Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
8 Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and end ever shall be, world without end, Amen, Amen.
Romans 8 shows how to live by the Spirit and let peace rule in our hearts.
The Holy Spirit within us continually testifies to us that we are children of God.
He gives us assurance with God to convince us that nothing will ever separate us from His love.
This is a passage of 100% hope because we know our future is bright in Christ.
Romans 8:1 New King James Version
Free from Indwelling Sin
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who [a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Why did the Apostle Paul feel the need to write to the followers living in Rome of their need to know and understand they have one ultimate source of hope?
Freedom from Sin
Sin is our mortal enemy.
Our battle against sin is ongoing and constantly wounding us in some way.
No matter how hard we fight against sin, we cannot keep from being hurt.
The wounds just keep coming from every directional point on the compass.
No matter our personal resolve to never surrender, we get tired of the battle.
Our wounds, our guilt, shame, remorse from our weaknesses are debilitating.
These like a diagnosis of heart disease or diagnosis of cancer threaten our will to keep going, keeping us motionless, defeated and unworthy of our calling.
If we are unable to move on, move past our wounds, move past what we have done in life, we will never fully grasp God’s grace, loving kindness towards us.
We feel the mounting urge to surrender to sin, acknowledge our defeat by sin.
Raise the white flag and wave it high and and wave it weakly for all to see that – Sin WINS.
Sin’s love for the battle is too much for us.
Our love for the battle is done – gone.
We have No love of self left to fight with.
Where now is our hope that while our love feels thoroughly depleted, that all love is not thoroughly depleted, indeed, is not, has not been utterly defeated?
God loves us, He sent Jesus to die for you and He has completely forgiven you.
So any condemning feelings you have toward yourself are not from God.
His utmost desire for us is that we become free from indwelling sin and to live and to be ultimately moving ever forward in our life fulfilling His destiny for us.
Not only so, but He wants us to ultimately experience this freedom daily, fully and completely, this Holy Spirit driven ability to stand up on our two feet again.
To walk as Christ walked.
That is why the Apostle Paul penned these words…
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” ( Romans 8:1 ).
What a glorious verse!
Paul has just unequivocally given us the answer posed in Romans 7… Who will rescue us from the left over effects of the sin nature that trips us up in life?
Praise be to God, it happens by Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we live according to the Spirit of God, he gives us the power to escape all the condemnation and guilt that our war like sinful nature throws into our way.
Because of Jesus, there is no condemnation unless we void this amazing gift by condemning ourselves.
Understanding this grace is the key to living free, pursuing the life that the Lord has set you apart for.
This is one of the incredible foundations of Christianity.
We are freed from the effects of guilt and shame because of the blood of Jesus, but sadly many do not know this wonderful truth.
God does not, nor will not condemn us.
We will never face judgment or punishment for our sins because Jesus has paid for each and every one of them upon the cross.
God placed all judgment and all sin upon his Son once for all in order that we would never have to bear it.
By faith in his blood, we are completely forgiven.
He has reconciled us to God the father and brought us incredible peace in the process.
We, as believers should experience this right here and right now and not let guilt or unworthiness hinder us.
(John 3:16-18, Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 2:13-15, Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 10:18, Hebrews 10:22, I John 2:2, I John 3:5, I John 3:16, I John 3:19-20 )
God provided everything with your redemption to enable you to live a life worthy of your calling.
He wants you to live a victorious life by the Spirit of God.
You are worthy on the basis of the value that Jesus assigns you.
He died for you to bring you into fellowship with the Father, who are we to disagree with such a wonderful gift.
Today, it is my prayer that you will drop whatever burdens you are carrying at the feet of Jesus.
He has already bore them so you should not have to.
Grace sets us free in Jesus from our most destructive bondage, our fear of God’s judgment.
God’s grace and our faith in Jesus liberated us from the law, which convicts and leads to death.
The Holy Spirit sets us free, not just to fulfill what the Law intended but also to deliver us from the penalty of death that the Law required.
In Jesus, by the power of his Spirit, God sets us free to be his children forever!
