A Living Hope

Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3 AMPC

The definitions of the word Hope are, 1) a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen and 2) to expect with confidence. I prefer the last definition, that is to expect with confidence. This signifies to me that one has the confidence that what they hope for will happen. There is no room for doubt, for ifs for buts or for maybe. It says, I am sure; I am guaranteed it will happen.

There are many who talk about having hope. The question is what are they hoping for? What or who is their hope found in? We know that to trust in or put your hope, confidence in mankind is taking a risk, it’s a chance, there are no guarantees. There can be disappointments. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man, Psalm 118:8 KJV. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us, 2 Corinthians 1:20KJV.

As sinners, we had no hope beyond the grave. There was nothing ahead for us but the certainty of death, then the judgment and eternal condemnation. But praise be to God the Father who saw it fit, by His boundless mercies to send His only Begotten Son to die for us, so that we can be born again and have an ever-living hope. That living hope is eternal life that only comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It does not end with having a living hope, but we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us. It is pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay, vs. 5.

This priceless inheritance is all the good things that God has prepared for us. God is keeping those things in heaven for us. God is using his great power to keep us safe, because we trust him. He will continue to keep you safe until the last day, when Christ will return. Then you will know that God has saved you completely from sin and from death, vs. 5 EASY.

Give Thanks IN Everything

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

What does it really mean when the bible says, ‘In everything give thanks’? Many would ask the question, ‘How do we give thanks in everything’? Does everything also include the bad things that we experience? Let’s take a closer look at this scripture.

It is easy when everything is going well for us to offer thanksgiving to the Lord. But how do we react or what is our attitude when things are not going the way we would like? In all honesty, when things are not working the way, we would like or did not turn out the way we anticipated, we become upset, angry and sometimes we want to or do take matters in our own hands. Some even get angry with God and may even blame Him. Giving thanks is usually not the first words from our lips.

Let’s look at the life of Job. Scripture says Job was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. Wow! One would think that with these character traits God will protect Job and nothing bad would happen to him, which indeed was the case. In a conversation with God. Satan said to God; Job has good reason to fear Him. “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

God gave Satan permission to test Job and Job lost everything. The amazing part about all of this is Job’s response. Let’s look at Job 1:20-22, Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. Job was grieved, but he worshipped God. Job realized all that he had, came from God and now that he lost it all, he still chose to praise the name of the Lord. Job was grateful for what he had; even though he lost it all. Job acknowledged God’s sovereign authority over everything God had given him.

Can we find it within ourselves to give thanks when things do not work out the way we would like? When something happens or does not happen, let’s give God thanks. The scripture continues by saying, it is the will of God concerning us. God wants us to give thanks at all times, whether things are good or bad. As we are coming to the end of 2024, let’s give thanks to God, whether we gained or we lost some things or people, for this God’s will. Give thanks!

God Is Bigger Than Our Insecurities

“I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me.” – Phil 4:13 AMPC

Paul shares with us the key to his amazing success in life. “I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me {I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency}”.

There is a syndrome called “failure to launch.” It's experienced by people who feel insecure about their future. They never seem to get to the place in life where they feel ready, so they miss out on opportunities. Life says, “Ready or not, here I come.” Now, life's inevitability doesn't mean that preparation is trivial; It's important. But feeling ready is very overvalued.

We are called to walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). When God brought the Israelites into the Promised land, He told them to step into the Jordan River first; THEN, He parted the water. If they had waited for evidence first, they would be waiting on the bank still. Faith grows when God says go and you say yes. The truth is, you don't realize what you can do until you do it. “Ready” happens quicker if you're already moving. If you wait to move until you're completely ready, you will wait until you die.

Jesus doesn't tell us, “Go, you're ready.” He tells us, “Go. I'll go with you”. You will grow as you “go”. You will develop as you “do”. Here's the key: The thing that makes you “ready for anything and equal to anything” is “Him Who infuses inner strength” into you. God designed it that way because He wants you to depend on Him.