Giving the Hope of Jesus

Dear Friends:

It has been said that “hope is the oxygen of the soul.” Hope provides us with desired outcomes for which we are willing to scale mountains and swim oceans to obtain. Hope brings energy and enthusiasm. Hope becomes a rallying point that unites individuals for a common cause. Synonyms of hope are words like wish, dream, plan, optimism, brightness, and cheerfulness.

The opposites of hope are words like pessimism, skepticism, apprehension, anxiety, and despair. The unheralded truth of life is that the chances of you experiencing a soul-crushing and debilitating season is far more likely that scooting through life unscathed. Life happens. You will be knocked down, betrayed, and hurt. You will experience the consequences of your actions and behaviors.

Being in a state of hopelessness is akin to being in bondage or being imprisoned with no vision of release. We all experience seasons of financial difficulties, fractures in relationships, feelings of being stuck in a dead-end job, and severe health issues with no immediate pathway to wholeness. The questions become “how will we respond?” and “to whom will we turn for help?”

People around the world go online searching desperately for a means to avoid the pain, reduce the pain, numb the pain, and bring relief from the pain. The problem is that whatever they try may bring temporary relief but it lacks long-term effectiveness and might eventually accentuate the problem. Some people turn to alcohol, pornography, and extramarital affairs. Some bury themselves in their work while others play hard until they drop. All of this is with the intent of trying to manage their hearts in a season of hopelessness.

 We know that the answer that people around the world need is Jesus. Jesus Christ alone brings healing, wholeness, and transformation. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus brings hope. Hope that He is listening. Hope that He cares. Hope that He will walk with you through your season of hopelessness and that there is a vision of a better tomorrow.

 Network211 exists to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to a world in desperate need. Here are two examples of individuals who went online to see if anyone in the vastness of the Internet could provide them with hope.

• A man from Peru wrote, “I am a very sinful person. I try to get closer to God, but I feel that I have no value. I am a homosexual person, but I am bored with the sinful life that I lead. I can no longer go on with this empty life that I lead.” We shared with this man that there is hope. In Jesus, he will find forgiveness, value, purpose, and meaning.
• A woman from the Netherlands wrote, “Father, I feel so alone and therefore I talk to psychics because I can call them. I don’t know what to do because it is an addiction and wants it to stop so badly because it affects my life, Please help me. Help me to be able to stop and please take away the effects it has had on my life. Please, I am so so sorry, forgive me. Help me out of this vicious circle. I felt so alone last night. Help me, please. I want to feel close to You again like I used to.” We shared with this woman that Jesus sets the captive free. She will need no longer to be trapped in a vicious cycle. A life that follows Jesus will find freedom and wholeness. We will journey with her online and direct her to a local church where she can belong to a church family and be supported.

Thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support of Network211. As people search the Internet for answers, we stand in partnership online to give them the hope of Jesus Christ. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved,” (Acts 4:12).

Please visit www.Network211.com/give today and join us in giving the hope of Jesus to others via the Internet. Together we can connect individuals with the Savior and see lives transformed.

Blessings,

Mark

Dr. Mark Flattery

Network211 President