May you understand this incredible grace to which you were called, sanctified and set apart. Amen!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Abba Father, thank you for your deliverance. I know you paid a very high price to give it to me. Forgive me for not letting that deliverance make my heart soar with confident joy. Lead me by the power of your Spirit so that I can experience the freedom and joy of your salvation — not just at the end of my days, but in the moments of today. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Glory be to the Father and the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now and end ever shall be, world without end, Amen, Amen.
Days are filled with sorrow Days are filled with sorrow and care Hearts are lonely and drear Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Troubled soul, the Savior can see Every heartache and tear Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near Jesus is very near
Author Hal Lindsey said, “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air… but only for one second without hope.”
Hope not only affects how we live, it determined whether or not some people survive such catastrophic events such as natural disasters, devastating family, financial or healthcare news or the sudden unexpected loss of a loved one.
So, how is your hope?
Does it bounce back after being hit?
Or does it pop like a balloon lanced by a pin?
On what or WHO is your hope based?
The Bible shows us that people of faith are people of hope.
That makes sense, doesn’t it?
Those who trust God have more reason for hope than those who don’t.
But hardcore problems without visible solutions test the faith and challenge the hope of even the most devout.
Even when we are “poster children” for disappointment, guess what …
The Bible says to encourage each other every day (Hebrews 4:13).
Romans 5:3-5 The Message
3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Romans 4, the Apostle Paul recounts the story of the Patriarch Abraham.
Romans 4:1-3 English Standard Version
Abraham Justified by Faith
4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
For the new followers in Rome, Paul greatly emphasized Abraham’s faith.
Paul said even Abraham, who was considered a God-fearing and good man, was praiseworthy not because he was so good but because in faith, he believed God.
If we ourselves go read the story of Abraham in Genesis, we will find quite a few examples of Abraham making substantial mistakes and committing great sins.
For example, twice focused only on what mattered most to himself and he lied and told an Egyptian that his wife, Sarah, was his sister (Genesis 12 and 20).
Abraham was a good man in many ways, but he was an ordinary, flawed person, like anyone else.
The great thing about Abraham was not anything about Abraham himself; it was his focus on the “one thing:” he faithfully put his trust and hope in God.
Abraham slowly disciplined his focus on what mattered most: believed God’s promises, Abraham faithfully put his hope in God’s being true to his promises.
The same is very much true for our disciplining our focus away from us today.
If we focus all of our hope in our own power or our own goodness or strength, we will constantly and continuously be indescribably hopelessly disappointed.
In ourselves, we do not have enough goodness to give us hope for the future.
Focus on faith in God, given to us by Holy Spirit, is the surest source of hope.
Do you and I have any of that self same disciplined focus on hope in God alone?
A Disciplined Focus on God’s Brand of “Sure Hope”
Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message
Discipline in a Long-Distance Race
12 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
A disciplined focus on Hope.
It’s the oxygen our souls need to thrive.
Hope is the wild-eyed creature that pops up after the enemy tries to eradicate the very beating of faith in our hearts.
It’s the essence of being a disciplined Christ-follower and as a hopeless, broken world watches us under an electron Microscope, as they scornfully question, “If hope does not disappoint us, why are you Christians disappointed all the time?”
However, before we can answer that question, we need to define what hope is.
Hope looks like light, seeing hundreds of fireflies lighting up a dark night.
Hope is the long barren heavily scorned and mocked Hannah praying fervently, disciplined in her knowing God hears her while she’s taken for a drunken fool.
Hope is a father staying at hope forgiving his undisciplined wayward child.
Hope is the oxygen our souls need to breathe to stay alive.
Hope is a category 5 torrential downpour that washes the world clean.
Hope is uncountable millions of little green shoots being nourished, unearthed after a long and cold winter’s nap and stretching and reaching to the heavens.
Hope is praying your loved one will be found alive after tragedy strikes.
Hope is knowing we will be reunited with our loved ones on the other side of heaven.
Hope is the soldier at war in a far away land who begged God to use His words to care for, to heal and to love his son or daughter miles away.
Hope is a foster child finally finding his forever home in a family that fiercely loves, protects and cares for them.
Hope is watching your autistic child make a friend.
Hope is walking hand in hand with God the Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit.
