God Gave Me Hope

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,

(1 Peter 1:3)

Meditation

Before I turned to Jesus, I went through life with no other purpose than to get my own way, work hard, so I could provide for my family, and make lots of money. I didn't care much if I hurt someone in my pursuits because, in my mind, my happiness and satisfaction was the only important thing. Outwardly, I was friendly enough, but only so far as I was secure with my immediate circumstances. If I wasn’t secure, I would do whatever I had to do, to get that way. If I had to lie, cheat, or steal, that’s what I would do. I have terrible regret over that part of my life because I was raised to be better than that.

I am so thankful that God, knowing just how despicable a sinner I was, loved me enough to sacrifice his own Son to save me. He knew, from eternity past, every sin I would ever commit. He could have just sat back and watched me stumble from one sin to another until I died. He would have been justified to send me to hell; he still would be. Instead, I now have the blessed hope of heaven, singing his praises for eternity. I pray I have a better singing voice in heaven than I do here on earth.

My hope is not the ‘I hope I win the lottery’ kind of hope. This hope is a sure thing; an assurance of things to come. How can I know, without a doubt, that I will be resurrected to an eternity in heaven? Everything rests on the fact that there is that empty tomb in Jerusalem. If that tomb were not empty, then Jesus did not rise from the dead and I cannot hope to either. I used to fear death. I’m still not fond of the idea of whatever pain is going to come at my death. I don’t like the idea of leaving my loved ones behind, but now that I have the assurance of eternity, I do not fear death.

Because he is filled with such mercy and love for us, his plan all along was for Jesus to walk amongst us and shed his blood to save anyone who called on his name. You may not understand why he would do that but comprehending his great mercy is not required for salvation. I have been saved for over 20 years and I still don’t understand, I’m just thankful. If you haven’t reached out to God, it’s never too late until the day you die. Do it today; no one is promised tomorrow.

Daily Prayer

Father God, you have given us everything. We bow down to your mercy and grace. You gave us your Son to shed his blood and die for our sins. We thank you, Lord, for cleansing us as we rise from the waters of baptism. We are a new creation with a new hope for eternity because Jesus walked out of the tomb. We owe everything to Jesus. He rescued us from the wretched lives we were living and has given us the blessed hope for eternity. Give us a heart like Jesus that only seeks to serve the lost and bring them to repentance. Don’t let us get discouraged when our efforts fail on behalf of the kingdom. Never let us prejudge someone because of their appearance or actions. We know you love them just as you love us. Because you love them, we will love them also. Help us to resolve to always be about the business of sharing the gospel with everyone who doesn’t yet know Jesus. We long for the day when we will hear Jesus beacon us from the grave to meet him in the air. It’s in his precious name, we pray. Amen!