason-to-believe","articles\u002Fa-reason-to-believe","My friend Vinnie told me he didn’t believe in God."]