Forged Hope (Paperback)
A quote from the Forward written by Pastor Ken Hale.
After reading Forgotten Hope, the first book in this series – and by the way, if you haven’t read it, you really should – I realized Scott was not just another author wanting to give you his view of the subject. He wants those who read and study the topic of Hope to be well versed in the proclamation of such an important topic for today’s world and in the Church.
To look up what “forged” means, I used the Merriam-Webster Dic-tionary. It describes forged as: “formed by pressing or hammer-ing…especially: made into a desired shape by heating and hammering.” Another definition of the word “forged” is: “made falsely especially with intent to deceive,” as in a forged document. Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot of this type of counterfeit forging in the churches today. Many seek the value of the end result but are unwilling to endure the process necessary to achieve the genuine product. The antonyms for this latter definition are “authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, unfaked.” So, we see that true Forged Hope is being formed by pressing or being authentic, genuine, real, or un¬faked. I say this because Forged Hope is what is needed in God’s Kingdom Church today. We need Men of God proclaiming the authentic, genuine, and real Hope of what the Scripture gives us. The author has done this in a way that will no doubt show us how to have that Forged Hope.
On a personal note, Scott Caughel has become a real friend to this pastor. He and I can sit for hours and do nothing but discuss the riches of God’s wonderful manuscript. We also share the belief that the pulpits in the Church today need preachers to get back to forging the true Hope, and that being that Jesus is, “…the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through (Him).” (John 14:6)
A quote from the close of chapter 1.
Jesus is the bringing together of the Heart of God (leb, the Spirit) and the Heart of man (nephesh, the Living Being) into One Entire Being. It is this Entire Being who walked, talked, ate, and prayed with man. It is this Entire Being who was persecuted, prosecuted, and tortured on my behalf… and yours. It is this Entire Being who carried our cross, our burdens, our sins to the hill. It is this Entire Being who was suspended from that cross with iron through His wrists and feet. It is this Entire Being who hung there taking ridicule, spit, and a sword that was meant for me… and for you. It is this Entire Being who died in full view of God and humanity to pay my debt… and yours. It is also this Entire Being who defied death, Hades, and the Adversary himself. This man called Christ, named Jesus, with His Entire Being rose to sit (present tense) at the right hand of God to plead my case… and yours that we might be given The Offer of Hope.
This brings me to a question for the modern-day Pharisees, those who “know.” If Christ did all of this on our behalf with His Entire Being, why would He accept anything less than our Entire Being in return???
