HOPE40 - Day 26 - He Is Who He Says He Is

Week 5: HOPE IN THE CROSS

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Do you believe that Jesus is who he says he is? In today's passage from John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the testimony that confirms His identity...the witness of John the Baptist, the works He performs, the testimony of the Father, and the Scriptures that point to Him. Yet despite all this, many refuse to believe. Their hearts are closed, their eyes blind to the truth standing before them.

Jesus’ challenges you to examine your own heart. Do you truly believe in Him, or do you seek validation elsewhere? Do you look to Him for hope, or do you let the world’s voices drown out His truth?

Hope in the cross is trusting and believing that Christ is who He says He is...that His sacrifice is enough, His love is real, and His promises are true.

The Pharisees searched the Scriptures, but they missed the One to whom all Scripture points. Do you go through the motions of faith without truly encountering Christ? The cross reminds us that hope is not found in mere knowledge, but in surrender. It is found in looking at Jesus crucified and choosing to believe that even in suffering, even in uncertainty, God is working for your good.

As this journey of Lent continues, you are invited to deepen your trust in Christ’s testimony. To hope in the cross means to place your confidence in the One who laid down His life for you. Believe that no suffering is wasted, no sacrifice is in vain, and no darkness can extinguish the light of His love.

When I Forget - By Amanda Cook - He Is Who He Says He Is

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus, You have given us every reason to believe in You; through the testimony of the Scriptures, the witness of the saints, and the sacrifice of the cross. Yet so often, I let doubt creep in. I seek reassurance in the things of this world rather than trusting fully in You. Strengthen my heart, Lord. Help me to surrender my fears and place my hope in Your cross, knowing that through it, You bring life, redemption, and victory. You are Who You say You are!

Amen

HOPE For Your Health - Uniting Sacrifice with Christ - My Story

Today, continue your 16 hour fast. See the Day 23 and 24 posts for more info and support if this is the first message you are reading.

I have a 25 year history with intermittent fasting and today I am sharing part of my journey:

It was the summer of 2005. I had just had my first colonoscopy at 34 years old and was waiting for results. (What led up to this moment will be shared at some point later.) I was standing in the blistering heat of a Walgreens parking lot, phone pressed to my ear, as the GI doctor’s office called. My one and a half year-old, all sweetness and curls, wiggled in her car seat as I tried to buckle her in while the other four kids climbed into their spots. My oldest son saw the look on my face and and took over buckling the little ones in and started the car to get the a/c flowing. I shut the car door and leaned against it to get my bearings. The sun was hot and relentless, but nothing felt as piercing as the words I heard next.

“You have Crohn’s disease.”

FYI...Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory condition that affects the digestive tract, causing pain, fatigue, malnutrition, and unpredictable digestive distress. The body essentially turns against itself, inflaming the intestines and making food feel like both a necessity and a threat.

I couldn't comprehend that these words were being spoken to me. I was no stranger to Crohn's and I knew that I did not want it. Crohn's runs in my family among men, so in my mind, it was not a possibility for me to get it. Maybe one of my 5 brothers, but not me. My uncle passed away at 36 years old in 1984 after complications related to Crohn's and my grandfather battled this brutal disease for years, passing away in 2002 at the age of 75 from complications of Crohn's. Was I going to be next?

After wrapping my brain around my diagnosis, I was relieved that all my issues were not just in my head. The good news was that I wasn’t dying, at least not in the immediate sense. But it felt like my world had shifted. I had spent months battling gut issues, desperate for answers, sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. The fear of food became real. I didn’t know what was nourishing me and what was hurting me. I shrank my diet down to the bare minimum: eggs, chicken, ground beef, peas, green beans, plain yogurt and tea.

Through it all, one thing became clear: my body didn’t want food first thing in the morning. I had never really been hungry for breakfast, but now I noticed something different. When I waited to eat until later in the morning, until my body felt ready, my symptoms were more manageable. Without realizing it, I was already practicing what I would later learn was intermittent fasting.

What started as survival would, in time, become something far greater...a way of healing, of renewal, of learning to listen to my body in a whole new way.

HOPE For Your Marriage: Perseverance in Trials

Marriage, too, requires faith in something greater than what you can see in the moment. There will be seasons where love feels easy and natural, but there will also be times when challenges arise, misunderstandings, disappointments, or wounds that make unity difficult. It is in these moments that hope in the cross becomes essential.

Just as Jesus continued His mission despite rejection, you are called to persevere in your marriage even when unity feels distant. The world may tell you to focus on yourself, to keep score, or to withdraw when you feel hurt. But the testimony of Christ teaches something different: true love lays itself down, even in suffering. Hope in the cross means believing that no trial is wasted, that God is present in your struggles, and that He can bring healing where we see only brokenness.

This scripture also reminds us that knowledge alone is not enough. The Pharisees had Scripture, but they missed the heart of its message. Likewise, you can know all the right things about marriage, but unless you allow God to soften your heart, to humble you, and to transform your love, you can miss the beauty of what He is building.

Challenge:

To go deeper, listen to Restore the Glory Podcast – Unity in Marriage (Part 2) and discuss it with your spouse. Pray together for the grace to see your marriage through the lens of the cross, a place not just of suffering, but of redemption and renewal.

Restore the Glory Podcast - Unity in Marriage - Part 2

This is Part 2 of a 3 part series on strengthening your marriage. If you missed Part 1, you can find it on the podcast website linked above or in yesterday's HOPE40 message.

EMERIL'S SOUTHWEST SEASONING

This simple recipe has been our go-to taco seasoning for at least 20 years! Looking at the ingredient list on a packet of taco seasoning those many years ago made me realize that I did not want some of those things in our bodies! Things like: corn starch, maltodextrin, rice concentrate, natural flavors, silicon dioxide, and sugar. No thank you! We have made our taco seasoning from scratch as needed since finding this recipe. I will at least quadruple the recipe right into my container and shake it up to mix. Looks like my little container could use a new label! ;)

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp dried oregano

INSTRUCTIONS

place all ingredients into a container with a good sealing lid and shake to mix. We use approx. 2 Tbsp of seasoning/pound of ground beef for tacos. This seasoning is also delicious on chicken, steak and roasted veggies, especially sweet potatoes.

Hope renders us capable of living in the promise without the fulfillment.

~Fr. John Nepil

from his podcast interview with Gotta Be Saints