What Does ‘Hope Does Not Disappoint Us’ Mean?
The biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation.”
Christian hope is rooted in faith in the divine salvation in Christ (Galatians 5:5) and through the love poured into us through God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
What have you and I been hoping for?
Have we been trying to discipline our hope away from the world and unto God?
Where have we been disciplining our minds, where are we focusing our Hope?
Did anything above resonate with your heart?
Or have you given up?
Maybe you and I are too afraid to invest in hope again because we dread the possibility that if we try too hard to discipline ourselves, we will lose all hope?
Or perhaps we simply don’t remember what hope even feels like anymore.
We are physically, mentally, spiritually exhausted from trying to recall what hope looks, tasted, feels, sounds like – we do not care to know what hope is.
If you’re in this camp, we need to go back to the Bible, discipline ourselves back unto Word of God, to understand God’s hope isn’t the same as the world’s hope.
God’s hope is not and never will be the same as the world’s definition of hope.
Both denote a positive expectation, but the world’s hope is rooted in a fallible person, situation, or thing. God’s hope is rooted in Him.
The basis of Christian hope is found Hebrews 11:1,“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for.”
The Greek word for hope in this passage is ‘hypostasis.
The anonymous author wrote in the book of Hebrews, “Faith is the ‘hypostasis of things hoped for…” which literally means “that which underlies.”
Meaning our faith in Christ underlies our hope, the deeper our faith is, the more difficult it is for hope to be overthrown and turned into disappointment.
A hope that does not disappoint means God has given us hope that raises up to our defense – to become our sword and shield in the midst of disappointment.
This kind of hope is found not in our avoidance of suffering but our working through it with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit because, suffering produces joy, perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (James 1:2-4)
What Is the Context of Romans 5:5?
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous (justified) through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us,” Romans 5:1-5.
We learn what hope means in God’s kingdom through the words of Paul beginning in the fifth chapter of Romans. Full
Here, Paul tells us we have justice, peace, grace, perseverance, character, and hope which is all built on the faith we have in Christ.
The kind of hope that does not disappoint that Paul is talking about here is the kind of disciplined hope that only God can give.
This kind of hope Fully Relies On God—His power, His promises, and the sacrifices He alone made for us.
This type of hope carries a promise because of what He has accomplished.
As we read through the rest of Romans 5, we learn we have this hope because Jesus died for us while we were yet his utterly worst enemies (Romans 5:8).
We have been justified and we will be delivered from all things.
God didn’t save us based on our own righteousness.
We were saved because of our faith, hope and belief and love for God’s Son.
This hope points directly to the glory of God – “we boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).
This means, no matter what comes our way: suffering, turmoil, tragedy, death, and heartbreak. God will conquer it all.
In other words, “Hope has a sanctifying effect. We who look expectantly for the return of Christ, knowing that when we see him we shall become like him, and purify ourselves “as he is pure” (1 John 3:3 ).
Hope also stimulates good works.
Following his teaching on the resurrection of the dead, Paul exhorts readers to do be “steadfast and immovable doing the Lord’s work abundantly since such “labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58 ).”
Then, How Exactly Can Christians Hope When They Experience Disappointments?
Throughout Scripture, we find the same message trusting in God’s promises and hoping in the Lord:
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” Hebrews 10:23.
“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance”Ephesians 1:18.
“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my hope” Psalm 130:5.
If we read in between the vast array of scriptures about hope, we will also find hundreds of people inside the Bible who experienced true utter disappointment: Adam, Eve, Hagar, Job, Hannah, Moses, Sarah, David, Jacob, Gideon, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jonah, the exiles, Nehemiah, Jesus, the Disciples, Paul, Elijah, others.
Yes! Even Jesus experienced disappointment during his ministry: when the people didn’t receive His message, when His disciples struggled with doubt, or when He encountered those legalistic religious leaders who wanted to kill Him.
Yet, each and every one of these biblical accounts of real-life people are marked by moments of every single one of them decisively overcoming disappointment.
They also went to accomplish great things for God and some even accomplished things beyond their wildest dreams.
The common thread of each of them was their hope in God.
