Christ is our only hope: Urame

The National Faith

OUR relationship with God should not be determined by seasons or human plans, for in times of stress and despair, Christ is our only hope, says Reverend Jack Urame.
During worship last month in Port Moresby, the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (PNG), reminded members of the congregation to trust God and have hope in the one who created heaven and earth because he cared for us daily. “Jesus sits with us and speaks to us saying, ‘do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God and trust also in me’,” Urame said.
“Jesus comes to us and offers us words of comfort of strength and of guidance.”
While preaching of loss and the grief, his message was to find strength in God to heal our sorrows, to find comfort in God to heal our challenges, to find hope and solace in God through our tears and pain. “When we get sick or lose a loved one, we are reminded of the fragility of our own life in this world and as Christians, God’s praise is crucial to us in times of crisis like this,” he said.
Reading from the Book of 2 Corinthians and the words of Paul the Apostle, Urame stated that the foundation of our faith was laid firmly in the Lord and that because of him, we lived today and beside him.
“Praise be to God and father of Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all that he covers so that we can comfort those who are having trouble from the comfort we ourselves have received from him,” he said.
“We are reminded to be closer to God because of the fragility of life and seek his forgiveness and reconciliation, whilst also seeking renewal, comfort and strength.
“No matter how important or unimportant we are, how powerful or weak we are, how arrogant or irrelevant we are, God comes to us all on the basis of his unconditional praise.
“If we encounter sickness or if we are healthy, we are told to trust God, if we suffer pain or enjoy pleasure, we are told to trust God, if we face a crisis or if good times come our way, we are told to trust God.”