“Hope is hearing the music of the future and Faith is dancing to it now.”  (Source unknown)

Hope

Biblical hope is looking forward with absolute certainty that God’s promises will come to pass.

[Since] it is impossible for God to lie, we … have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil … (Hebrews 6:18–19)

But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (Romans 8:25)

Know for certain that … (Genesis 15:13)

Hope is faith, directed towards the future.

God is the source of hope, and is the One who secures hope. He never changes. He never fails.

God makes many promises to believers. Seek out His promises. They are guaranteed.

Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Through faith we take hold of the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:18)

Through faith, we accept/appropriate God’s promises, enabling us to act now on the reality of His promises to be fulfilled.

Faith transforms hope into action.

Joy

Rejoice in hope (Romans 12:12).

The richer our hope becomes, the more we know His promises, the greater our rejoicing.

Live now, rejoice now, because of what you know God will do in the future.

The hope of the righteous is gladness. (Proverbs 10:28)

Rejoice and live now with the future in mind

God promised. His promises are coming.

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Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

On Good Friday, Christ died for those who will believe (John 3:15).

Today we celebrate His resurrection, which proves that He is the Son of God (Romans 1:4).

Hope

Easter brings hope, not only for eternity, but also for now.

Hope is a settled, realistic, eager anticipation that God will do what He promises. It is based on Almighty God’s character. (See HOPE for a contrast of Biblical hope and secular hope)

Biblical hope is not wishful thinking, it is the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19)

Salvation

Salvation is in three tenses: We (the redeemed, Christians) were saved in the past; Christians are being saved in the present from the power of sin (sanctification); In the future, Christians will be saved from the presence of sin (glorification/heaven).

Easter proves the redeemed have hope in the present, for the future, and for eternity.

Hope Now – we have help being saved from the power of sin (sanctification)  

Christ is alive! Because He lives, we live (John 14:19). We are in Christ and Christ is in us. He will never leave us or forsake us.

God is working in us (Philippians 2:13) He has given everything we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature … (2 Peter 1:4)

He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

We have hope, hope not only for eternity, but for here and now. We have hope in the land of the living.

Hope of being saved from the presence of sin (glorification/heaven)

We (believers) are promised heaven, and God never lies.  We are promised to be holy and blameless before Him (Ephesians 1:4). We are fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

We can and must know His “precious and magnificent” promises are guaranteed.

BUT

If you haven’t repented and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you haven’t died with Christ, His resurrection is not meaningful for you.

Please turn to God in repentance, asking for forgiveness, and declaring belief in Christ. (See Becoming a Child of God)

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Growing spiritually, becoming more in the image of Christ, developing holiness, being sanctified, is our goal.

Growth is our responsibility PLUS God is at work in us. (See Our Battle + God’s Work)

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may … fulfill every resolve for good …  (2 Thessalonians 1:11 ESV)

To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will fulfill every desire for goodness  …  (2 Thessalonians 1:11 NASB)

Our responsibility

We must develop a firm, consistent, steadfast resolve for righteous behavior, which is probably always harder than it sounds.

However, the desire itself is from God who works in us to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

Our responsibility, then, is to firmly resolve to live righteously, and, specifically, to bring a specific thought/word/behavior into His way. 

And it is our responsibility to pray that God will fulfill our desire, our resolve, for righteousness.

God’s work

God is working us to want to live righteously, and God is working in us to actually live righteously.

That is stupendous, wonderful news!

So … Pray!

God tells us He is working in us, but also pray about His giving and strengthening our desires for righteous living, and specifically for that particular issue nagging us. And then praying for our actually living that way.

Here is Paul’s entire prayer. Pray this for your Christian loved ones. Pray for me!

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12, ESV)

Praise God that He is working in us!

Christians are headed to glorification, a guaranteed, unimaginable eternity!

Christian growth is a battle — but we are not alone!

For this is the will of God, your sanctification… (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

Your sanctification, my sanctification, is God’s will.

In the past we (believers) were saved from the penalty of sin. In the future we will be saved from the presence of sin. Here and now, we are being saved from the power of sin, becoming more holy (see 2 Corinthians 7:1), and being made in the image of Christ.

The present is a battle.

God is working in us AND we are responsible for our sanctification

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13)

Our responsibility

Work out your salvation with awe and reverence.

This is not about saving faith, believers are already saved. This is about living our lives reflecting that we are redeemed, that the Father adopted us and we are His children, that we are in Christ. We are consistently to live like that.

Most of us are dissatisfied with our walk with the Lord. In fact, the more we grow, the better we are walking with the Lord, the more distressed we are about coming short. Look at godly Paul’s agony! (Romans 7)

We need to keep working at it. We are commanded to keep working at it. We have to make the utmost effort to live righteously; to obey His commandments; to love God.

God is working for our sanctification

There is hope. We can/must trust God for our sanctification, just as we trust God for our glorification.

For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

I certainly can think of ways I now want to live my life His way, when in early days I didn’t. And I can think of ways I do, in fact, live more righteously. Wow! Me!

God promises glorification

God promises victory for believers, all of us who are in the battle now.

God is working to make you and me into the image of His Son. He is working towards our glorification. (Romans 8:29) He promises.

Press on

So… use your discontent as fuel. Make every effort towards your sanctification. Praise God for the ongoing work in your life. Praise God for His awesome promises.

Remember, God wins.

Jesus and his disciples were traveling and stopped at a Samaritan city. Jesus, wearied by the trip, sat at the well, and His disciples went to the city to buy food. Two days later, many there believed that Jesus is the Savior of the world.