Their belief in God was bigger than their disappointment.
Instead of blaming God when tragedy struck, instead, they turned to God.
“Hope in God transcends the lost hopes of human frailty and sin and begins to take effect in our lives precisely when human hopes are gone” (Romans 4:18).
How can Christians hope when we experience disappointments?
We put our hope in the Lord as we look at Paul’s example in Philippians 4:4.
Here, Paul was suffering greatly but he was writing to the church in Philippi which happened to be a church that was exceptionally poor.
But Paul was writing to them from a Roman Prison to encourage them to keep a disciplined, focused hope as they learn to be content with having much or little.
Paul wrote to encourage them through his example walking with Christ, even in the midst of disappointment, he could deal with humble means or prosperity.
No matter the circumstance Paul persevered through hope because no matter what came, he “can do all things through Christ’s strength, (Philippians 4:13, ESV).
The exact same One whose Grace strengthened Paul and provided contentment, courage, and a disciplined and focused hope is exact the same One working all things together—even disappointment—for our good too (Romans 8:28).
Because of the Sovereignty of God, Jesus’ resurrection power at work in us, the Holy Spirit interceding and praying for us when we have not the wherewithal to intercede for self, we can breathe in His kind of Hope that does not disappoint.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Prayer for a Hope That Does Not Disappoint
Lord God, our Creator, Author of our Life and Perfecter of our Hope, we raise our hearts, our souls, our hands high to thank you for your peace and for being our true source of hope. No matter what we walk through, may we lean on you. I believe that the hope you give us will not disappoint. You are working through every struggle and hardship we face. We will not be disappointed because of the salvation and blessing of a heavenly inheritance through Jesus Christ. Help us to abound in joy and to rest in your loving arms. Give us grace, strength, to lean on your powerful promises today.
Dear God, we praise you because you are true to your promises, we thank you that you are the true source of hope. Help us, by your Holy Spirit, to put our hope in you.
1 These are the words of the Quester, David’s son and king in Jerusalem:
2-11 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.] There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke. What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, then does it again, and again—the same old round. The wind blows south, the wind blows north. Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind. All the rivers flow into the sea, but the sea never fills up. The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and do it again. Everything’s boring, utterly boring— no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear. What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There’s nothing new on this earth. Year after year it’s the same old thing. Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”? Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody’ll remember them either. Don’t count on being remembered.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
The timelessness of Ecclesiastes is evident in our modern, existential age of excess with every possible pursuit, pleasure, and provision readily available through the click of a mouse or touch screen, and yet, people are still miserable.
Money cannot buy happiness.
The Preacher in Ecclesiastes clearly demonstrates this point by cataloging all his attempts to gain meaning and joy in life, and still concludes, “All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
But what is vanity?
Is vanity just a piece of bathroom furniture with a countertop and mirror for getting ready in the morning?
My mental image for vanity is the witch in Snow White, seeking affirmation for her beauty and worth with her magic mirror every morning, expecting to be the center of attention to her daily request of “Who is the fairest of them all?”
Does vanity mean that life is empty, worthless, or meaningless?
It is like washing your car in the rain or polishing the brass on the Titanic as it sinks – “What’s the point?”
The first chapter of Ecclesiastes seems to present a hopeless image of life, reporting “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
All Is Vanity
The author explains the cycle of life, noting how each generation will come and go, striving and seeking meaning and purpose, but die all the same, not even leaving behind a lasting memory (Ecclesiastes 1:11).
The author proceeds to detail his vast wealth and pursuits for pleasure and meaning, describing how nothing was outside his access or ability, and yet, he concludes this pursuit of pleasure by saying,
“What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night, his heart does not rest. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes. 2:22-23).
If all of life is meaningless and we simply strive to suffer and struggle each day, what is the point?
Where is our hope and where is our purpose to be found in life if ultimately life is meaningless?
There seems to be no hope in life.
If this were the meaning of vanity, life would be meaningless, but the Preacher is instead explaining a critical truth that we have yet to grasp these thousands of years later.
Vanity does not refer to absolute meaninglessness, but instead to a cyclical repetitiveness.
