The Hope Benediction:

Bless You

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

The Hope Benediction:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

               

              According to Paul the three abiding Christian virtues are faith- which compels us to look up and have confidence in the true and living God; love constrains us to that the future is our friend because Jesus is our living Lord.

look around and encourage those who need our help; and hope motivates us to look ahead with assurance, knowing

              Hope is part of the spiritual energy and vision that keeps us going when everything seems against us. The Bible compares hope to an anchor “firm and secure”. The odd thing about this anchor is that it doesn’t go down into the depths but reaches up to the heights of heaven where Jesus is and nothing can move it.  Our anchor is Jesus for he is our hope (I Tim 1:1)

              True hope enables us to look at earth from heaven’s point of view and see the present in the light of the future and this keeps us going no matter how difficult the circumstances may be.

There are several examples of people who lived in hope- Joseph waiting in Egyptian prison, Israel suffering under slavery, Joshua facing Canaanite nations, David resolutely waiting for his throne and Jeremiah painfully watching the Jewish nation crumbling around him.

              The benediction of hope leads us to live in the future tense which changes the past and the present and makes life more exciting.

REFLECTION:
How hopeful are you of your future? The future of your children/ grandchildren?  Just what do you hope for them as they continue to grow and mature in this world?

Hope begins with salvation as a person trust Christ and in that moment they are justified by faith and receive God’s peace. There is also a gift of hope in Jesus because there is no need to fear life or death; time or eternity. There is hope beyond the empty tomb because Jesus is alive!

PRAYER Thank you God for this blessing of hope which calls us from our past, to face our confessions of today and leads us to a future with you. Guide us always and enable us to grow in faith. Amen.

Next Week: “The Benediction of Joy” Jude 24-25

RESOURCE: Warren W. Wiersbe.  Bless You: Receiving and Sharing the Blessings of the Lord. Grand Rapids, MI: Our Daily Bread Ministries, 8^th printing- 2018. (p.65-74)