A Weekly Word from your Pastor
Today’s word is hope. The first thing I want to say is that the word hope in the Bible is used very differently than when we use it today. When we use hope today it is more of a longing something that we are not sure about. We say, “We hope it doesn’t rain.” Yet we really do not have any idea whether it will rain or not because the weather man said there was a 50% chance. We say, “We hope we don’t get sick.” Yet we really do not know whether we have been infected or not. And if we get infected just how sick we will be. To hope today is so much different than when the Biblical writers used the word. Let’s look at the difference.
Let’s look at Paul discourse in Romans 5. It says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Paul’s hope was something to seek. A hope that was a sure thing. A hope that one could place his full assurance in. Paul’s hope wasn’t a guess or a wish. It was something that one could depend on. The reason was that it was based on God and not the world.
The writer of Hebrews also speaks of a hope that is guaranteed. Hear these words, “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” He refers to this “hope” as an anchor. An anchor holds and is not movable. The hope we have in Jesus is something that is not movable. It does not sway and move as the wind blows. Jesus is steadfast in all that He says and all that He has promised. We need to have hope in Him.
So I encourage you to have hope. The hope that we find in the realization that what Jesus has taught us is true. That what the Bible tells us is dependable. We do not need to listen to the voices of this world we need to listen to the Spirit that lives inside of us and let it speak. My desire for all of us is to find the hope of God in everyday life.
Dear Jesus, help us each and every one find our hope in you and you alone. Help us to circumvent the voices of the world and media. Help us to fill our time and energy with your words and your promises. In this we have hope and that is enough. In Christ name we pray, Amen.
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