Hope!
What an incredible word.
For many of us, we could use some hope right now. Yes, gratefully the COVID-19 numbers are flattening out in the United States, yet almost all of us remain under some type of social quarantine. Millions continue to lose their jobs each week. No one can really say what is next.
Hope.
What kind of hope do we have?
Resurrection Hope
In my opinion, one of the greatest benefits from the Resurrection of Christ is hope. Consider these two passages from the Apostle Paul:
5 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. (Romans 5:5)
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
Hope does not disappoint. We are called to walk in our new life in Christ since we have a relationship with Jesus. What God calls us to do, He certainly enables us to do.
He says, “Hope does not disappoint.” In other words, we can count on this. In fact, the term hope in the Bible functions differently than the way we often use it in modern English. We often refer to it as a wish or preference. We have hopes about the weather and hopes about circumstances. On the contrary, biblical hope refers to a certainty of something that has yet to be fulfilled. In the Bible, although something has not happened yet, make no mistake about it, you can be certain that it will. Biblical hope.
Hope for What?
What kind of hope does God provide us through the Resurrection? Let me suggest a few…
- Hope of eternal life
- Hope of forgiveness
- Hope of Resurrection power
- Hope of a changed life
Today, my friend, you have hope in Christ. Now, in gratitude and courage, go tackle your day.
If you missed your service this past weekend, here’s a link to my message from Sunday:
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