Our experience of life is such a small slice across all of human history, the value of our contribution and purpose for living gets utterly lost in this broader scope without an anchor for context to the bigger plan across time.
Hope is found in the meaning and purpose God provides to connect us to His story as integral players for His purpose and glory.
The theme of Ecclesiastes is that life is short, death is certain, and seeking meaning apart from God is like attempting to grasp the wind or wrangle vapor.
Meaning is not something we can control. Hope is found in the meaning and purpose provided as a free gift in love from God through His Son.
The Genre and Authorship of Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes sits at the end of the Wisdom literature in Scripture, preceded by Job and Proverbs, but all three tied together to provide critical lessons about the meaning of life.
Mirroring the virtues of faith, hope, and love, with love as the greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13), Ecclesiastes, Job, and Proverbs provide meaning to these ultimate questions of boredom or empty pursuit with the necessity of faith in God’s provision (Ecclesiastes), suffering is resolved through hope in God’s care (Job), and love as the ultimate meaning of life (Song of Solomon) demonstrated through God’s pursuit of us as His beloved.
Proverbs unites all these themes with a contrast between Wisdom and folly, or pursuit of God versus pursuit of self, proclaiming faith, hope, and love are found in a life lived in pursuit of Wisdom (Proverbs. 3:1-8).
Historically attributed to Solomon because of the opening credential of the author as “the son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes. 1:1), the writing style, language differ from Proverbs and Song of Solomon, which are directly attributed to Solomon within the texts (Proverbs. 1:1; Song of Solomon 1:1).
While the exact dating and authorship are uncertain, the timelessness of Ecclesiastes is evident in its vivid descriptions of our modern struggle for meaning and purpose.
The book introduces the content of the book as “the words of the Preacher” (1:1), used alternatively throughout the book as Qoheleth (which is the Hebrew word for preacher, convener, or collector), suggesting that an editor or disciple of Qoheleth has compiled his teaching for this book at an uncertain date.
This authorship does not negate the possible influence or content from Solomon, but just that the book is not directly from Solomon but compiled and edited by another to provide a call to elevate faith in God for the people of Israel.
How Does Hope Play a Part in a World of Vanities?
If life is just vapor or breath, like “chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes. 1:14), from where does our hope come from?
The Preacher described his ceaseless pursuit for knowledge, self-indulgence, and pleasure, wisdom for wisdom’s sake, and work, concluding that everything comes from the hand of God and attempting to live apart from God is “vanity and a striving after wind”(Ecclesiastes 2:26).
Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 provides the context and answer to this issue.
The Preacher combats the cyclical repetitiveness inherent in vanity by proclaiming there is a fixed and appointed time for everything and it is according to this timeframe, which is outside of our control, that God orchestrates His purpose and plan provided to us as a gift (Ecclesiastes 3:13).
Life is short with our appearance on the planet like a breath compared to eternity, but this awareness of scope is given to us by God to provide an unsettling or discomfort in this place as a distant reminder of a home we have lost, a motivation to pursue God who controls time, place, purpose (3:14-15).
As C. S. Lewis stated, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world” (Mere Christianity).
Eternity in our hearts is the echo of the Garden, the place of perfect relationship with God, self, others, and creation.
We were made in the image of God, designed to be “naked and unashamed” (Genesis 2:25) with the purpose to image God through our creating, ordering, and sustaining His creation (Genesis 1:28).
Hope is the recognition of this glimmer, this reminder of God’s continued connection, continued relationship with all of us, as is realized through the incarnation and provision of new life through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Ecclesiastes is the echo of the Gospel message that we are more sinful than we ever thought but more loved than we could ever imagine.
In the Fall, we sought independence from God in desiring to define good and evil for ourselves, seeking meaning and purpose apart from our Creator.
God demonstrated mercy and grace by limited our lives in this empty pursuit in blocking continued access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24), providing hope in the promise of a Savior (Genesis 3:15).
The message of the Gospel is the message of an upside kingdom because our values and desires have flipped with the influence of sin.
Our pursuit of independence and pleasure leaves us isolated and in despair while our dependence on God provides a connection to Him in His love for us and for the world (John 15:9-12).
