Bethany Community of Hope
How cool is that, a community that is full of hope, committed to
sharing hope. In a world where people are hurting and often feel lost
hope is a hot commodity.
So what is hope? Often when people speak of hope they are speaking of
an optimistic expectation or a wish. We say things like, “I hope my
boss likes my presentation” or “I hope I win that cruise.” That’s not
the kind of hope we’re talking about here. We’re not talking about empty
wishes or shallow optimism. The kind of hope that we’re talking about
is a sense of confident expectation based on solid certainty. So Bethany
Community of Hope is a community that possesses an expectation built on
a firm foundation. What is that expectation, and what is the foundation
that it’s based on? As a Christian my answer to those questions is a
simple one: Jesus.
God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts I have for you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Now
that just blows my mind, God’s thoughts for me and for you are of
peace, to give us a future and a hope. God wishes for us to have peace, a
future, and hope. He gave us those things through His son Jesus Christ.
Christ’s life and death on the cross gives us hope, a confident
expectation, because it allows us a chance to have access to and a
relationship with God the Father.
While Jesus provides us the confident expectation He also provides
the foundation, the very cornerstone of the foundation. God tells us in
Isaiah 28:16 Behold I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried and true stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Mathew 21:42 tells us that Christ is that cornerstone. He is the chief cornerstone.
Our hope is to share God’s Hope with you. A hope based on the firm foundation of Christ.
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness,
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly trust in Jesus’ name.”
Cornerstone by Hillsong
In Christ’s name,
Amanda
What's in a Name?
I love origins of names--people's names, names of towns, countries, historical places. It is so interesting to me that a name can contain so much information, especially if it the name of a place given in the Bible. Hebrew is a fascinating language and has so many layers of meanings even in the simplest of words. When we began our Bethany Community of Hope, I decided to do a word study on the name, Bethany. I knew a little about it--Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived there and Jesus ascended from there. But I was in for a surprise when I studied the Hebraic roots of the name, Bethany.
Bethany is probably Beit Anyah, or "house of affliction." Many historical authorities believe it was a place for caring for the poor, perhaps similar to a "hospital" or "almshouse". Temple rules disallowed the sick to be cared for within a three mile or so radius, so Bethany fit the bill as it is about 2 miles from the city of Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. It was also used as a stopping off place for those traveling who were sick and destitute. The compilation of the Hebrew letters to form Bethany actually means, "house of affliction where God has intervened."
Jesus was not offended or put off by the sick, destitute, poor, or afflicted, so he found himself at home at Bethany in the company of his good friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Luke tells us the story of Jesus spending his last week on this earth in Bethany. Our Bethany Community of women pray, worship, and welcome the presence of the living Lord Jesus. We do not turn away those who are afflicted or sick. Our main objective is to obtain a house for women coming from sex trafficking, prostitution, drug addiction, or the prison system. When we named our group Bethany, we were unaware of the meaning of it. But truly, we are offering a place of refuge for women who have lost their way and have become destitute--in body, soul, and spirit. We invite them to come and sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from him as Mary did. We desire that they may say one day, "We have chosen the good part" (Luke 10:42). And Jesus goes on to say, "it will not be taken away from her."
Sherry Poe
