People are distress and some of them are acknowledging their distress with cries of S.O.S. (Save Our Souls). Time is ripe for sharing the Good News of the Gospel. This is the day to Help Others Perceive Eternally. Today is the day for Christ’s people to serve as living demonstrations of hope, secure. But how do we do that?
I Peter 3:15 instructs us to be prepared to offer a reasoned reasonable reason for the hope that is in us – which implies the hope IS IN us! Christ in you is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) – that’s what Paul calls the very mystery of the Gospel!
God invites us to reveal the hope of Christ to others. The hope in us (Christ in us) is future oriented, presently lived, making the invisible visible in a world desperate for hope.
Romans 8:24-25 reminds us that “in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
Three observations about hope to consider as you Help Other Perceive Eternally today:
- Hope is a future secured in the present.
- Hope is dynamic, active and catalytic (it changes things)
- It changes our perspective
- It changes what we value
- It changes how we live
- Hope springs eternal.
The H.O.P.E. texts to which I turn:
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”—Jeremiah 29:11
“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.”—1 Peter 1:3-4
“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”—Philippians 3:20
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”—Zephaniah 3:17
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”—Romans 15:13
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”—Isaiah 40:31
“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.”—Psalm 39:7
“Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…”—Titus 2:13
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”—Romans 12:12
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.”—2 Corinthians 4:17-18
“The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”—Romans 8:18
“Behold, I am coming soon.”—Revelation 22:12
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”—Romans 15:4
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”—Revelation 21:4
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”—Lamentations 3:21-23