Mark 8:35-37 summarizes Ecclesiastes well by noting,
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?”
While our lives feel short and quick, our hope is found in the timing and plan of God, who has ordered our lives and “every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
How to Live with Hope in the ‘Already but Not Yet’
Hebrews 11 provides a glorious parade of faithful followers of God designed to bolster the endurance of the author’s audience and reinforce their faith in God’s promises.
The author of Hebrews is speaking to an audience struggling to retain the truth of God’s promises within the overwhelming appearance of reality as enveloped by meaninglessness and vanity.
Suffering and struggles are real and in the midst of these experiences we lose sight of the bigger picture and the “now” feels all-consuming.
The author of Hebrews seeks to encourage his audience by reminding them of God’s bigger plan and purpose while providing concrete examples of those who lived according to this faith and assurance in unseen things.
Hebrews demonstrates scope and context for God’s provision and plan, opening our eyes again to the hope of our calling to something greater (Ephesians 1:18).
The suffering, struggle, and death of these saints did not consume their vision.
They did not lose sight of the bigger purpose of God even when the breath of their life exhausted without receiving what was promised, their faith remained (Hebrews 11:39) because their hope was on something more permanent, an “anchor within the veil” (Hebrews 6:19).
The faith and hope of these saints looked backward to the promise of the Messiah (Genesis 3:15) with a culmination in their future, fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Mark 8:29).
Our faith and hope also look backward to Christ’s death and resurrection and forward to His return (1 Peter 5:10-11; Revelation 22:20).
We live in the joyful expectancy of the “already but not yet.”
We live in the Saturday of passion week, assured in the provision of redemption through the cross and resurrection while awaiting our own resurrection and glorification to follow Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
In the same way that the saints of Hebrews 11 endured in their faith, waiting in “the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1), we retain our purpose and meaning in time, awaiting our own resurrection, looking to Jesus as the anchor point to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).
Because we only perceive life through this finite experience, it is so easy for anyone and everyone to get caught up inside the vanity of repetitive pursuit, feeding our desire for independence and pleasure.
The Preacher calls us to attention, however, to remind us that because life is short, this reality should spark our motivation to get working and make sure our direction and desires align with God’s purpose and plan for us.
It is easy to become distracted and lose sight of the hope of our calling and the author and perfecter of our faith.
The scope of our task and role is bigger than us and extends beyond us.
Just as we have the hopeful, hope-filled example and encouragement of a great crowd of witnesses who have gone before us (Hebrews 12:1), so too we are all now leading others in the hopeful, hope-filled treads of our footsteps as well.
Maintain your hopeful, hope-filled, faithful faith-filled perspective as meaning it all comes from God and in spite of all the “vapor-ness” of life, motivates us all to significantly fruitful, fruit-filled Kingdom of God action in this short time.
Our hope in God is unaffected by circumstance or situation because God is always in control and we receive what He provides as from His hand, both, whether good or bad or completely catastrophic all is for His glory alone. (Ecclesiastes 7:13-15; Job 2:10; Romans 9:22-24).
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Look full into His Wonderful Face.
And the Things of This Earth Grow Strangely Dim.
In the Light of His Glory and Strength.
In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord, my teacher, I’m often confused when I need to make important decisions about my life, my family, my work, my relationships, my health, or finances. Show me the way I should go when I don’t know which way to turn. Help me remember to come to you, rather than trying to figure everything out on my own. Guide me along the best pathway, your pathway for my life. Lead me and Advise me and watch over me. Help me to give both of my ears to listen to your guidance and not resist it as much as I have been. I thank you that your unfailing love surrounds those who trust you. Amen.
3 Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as Christ’s sufferings are ours in abundance [as they overflow to His followers], so also our comfort [our reassurance, our encouragement, our consolation] is abundant through Christ [it is truly more than enough to endure what we must]. 6 But if we are troubled and distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted and encouraged, it is for your comfort, which works [in you] when you patiently endure the same sufferings which we [a]experience. 7 And our [b]hope for you [our confident expectation of good for you] is firmly grounded [assured and unshaken], since we know that just as you share as partners in our sufferings, so also you share as partners in our comfort.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Come! Listen! Let Me Tell You What My Savior Has Done For Me.
