By Cathy Ramsey
Hope: to cherish a desire with anticipation, to expect with confidence.
Paul writes:
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints – the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.” (Colossians 1:3-6 NIV)
“Faith and love that spring from hope” are Paul’s words. I never thought about faith and love coming from hope, but it makes sense. Christians share faith, love, and hope as taught in the bible and we celebrate this as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s loving gift to the world.
From Jack Zavada:
For millions of people, the Christmas season means nothing more than parties, gifts, decorations, and time off work. For Christians, however, this time of year is a happy reminder of the hope we have because of Jesus Christ.
"May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you." (Psalm 33:22 NIV)
Before Jesus came, God seemed distant, hidden in the Holy of Holies in the temple, accessible only to the high priest. Worshipers wondered whether their sacrifices were acceptable. They doubted their salvation.
Christ means hope—to the person out of work, to the struggling single mother, to the dying believer. Even if you're just slogging your way through the disappointments of life, if you have Jesus, you have hope. And he is not a false hope, a childish fairy tale that we wish will have a happy ending. When Christ rose from the dead, that ended the argument. Period. Our hope in him is solid and it is real.
Hope has to do with trust and confidence. It is the resting of the human heart on God, with full trust that he will care for us and our salvation and will give us the happiness he has promised. It is an eager expectation and anticipation of what is sure to come—an active, faith-infused waiting for God to fulfill that which he started by the power of the Holy Spirit:
“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits 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.” (Romans 8:23–25 ESV)
God wants us to live with hope and assurance that all his promises will come true for us and that our future is firmly and safely secure in his hand for our good.
Christmas is a renewal of hope. It reconfirms it for us if our vision has grown dim. It was settled long ago, so we don't have to doubt anymore. Jesus is the fulfillment of our hope, our deepest longings come true.
"We
have lasting hope through the salvation we have in Christ...Hope means that
even when it looks like it's all over, it's not all over yet. That's why the
Bible says we can rejoice even in our tribulations. God is working in our hard
times to produce proven character and hope in us."
--Dr. Tony Evans, Totally Saved
We can trust God in the year ahead, for he has good plans for our future:
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NLT)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ...Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:3-13 ESV)
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” (1 Timothy 1:1 ESV)
“For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.” (Galatians 5:5 NIV)
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19–20 NLT)
From Suzanne Benner:
Throughout the Biblical narrative, God weaves the promise and appearance of a Savior. Jesus came to bring us hope, fulfilling all the messianic prophesies (Isaiah 11:10/Romans 15:12; Isaiah 42:4/Matthew 12:21).
Hope for the future, that we will be redeemed. Hope for the present, that we are not alone, but are loved and have purpose. Hope even over the past, that our failures are not greater than God’s power to transform.
When we as believers speak of hope, we don’t mean a desire that may or may not be fulfilled. No, our hope is certain. Our hope for forgiveness, for reconciliation with God and eternal life, rests on the finished work of Jesus.
Jesus — the sinless Son of God — died to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the dead so that we too might have life.
Paul describes Jesus Christ as “our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1) and “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). Jesus not only came to bring hope. He is our hope.
We have hope because Jesus forgave us. Knowing Jesus brings contentment regardless of material possessions and joy despite difficult circumstances. Nothing can destroy this hope because it’s stored in heaven where no earthly power can touch it.
“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. This inheritance is 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)
We have received new birth into a living hope that’s real every day. It’s living because Jesus is alive and offers to transform our hearts, minds, and actions daily. As we understand God’s forgiveness, we start forgiving others. As the reality of Christ’s sacrifice penetrates our hearts, we lay down our selfish desires. We begin to serve our families, our neighbors, and even strangers on the street. Although mundane, painful, and stressful events threaten to diminish our hope, Jesus renews our hope whenever we seek Him.
The world lacks hope. Human beings are clamoring to fill their empty lives with stuff. Abuse, addiction, illness, and broken relationships surround us. People need to know that Jesus came to bring hope, that He is our hope, and that our hope is alive.
Is the hope of Jesus real and alive in you?
Christmas Prayer of Hope
Father, we thank you that you created us with the ability to hope. As Christmas nears we once again stop to remember how the world anticipated the birth of our Savior. Like that long ago event that people awaited with longing there are many things that have not yet arrived in our lives that we have been longing for and praying about for such a long time. Help us to believe that you are at work, that a new birth will take place, that a new era in our lives will soon begin. Thank you that our hope is not simply wishful thinking but rather our hope is based on our confidence that you are with us and that you care. We believe that you can tell us how to live productive meaningful lives as we wait and we believe that no matter how long we need to wait, your help and strength will never run out. And now we claim and meditate on this wonderful promise of hope from the Bible:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV)
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