Do you have Hope today?

Hope, these 4 letters can make or break us. Those who have no hope, have no zeal for life. Those who have hope, are filled with a consuming fire for life, that encompasses their very being.

We look around today and the majority of people in the world, are lost without hope they do not know where hope is, what hope looks like, they know no hope. Not only are they dying without hope, they are existing without hope also.

But when you look at the child of God, you see hope deep in our souls, through our eyes. It is a consuming fire within, we know where our hope is, it is found in the person and Lordship of our Savior Jesus Christ, it is in Him we find the meaning of Hope, of Life, and of Eternal Love we can face each day, because we know the one who holds it, we don't die we just leave one place and go to another, and greater yet we live each day with the power of Jesus Christ in us, and He has conquered sin and death, and they have no power over us.

One of my favorite hymns is On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

In God's word we find hope, the Bible is filled with hope from beginning to end. In the Garden of Eden man lost hope when we sinned against God, and in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus gave us hope again as He gave up His life so we could live.You see God loves man so much He became flesh so He could give hope to mankind through Jesus Christ.

Paul writes in Romans 8: 18-26 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3: 19-27 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

If you have this hope, this love this promise you cannot keep it too yourself, we must share that Hope we have with others, our hope can not be silenced, our hope resignates through out eternity and demands to be shared, Jesus says that if we are silent, the very rocks will cry out!

 When is the last time you shared your hope within anyone?

Romans 15:1-7 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Hebrews 10: 19-25 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Is your Hope real? Are you living as you are called? Are you living a victorious life, no matter what comes your way?

If you do not have hope, I urge you to get in contact with me or a Pastor that teaches the word of God, if your trying to find hope outside of Jesus Christ or His word you will never find it. You may find a momentary minute of hope, but eternal hope does not exist without Jesus.

 If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then the hope that is in you should stir your soul, and inspire you to reach others with the joy you have, everyday more and more people slip into eternity without hope, don't let them slip away without knowing the hope of Glory, Christ in you.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17 
In Christ
brian

Where is your Hope?

There is a common ground on which all walk, that is life itself. From conception to the end, life’s paths are a constant act of perpetual motion. We may seem like and say we go three steps forward and two steps back, but we are in a forward motion, heading towards end times. Ours or The End of Time, we do not know.

I stood at a brother’s showing today, I watch people, and take mental notes on how they act and move about, and carry themselves in general. Not for judgmental purposes, but I like observing how people are, I do like studying the human condition.

My friend and brother took a path I don’t understand, but God does He took his life, left behind young children, a Dad and Mom, that loved him, along with the rest of his family. The parking lot was full, the guest register was filling up fast and people huddled together to watch pictures of his life. His mom said, that he always told her he had no friends.

But there they where, coming to give condolences, reminisce about the good times.

Christians and Non-Christians that would talk about their friendship with him. He was a young man, who fought with demons from mistakes, mistakes we all make. But he could not shake them, they dogged him and eventually won the battle for his mind, but they lost the war for his soul. He had given his life just recently to the Lord, and was searching for answers, answers that only God could give him, and hope only God could give him, some answers God allowed us to share, and we got to see the heart of a child beating in a young man.

Life is to short as it is, it seems to end so quickly. Our decisions we make have huge impacts, we can’t think our decisions won’t effect others. Every decisions will effect someone. Some of those eternally, we need to make the right choices daily. As I looked at his friends, I say in their faces, a lack of hope, a despair that is seen in the eyes of a lost world, no future, just gloom and doom because they have no hope for what the future holds. But we do, our hope is in Christ. He is foolishness to them.

1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18 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. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The world does not have a promise of our tomorrow. The world cry’s out love you brotha, but does that mean anything to someone who does not know what love is? The world cry’s out this one for you man, he would have enjoyed that. Because the world has no point of separation from our old selves, when we choose to stay where we are, We need to live that hope, our hearts should cry out and share this hope. We Do have that hope, His name is Jesus Christ. We need to introduce Him to everyone we meet, in the way we live our lives.

Romans 12:1-5 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

God’s word is filled with broken men, and women who have struggles. Struggles that some of us may never know, but struggles that others know very well. But are all known to God. We face some of these by choice, because of our lack of belief, or faith in Christ and the Word of God. We face others because they are consequences for our choices.

We all have doubts, worries, concerns, thoughts, anxieties, lost dreams, crushed hope, etc but life is not about making easy choices. Life for men and women of God is a long line of bumps, bruises and blood. We might as well get used to that now, and expect life to keep coming at us, whether we are up or down.

To the men and women of God I ask this, what in the world is more important to you than Jesus Christ,? nothing or no one should be. What can be next in line, your family, your spouse, your children, their needs? Then others, then yourself. If we use this formula for everyday living, life gets a little bit easier to handle, because we Love Jesus Christ, and that means that we are obedient to Him, and all He says and does. That is what is required of us.

If our hope is in ourselves, if our faith is no more than words that leave our lips, if we do not participate now in the world we live in, then is that hope in us? Is Jesus Christ our hope, our joy our everything? Do we trust Him, call upon Him, follow Him?

Hebrews 10:23-25 , 31-39 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

My friends life is over, his choice was final, so was his decision to ask Christ in his life. I do not condone what he did, I hate what he did, and the way it has impacted his family already, but I have a hope that Jesus Christ's arms will reach out hopefully through the years to come to everyone who attends his funeral, he will have a funeral where the word of God is taught, the hope and love that Christ gives us, I pray every time someone remembers my friend, that the name of Jesus Christ be burned into their heart, that they can not have a thought or memory that is not filled with the message of the cross.

If life is getting at you, stop and fall to your knees, call upon the one who made you, ask Him for His forgiveness, His mercy, His grace, He alone is our hope, the hope for all mankind. He is like no other, and once you meet Him, your life will never be the same. His name is Jesus Christ, and without Him alone, you can have no hope.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

In Christ
brian