Do You Have Hope? I Do

 

"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." 

 (1 Thessalonians 4:13) 

I would not be able to deal with the problems of the present, if I didn't have a bright hope for the future. 

We are now recovering from a severe pandemic. We are slowly coming out of a dark time, into a brighter time. There have been so many who have died (or as the apostle Paul says) here in our text:"have fallen asleep." We sorrow because of the many lost relationships, because of death. But Paul says: "I don't want you to be ignorant brethren." 

In other words, I don't want you to miss placing your faith in the one who holds tomorrow in His hands; and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In Him, I have hope, do you? Do you have hope in Jesus Christ? 

For many who are just living for today, and have no regard for a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, a great eternal disappointment awaits them. 

Do we really want to "sorrow as others who have no hope?" Instead of being a people of ignorance, we need to be a people of faith. To say to the world, and all that it offers, as the old hymn says: "I'd Rather Have Jesus" and place my life entirely in His hands, today, and forever. GP 

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A Promise In A Pandemic

 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

The vaccines are coming to hopefully bring relief to our worn down world. The year 2020 is going to be remembered as a year of much sickness, death, and devastation. One would ask the question: How can we celebrate Christmas, when we have experienced so much loss? 

In this world, God did not promise us that life would be a bed of roses. Jesus said in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 

The most precious gift we can have, was given to us, when God gave His Son to be our Savior. To save us from sin, and eternal death. If one dies with a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, that person, will never die, but have the precious gift of eternal life. 

What the world dished out this last year, was so destructive. A pandemic that took so many lives, and changed many lives for a lifetime.

We should know that the world cannot guarantee a safe, and happy life, Neither can the world promise us a bright future. But no matter what the world sends our way, having Jesus Christ as our Savior, and Shepherd, is the best security we can have. With Jesus Christ, we have His eternal presence and provisions. 

Yes, the vaccines are bringing us hope. But Having Jesus as our Savior, will bring us hope now, and for all eternity. There is nothing that is better than that! 

Have you accepted Him as Savior today? GP 

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A Living Hope (A Tribute To My Mother)

As I write this, it has been two days since my mother's funeral. A very sad day for me, but not one of discouragement. I know that my mother is experiencing the hope that she claimed, and looked forward to.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5) 

I know that in the midst of my mother's trying times, she clung to this "living hope" that all of us as Christians have. I want to ask you, if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, and have you been baptized into Him, so you can have this "living hope" as well. Jesus is very much alive today, and lives to minister to us, as we journey to our eternal home.

Wednesday I stood with my family at the grave-site of my mother.
We saw all that was physical, all that was temporary. But in our hearts, we saw (through the eyes of faith) one who has left this world with it's blessings and burdens. My mother had flown to that eternal world, where the burdens of this life no longer exist. Instead of hope, she is experiencing the reality of that eternal peace, and joy contained in this hope Jesus spoke about. I just thank God so much for this precious hope.

My mother loved to sing. Together we sang the hymns, and Gospel songs that spoke of this eternal hope. For mom now, she is singing (not songs of hope) but songs of praise and thanksgiving.

Good-bye for now mom! I love you! Enjoy your new eternal home.
I look forward to joining you, when God calls me home! GP

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Silent Hope

"And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You." (Psalm 39:7) 

No matter what the need is, we are to patiently and quietly, wait upon the Lord. In David's case, he had sinned, and he needed God's forgiveness.

Yes, there are those times when we need to bring our petitions to the Lord. But there are those times, when we must be silent before the Lord, and wait in our hopefulness.

We know in our hearts, that God knows what we need. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Sometimes I think that I treat God like He is a know-nothing being. In my times of distress, I feel as if, God does not understand what my needs are, or that He has forgotten me, and my trouble. Both are not the case. David was silent before the Lord, because He knew that He needed to stand in God's grace, and receive God's forgiveness and healing.

There are those times when my wife and I will sit in the same room, and just be silent. Nothing needs to be said, because both of us understand one another so well, and we both know what our needs are. There are times when it is good to be quiet together. We wait together, and together we hope in the Lord. GP

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Identifying Our Source Of Light

"For with you is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light." (Psalm 36:9) 

Laurie Beth Jones has written a book entitled: "Jesus Life Coach." One of the chapters is entitled: "Identify Your Source Of Light." She writes: "I have found that anytime I am having a problem, or when I coach people through their own personal obstacle courses, one of the first things that needs to be discerned is where the light is coming from." 

As an eBay marketer, I deal with light all the time, as I take photos of the items I am selling. Yes, I have to see where the light is coming from, to get the best image I can.

 In the midst of the darkness brought about by our trouble and despair, we need to find a light that will lead us to hope and victory. A light that will guide us, as we travel this darkened path. "Again therefore Jesus spoke to them saying: "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12) 

I have been told that someone who is in a deep dark depression, didn't just get to that state of mind overnight. It took some time to get under the umbrella of this deep despair; and it will take time to travel back out, if they can see a light of hope, they can follow.

That light is non other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Through His Word, His presence, and His providence, we will find our way to peace, and joy everlasting, even in the midst of trial.

I don't know what you are dealing with today. But I hope that in whatever it is, you will truly look, and identify your source of light.
It is there for everyone, if they will truly desire to turn to Jesus, for their life's journey. GP

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God Gives Hope

"God will help you overflow with hope in Him through the Holy Spirit's power within you." (Romans 15:13 TLB) 

 I want to share a devotion from Max Lucado's devotional book "Grace For The Moment" Volume II entitled: "God Gives Hope"

 "Heaven's hope does for your world what the sunlight did for my grandmother's cellar. I ow my love of peach preserves to her. She canned her own and stored them in an underground cellar near her West Texas house. It was a deep hole with wooden steps, plywood walls, and a musty smell. As a youngster I used to climb in, close the door, and see how long I could last in the darkness...I would sit silently, listening to my breath and heartbeats, until I couldn't take it anymore and then would race yo the stairs and throw open the door. Light would avalanche into the cellar. What a change! Moments before I couldn't see anything--all of a sudden I could see everything. Just as light poured into the cellar, God's hope pours into your world. Upon the sick, He shines the ray of healing. To the bereaved, He gives the promise of reunion.
To the confused, He offers the light of Scripture."

 GP Today if you feel like you are in a cellar of distress and despair, realize today, that in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have hope. In no other one can we find, and keep the hope that He provides...today, and forever! GP

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