Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Living Hope


Ephesians 2:11-12Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Hope is defined in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary as a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a scriptural sense. A well founded scriptural hope, is the source of ineffable happiness. The Christian indulges a hope, that his sins are pardoned.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.


It is a terrible thing to live without hope. Hopeless is defined by Webster’s as being destitute of hope; having no expectation of that which is desirable; despairing. Hopelessness gives no ground of hope or expectation of good; promising nothing desirable. I’ve read and seen that fallen natural mankind’s hopelessness settles about themselves. The hopeless God-rejecting world system seeks to rid God, God’s holy Word of the Bible, and public expression of faith causes the gloom to grow deeper in darkness, because they flee this depressing world of hopelessness to the world of escapism as a distraction from the root problem and the true solution. It’s just as King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.The pursuit of happiness  can lead us down distracting false rabbit trails of pleasure, partying, possession, power, position, prestige, porn, pomp, in people, places and things for self-satisfaction and contentment, but it is a bottomless pit and hopeless ... chasing after the wind.


Hebrews 10:23, 11:1 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

To the Christian, Hope is real in blessed assurance, by rock-solid faith, standing on the promises of God, based upon the objective standard of the Word of God in His Plan of Salvation though the gospel truth. Through Jesus Christ, we have been born again unto a “living” hope, the undoubting hope that we shall live with Him forever in Heaven. It is a sure hope that we have been made eternal sons and daughters of God. We have been made eternal beings stating now, because our sins have been forgiven, our relation with God has been reconciled, our spirit has been regenerated, the Holy spirit indwells our heart and we are citizens of the kingdom of Heaven. We have a hope that is never-ending. The only real hope in this world is the hope of His calling, and His calling is one that has called us to union with Jesus Christ. If our hope is built on anything other than Christ – His blood and His righteousness – then your hope is a vain illusion and one day it will perish with us in eternal hopelessness. But to those who have put their truth in God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), they have a glorious hope; an everlasting and never-ending hope because the Lord is our hope and our happiness. It’s only called hope because it has not come to pass … yet. The eternal perspective is that living hope.

1 Corinthians 13:13  “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.” 



In Christ, Brian

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