Our Hope in Him

 

 Living in this small Central Florida community we have a large number of retirees that have come to enjoy their sunset years here with us.  Some live to be in their eighties and nineties and remain very active in our town as well as in church.  As I reflected on this today, I was reminded of a story I read concerning John Adams, the second president of the United States.  He lived to be 90 years old and one morning as he took a morning stroll, another walker greeted him by asking, "And how is Mr. Adams today?"  John Adams replied, "This old tenement I live in may be falling down, but John Adams, sir, is quite well indeed."
     When we look at John Adams' words, we note that he had a keen sense that life was much more than the condition of our physical bodies.  Certainly the Apostle Paul would agree with this for he wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16:  "Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day."  Aging brings inevitable changes to us all because our bodies are imperfect and will die one day, but Paul points out that even though our bodies decay, we are renewed in our spirit daily by the Lord of Life, Jesus Christ.
     We must remember that Jesus came to offer us life that does not depend on our age or physical bodies.  He told us that He had come to "bring life, and that...more abundantly" (John 10:10).  Our Lord did not come to just refurbish our old bodies and spruce us up.  Rather He offered us life that comes from an eternal source established in our repentance and turning to Him in complete commitment.  This life will never die but will live in His presence forever.    It is a divine life which defies physical death, and one day we will have a new body that will never decay, be sick or die.
     This is the hope we have in Jesus Christ.  He came and took upon Himself our sins to set us free from spiritual death; so no matter how our physical body is today, our spirit is being renewed daily.
     When life seems gone, Christ offers us life.  When our hope is drained from us, Jesus reminds us of the abundant life He has come to give us.  This is not a hope that we can work up or do for ourselves.  Instead, it is hope based on the irrepressible and undying life of Jesus Christ being lived in us.
     There will be days when we feel overwhelmed by grief, depression, weariness or sadness, but we must remember that the cross of Christ is our promise that suffering and death do not have the final word.  The Psalmist named our source of hope in Psalm 71:5 which reads:  "You O Lord, are my hope."  This is a hope we can also pass on to others around us who feel overwhelmed by life.  We have the greatest story to offer not based on how we feel but based upon the truth of God's Word.
     John Adams knew that while his old body was not in great repair he had hope in the Lord who made him.  We, too, can have the same outcome when we look not at circumstances but look, instead, into the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ who offers us eternal life through His shed blood.  All we must do is repent and call upon Him, and He will renew our hearts daily.  Be renewed in the Lord this day and let Him encourage you no matter what you are facing for He has over come the world!  Selah!


I welcome your thoughts and invite you to leave a comment.

An "Ah Ha" Moment

     A couple of weeks ago, my dear husband and I traveled to see our son and daughter-in-law for the weekend.  We attended church with them on Sunday morning and our daughter-in-law read a passage of Scripture that was eye opening to me.  I had heard it many times before and read it myself but on this particular day, it really spoke to me.  That is one reason why I love Scripture reading so much.  The Bible is truly alive and active in our lives if we will take time to sit in the presence of God through the pages of His Word.

     Her Scripture reading came from Romans 5:1-11:  “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.  More than that, 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.  For while we were still weak, at just the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved to him from the wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice to God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

     What a passage of Scripture this is!  Throughout this section, there are words of encouragement to be found in a day and age when encouragement is in scarce supply.  Consider some of these points that the Apostle Paul makes.   First, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  While there may be war in this world or conflict between our neighbors, we can live in and experience complete peace with God.  Our broken relationship with Him has been mended and made new again.  Secondly, we not only experience peace, but our relationship with Christ has given us access to God.  We can go to Him day and night with all our requests, needs, hurts and praise.  No longer is there is barrier or chasm that separates us.

 

     Another blessing of our relationship with Christ is found in the ability to face suffering.  We now have hope.  While our trials are not necessarily pleasant, we know that God will use what the enemy means for evil and He will use it to build endurance in our lives.  This endurance will, in turn, produce character which leads to hope.  It is a winning situation.  Without Christ, our trials did not produce hope.  In fact, they often led to despair. Now, however, the reverse is true.  How great and mighty our God is!

     A fourth aspect of this passage of God’s Word deals with the Holy Spirit which is given to every believer at the time they accept Jesus Christ as Savior.  Having the Spirit live within us brings about change.  We are filled with God’s love and able to see things from His perspective where we could not before.  The Holy Spirit guides, teaches, comforts and leads us to know our heavenly Father and understand His Word.  There is no one like Him and God has placed Him in our hearts!

     For me, verse 6 really jumped out.  It reads:  “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”  I take comfort in these words which point to the perfection of God’s timing.  Christ came at just the right time!  God is Sovereign and has a plan both in terms of salvation and specifically a plan to use our lives to His glory.  Isn’t that exciting?  It is to me!  We do not need to give up if something doesn’t come to pass according to our timetable.  It will be done if the Lord wants it to be completed.  So, we can rest in that and trust in Him.

     A final blessing comes in the knowledge that we are reconciled with God.  We were separated from our Creator by sin in our life but through the death of His Son Jesus Christ, we are now reconciled to God.  This healing of relationship also leads to more stable relationships with those around us.  When we can love like God does, we can build healthy friendships, marriages and parenting skills.  This is where it all begins…with that reconciliation. 

     When I listened to this passage read, it really was an “Ah Ha” moment for me.  It really summarizes all that God has done for us and should give us encouragement each day.  Ponder this passage and meditate on it.  I guarantee that it will bring you an “A Ha” moment as well.   Selah!

PS  To all my readers, my husband and I will be shortly heading off for our 40th wedding anniversary on a wonderful trip abroad.  I am planning to take my trusty IPAD so I can post on my blog and send photos from the places we travel.  This is a very special celebration for us.  Hard to believe it has been 40 years!  So...bear with me....for the next few weeks, my format will be a little different than usual.  However, I hope you enjoy looking through my eyes at the things we will discover.

I welcome your thoughts and insights here.  Please feel free to leave a comment.