Troubling times
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Lord is good.
He protects those who trust him
in times of trouble. ~ Nahum 1:7 (CEV)
We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8 (NCV)
KEY IDEA:
The Lord is our hope during troubling times.
PRAYER:
You, Lord, are my only hope -- especially during the troubling times that I am enduring. I confess that I too often allow despair to find a place in my life. So I need help in staying focused on the hope you give. I'm going to keep my eyes on you for you are my hope during troubling times. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
NRSVue = New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (© 2021 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.) NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)
REB = Revised English Bible (© 1989 Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press) TCEB = The Casual English Bible (© Stephen M. Miller)