Psalm 66:16-20 The Message
16-20 All believers, come here and listen, let me tell you what God did for me. I called out to him with my mouth, my tongue shaped the sounds of music. If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened. But he most surely did listen, he came on the double when he heard my prayer. Blessed be God: he didn’t turn a deaf ear, he stayed with me, loyal in his love.
The writer of Psalm 66 wants to tell us his “GOD story” when he says, “Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.”
The psalmist does not want to talk about his accomplishments or achievements.
The Psalmist wants to talk about what God has done for him throughout his life.
His life had not been easy.
He had been tested and refined like silver.
He had experienced many burdens.
But through it all God had been with him and by listening to his cries for help,
God had led him, guided him, directed him to “a place of abundance.”
Like the Psalmist, each and every one of us has a strikingly similar story to tell.
All of us can bear great witness to the weight of burdens we have had to carry.
All of us can testify to hardships in our lives—but also to the one irrefutable fact that God, and God alone, has always been there and always acted on our behalf.
We must make sure we tell our story.
We must make sure you tell about God’s presence in our life and about his amazing grace in the midst of our much diverse and various degrees of trials.
We must wake sure we tell, re-tell it to our children and our grandchildren.
Someone once said to me,
“If something were to ever happen to you, I am sure I would not know anything about any legitimate kind of relationship to God or His Son or the Holy Spirit.”
Don’t let that happen to you.
Start contemplating your story.
Start writing or telling your story today!
A story which begins with (Song by Bill & Gloria Gaither and Ladye Love Smith)
Days are filled with sorrow Days are filled with sorrow and care Hearts are lonely and drear Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Troubled soul, the Savior can see Every heartache and tear Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
and ends with ….
A repetition of this guided affirmation of faith in our Savior Jesus Christ ….
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Burdens are lifted at Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are lifted at Calvary Jesus is very near
Let Us Now Lift Up Our Hearts Unto Calvary Because Jesus is Very Near
I want us to imagine that we are each standing at the end of a long hallway.
The hallway represents the entirety of our life so far on earth.
To begin with, look down to your feet, where you are standing is todays date; all the way down at the far distant other end of the hallway is the day of your birth.
Now, just begin walking – please do not run, skip or jog or sprint or fast walk, Neither get on your skateboards, roller blades or roller skates or your bicycles.
Leave your car keys, your truck keys, your mini-van, your hybrid or EV car keys.
You are not driving anywhere – you are only and just walking with Savior Jesus.
Go outside of self and stretch your legs a bit, start working that heart muscle.
As you begin walking down the hallway heading back in your life, I want you to take notice of all of the notice various and diverse sizes of pictures on the wall.
These pictures are all of the “events” from your life; it’s like a photo album of your entire life which someone has taken the time to paint or print and hang.
Some are large framed pictures; they are the most significant experiences you have had so far.
Some are good; some are bad; some are happy; some are sad.
As you steadily walk down this hallway of your life, I want you to take a long and considered look at the content and context of all of these large pictures.
What significant events from your life do you see that stand out?
Is there a wedding?
The successful purchase of your first home?
The Birth of your first child?
Are there family vacations or sporting events pictured on the walls?
Is there an achievement like a high school or college diploma or an award?
Is there a significant milestone depicted – high professional achievements?
Is there a significant milestone depicted – your long awaited retirement?
Are there spiritual experiences like your coming to faith in Christ or a time God miraculously entered into your sub-conscience, especially touched your life?
Are there significantly painful experiences—a divorce, the death of someone you really loved, a failure, a betrayal, abuse, alcoholism, a difficult to care for child which leads to a hardcore challenging, difficult marriage, a significantly threatening health diagnosis, an over abundance of “no money,” an addiction?
Take some time now to walk beyond all of that, walk all the way to the end of this hallway of your, notice “self-portraits” in all these significant experiences in your life… contemplate, take notice of all the ones named “my aloneness.”
[NOW TAKE SOME QUALITY TIME WITH GOD IN SILENT REFLECTION].