What happened?

There is nothing in the account that indicates the disciples told anyone about Jesus. The disciples, who had seen many signs and miracles and had heard what Jesus said, apparently stayed silent.

But Jesus talked with a woman at the well, and she, a women not respected in that city, told many about Jesus. Her message:

1. A fact: “A man who told me all the things that I have done.”
2. A question: “This is not the Christ is it?”
3. A request: “Come and see.”

Encouragement

That woman’s actions encourage me. She didn’t know very much, but she did know what Jesus had said to her. She was not respected, but had the courage to speak up. She spoke to many. And many believed:

From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” (John 4:29)

Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:41–42)    

Rewards

I wonder how that woman’s life changed. At the very least, many actually spoke to her.

And Jesus made clear that those who sow and those who reap rejoice together (John 4:36).

Don’t sell yourself short! When called, SOW!

A passenger jet flies into a mountain. The pilots may, or may not, have had a glimpse of impending disaster, but the passengers haven’t. All of them wake up in eternity.

Someone is sipping tea and planning the next steps in a conflict, and a missile hits. Perhaps they heard an airplane, or the missile, a few moments before. Perhaps they heard nothing. They wake up in eternity.

Some, of course, know their days are coming to an end with terminal illnesses, for example.

However, ALL of us have been warned. ALL of us have been told that after death comes judgment.

It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment … (Hebrews 9:27)

ALL of us will be raised, some to eternal life, some to eternal condemnation.

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:46)

The time is now

The only time we have to address where we will wake up is now.

What to do:

Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Repent!

I, you, we have all sinned. God hates sin! The result of sin is death.

All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way … (Isaiah 53:6-7)

For the wages of sin is death … (Romans 6:23)

Confess and Believe!

 if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

NOW is the day of salvation! Don’t wait.

God has life in Himself. He is self-existing. (John 5:26)

God is from everlasting to everlasting; from eternity past to eternity future. (Psalm 90:2)

God is the great I AM, the eternal present. He never changes. (Malachi 3:6; Revelation 1:8)

God has perfect and infinite knowledge. (Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 40:28; 1 John 3:20)

God has perfect and infinite presence. There is nowhere we can go to escape Him. (Psalm 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:24)

God has perfect and infinite power. He does as He pleases. (Psalm 115:3)

All God’s attributes, love, mercy, grace, faithfulness, wrath (and more), are perfect and infinite.

He has no boundaries, no limits. He is endless, eternal, complete. His “bandwidth” is infinite. His “multi-tasking” is without limit.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, is too hard for Him. (Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26; Ephesians 3:20)

He created time; He is Lord of time, and is outside time in a way I cannot imagine. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows the history of the fibers of what we are wearing right back to creation. He knows all our ancestors. He knows, and controls, the future.

He has chosen to reveal some of Himself to us, but He remains beyond our understanding. (Psalm 145:3; Isaiah 46:9, 55:8-9)

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Marvel! Wonder! Worship! We should fall on our faces like Daniel (Daniel 10:8-9) and John (Revelation 1:17). We should be on our knees in reverential fear and worship.

God, help us grasp even a sliver of who You are. Help us keep Your eternal immensity in mind. Help us …  

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Blessed to Give

In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

It is blessed to give, being able to serve others by giving. There are many verses and examples in the Bible, and there is a lot of godly teaching about serving others. And commandments to serve.

Blessed to Receive

BUT that does NOT mean it isn’t blessed to receive. A person cannot give unless another person receives.

There is blessing for those who are served – IF they receive it.

I’ve known people, and you most likely do as well, who will not receive needed help. There are several possible reasons, but one is pride. Pride that they don’t need help. Pride that only they adequately can do whatever task.  

From a human perspective, we should be discerning, not necessarily accepting what someone offers. But also we should discern what is credibly offered in love, and not letting pride or other sinful reactions prevent it. In that case, if you receive, both you and the giver are blessed.

Blessed to Receive Gifts from God

Remember! The greatest, eternal blessing is to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

To receive Christ as Lord and Savior, we must repent and believe.

From the perspective of Christians and God, we know that whatever God gives is good and that we must receive it by faith. We know God has a loving purpose, even if we cannot see it.

Don’t let pride stand in your way of blessing.

Humbly receive God’s gifts.

Let’s be blessed by receiving.

No Days Off – And Yet

My mom, usually when she was doing the dishes or ironing, might say: “The problem with life is that it is so daily!”

A retired friend said: “The problem with retirement is that you don’t get a day off.”

As Christians, we are responsible daily

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23)

I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may pay my vows day by day. (Psalm 61:8)

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today…” (Hebrews 3:13)

No Days Off — And Yet

Daily And  Yet — Joy in Faithfulness

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:31)

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Daily And Yet — Times of refreshing

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you… (Acts 3:19–20)

Daily And Yet—Rest to come

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)

There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9)

Press on!

God is intentional, is working His Holy plan, and is sovereign over everybody and everything all the time! (See When Storms Come)

God has a purpose this day for you and me, for others, and for the world.

All Things New

He is using this day, and every day, towards making all things new.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away … And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1, 3–4)

Right Now is Part of His Holy Plan

Whatever “humdrum,” whatever “good,” whatever “bad” comes your way, my way, today, it is part of God’s purpose. No exceptions.

That is why Christians can exult in trials. That is why Paul was content in prison.

In order for us (Christians) to be able to exult in trials, to be content in “bad” times, we need to be solidly confident that God is sovereign, that He loves us, and that He has a good  purpose in what we experience.

This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

He is totally trustworthy. We MUST trust Him.