Hope in the Lord

Do you feel lost? Remember, “all who wander, are not lost.” Fix your eyes on the Lord, He will deliver you. Place your hope in Him and you will not be disappointed.

25/05/2020

Day 1
Romans 5 v 5 - 6 | Romans 15 v 9 - 13 | 2 Thessalonians 2 v 15 - 17

In the preceding verses of Romans 5 we read that “we [should] also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint…“

We serve a God of hope. A God who has always kept His promises and continues to do so. A God who does not disappoint us, like we tend to do… Therefore we should not put our hope and trust in the next person, but solely in the Lord, “because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts.”

Not only have we been given the greatest gift of (eternal) life, through Christ who died for us, but also the gift of hope. Just as those who lived before Christ believed and put their hope in the promised Messiah, we too, (should) put our hope in Him. A lasting hope that is not withered by the first storm we encounter, because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Do not be dismayed, regardless of your circumstances, because there is a promise. God, Himself, Who loves you, will comfort and strengthen your heart and fill you with joy and peace if you remain faithful to Him and His instructions. Give thanks to God every moment of each day. He is your salvation, your rock on which you stand.

“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“

26/05/2020

Day 2
Colossians 1 v 21 - 23 | Hebrews 6 v 13 - 19

It is written that “the natural man does not understand the things of God” [paraphrase] and therefore we wouldn’t understand how we were “formerly alienated, hostile (towards God) in mind and how we engaged in evil deeds…”

Only in looking back at our sinful desires before coming to the knowledge of the truth, do we realize how man rather seeks darkness than light and that it is in the nature of man to sin. God had to give part of Himself in the form of His Son to rid us of our sinfulness and brokenness, in order to restore our relationship with Him.

This is the hope of the Gospel; that if we patiently wait on the Lord, while we continue in our faith, we will obtain the promise. The promise of eternal life. A life in the Lord’s presence. A life without the hurt and the pain we endure, while in this earthly vessel.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for – A hope that is both “sure and steadfast” – and the conviction of things not seen. We can therefore take God on His every word, for Jesus paved the way when He entered the Holy of Holies as our High Priest.

Can you see how the whole Bible draws a constant parallel between our brokenness and the promise of a Messiah, a Saviour, who would come to restore our soul and renew our spirit? The God of the Bible is incapable of lying and therefore cannot break His promises. Abraham placed his hope in Him, wouldn’t you do the same?

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3 v 16 – 17) [KJV]

“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“

27/05/2020

Day 3
1 Peter 1 v 1 - 5 | 1 Peter 1 v 21 | 1 Peter 3 v 15 | Psalm 46 v 1 - 3 | Psalm 90 v 13 - 16

Our faith and hope is in the Lord, our God.

When we come to faith in Jesus, we become partakers of God’s inheritance, which is:
1. imperishable,
2. un-defiled, and
3. will never fade away

An ever lasting life, becomes ours, when we pass on in this life, and although our names are written in the book of life, as children of God, there is always the condition that should we endure and remain faithful till the end, we shall be redeemed.

Let not Jesus say, “go away, I never knew you”. Be prepared, in and out of season, to give an account for this belief, this hope you have in Christ, who saved you from this evil world and certain death. For this reason we need not fear, even though the world and everything in it will perish eventually.

One thing we can be certain of is this; Christ will return! He died and rose again. The grave is empty. The stage is being set as we speak. The signs are clear. The end is near. We will be united with our Lord Jesus very soon. Even though a time of great trouble lies ahead of us and perhaps you might pass on before His return, know this…

He is the only One who can save us from eternal separation from God. There is no other. No other (man made) god can give you peace. Only Jesus can fill the void that was created after the fall of man. Have faith in God’s promise, like Abraham did, for it was reckoned unto him as righteousness.

“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“

28/05/2020

Day 4
Psalm 146 v 5 - 6 | Ephesians 2 v 12 - 13 | Jeremiah 29 v 10 - 14

“For I know the plans I have for you…”

The Lord has given us a hopeful future (in Christ) from an eternity past view, knowing the plan of salvation even before the creation came into being. This is something we “grapple” with, because we only see in part and cannot comprehend the Almighty, omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (all-present) God of the Bible.

He knew the outcome, because He is God. Period. This does not take away the fact that we have free will, simply because we do not know the future, nor do we know the exact outcome of our decisions and actions, although one thing is certain. In the event of breaking any form of law, there will be consequences. The same applies to God’s moral law.

For this reason, God put a plan in motion and prepared mankind over a period of thousands of years. He would become the suffering servant in the form of His Son, Jesus, who would be the perfect sacrifice. For God so loved the [whole] world, that He didn’t want to pour out His wrath on those He created in His image. Instead, Jesus became the substitute who bore our sins.

We were made alive in Christ, being saved by grace, through our faith in what He did on the cross. Although we were dead in our sins, excluded from the covenant and therefore separated from God, without hope, we were “grafted in” by the blood of Christ that was shed.

Therefore, you can hope in the Lord, He is faithful, kind and merciful. How blessed are we to serve and worship a living God. Search for Him with all your heart and you will find Him and in finding Him, find meaning…. purpose.

“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“

29/05/2020

Day 5
Mark 15 v 33 - 39 | Mark 16 v 1 - 8

THE GRAVE IS EMTPY!

We know Jesus foretold His own death and resurrection, but majority didn’t understand what He was referring to when He said He would rebuild the “temple” in three days.

After He had risen, He appeared to individuals, His disciples and more than 500 people at the same time. Even though many still believe His body was either stolen or eaten up by dogs, the eyewitness accounts, for His resurrection and appearance to the above mentioned people, are in coherence. Besides, why would you risk your life for something that is not plausible…?

Many court cases over the course of history were dependent on eye witness testimonies, due to a lack of physical evidence. Why would we not believe the resurrection then to be true based on eyewitness accounts? This begs the question, whether it becomes a matter of preferring not to believe, because of the implications upon choosing to believe. What do we mean by that?

Should the eyewitness accounts be accurate and therefore the resurrection turn out to be true, it would mean that everything that was prophesied about Christ’s coming, death and resurrection prove to be true. And if this is true, everything He proclaimed, as the Messiah, the Son of God, would then be true…

In 1 Cor 15 (the resurrection chapter), we read that if Christ was not raised from the dead, we of all men are to be pitied, for our faith would then be in vain.. worthless! Everything we believe regarding Jesus’ life, death and resurrection would fall to pieces and we would still be in sin.

There is so much to be said about this much debated topic of the resurrection and perhaps we will write something about it in due course… For now, we have eternal hope in the fact that Jesus IS who He said He WAS and rose from the dead just as it was prophesied.

It is written that if you believe with your heart and proclaim with your mouth that Jesus was raised from the dead, you will be saved. Yes, His death on the cross paid our debts, but the assurance lies in the resurrection, for this gives us hope in a life after leaving this earthly body, knowing that it does matter how we live in this life, for else we can eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die…

May your faith in the Lord Jesus’ resurrection give you the much needed hope to persevere and run this race with the full assurance of receiving the ultimate prize. An eternity with your Saviour and Creator. I pray that you will submit yourself to God and allow His Word to be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. Amen