As I pray, for you like the Psalmist did, I plead with you to realize that all these experiences have actually shaped who you are today, whether you like it or not.
I pray for you to realize there is no time for self-blame, or blame God, He didn’t cause all of these hard things to happen, but did allow them to happen to you.
What GOD wants to do with us, within us, is to use all of these experiences–Good and Bad–to grow us spiritually and mold us into the likeness of our Lord and Savior Jesus and to shape us for the unique purposes He has for our lives.
His intent is not to cause us any harm (1 John 4:7-12 The Message)
God Is Love
7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.
11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
By the unmeasurable enormity of this love He expressed through Calvary,
He does not intend nor want even one of our life experiences to be wasted.
With a very God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit specific long term intention:
Romans 8:28-30 Amplified Bible
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers. 30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
God takes every single one of our life experiences—whether positive or painful, intentional or accidental, known or unknown, avoided or not, caused by you or by someone else, to shape all His Children for His unique calling in their lives.
Romans 8:28-30 may be, for some of us, the most personal verses in the Bible:
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
Your life experience and my own are one of the most overlooked ways that God uses to mold, shape, and transform us for the way He wants each of us to serve Him and others in this world, to edify, that is, to build up, His Kingdom alone.
The Bible says that God is working in every experience you have—our mistakes, our decisions, our successes and failures, our education or lack thereof, all of our different jobs, relationships, our lack of relationships, our unemployment, our disabilities, our marriages, our health issues, our finances—you name it.
God is working in every single thing in our lives—even in and through our own continued and continuous bent to our sins–to accomplish His purpose for you.
What Is The “God Specific” Purpose For Which God Is Even Now Working In Every Single Thing In Our life?
He is always working for the good in our lives.
Reverend Rick Warren puts it this way:
God can take the mess in our lives and bring a message out of it.
He can take the tests in our lives and create a testimony out of it.
He can take any crisis and show all of our Savior Jesus Christ through them.
GOD does not, never will, waste any experience any one of His Children have.
Moses murdered a man and had to flee into the wilderness between Egypt and Israel to save his life.
Some 40 years later God came to him in the vision of a burning bush and said, Moses, I have chosen you to go back down to Egypt to set my people free from slavery and guide and lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
Moses knew the wilderness; he had lived there, learned its ways for 40 years.
Likewise, as Moses did, that through God, not our wits, God wants to use the wildernesses of our lives to help guide others, to find God’s way for their lives.
Joseph, his father Jacob’s favorite, was conspired against, thrown down a well and eventually sold to merchants into slavery by his hyper jealous brothers.
He ended up a slave and a prisoner in Egypt, but God gifted him and made a way for him to become the Prime Minister of Egypt and second only to the Pharaoh.
When famine threatened the very existence of God’s people, God used Joseph to plant, grow, harvest, store, manage the supply the grain that His people needed.
And when his brothers came to him starving, Joseph said to them: You intended to harm me, but God long intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the housing, settling and feeding, ultimately the saving of many lives.
But notice carefully God does not just do this for everybody.
God works His good for those who love Him and follow His plan.
The promise of Romans 8:28 is not for everybody.
God does not work His good in our lives when we don’t love Him or we turn our backs on Him.
It’s not that God turns His back on those who don’t follow His plan for their lives – God loves everybody, but He cannot help and use those who close their hearts, souls, minds, strengths and lives to Him and His plan for their lives.
One of the most common ways God uses our life experiences for good is to help others – to empathize, give comfort and encouragement while God works.
God can and does take each and everyone of our experiences, especially the painful ones, and turns them around, transforming them in a positive way.
Who better to help someone who is struggling than another person who has gone through the same struggle?
2 Corinthians 1:4 says, God, through Christ at Calvary, comforts and encourages us in all of our troubles so we can then, in turn, comfort and encourage others.
From Calvary then, when others are troubled, we will be able to reciprocate, to give them the same comfort and encouragement from Calvary God has given us.
Our troubles can become the very ministry God will use to help other people.
That uniquely painful experience in your life that you keep locked in the inner recesses of your soul could become your singularly unique, greatest ministry.
God has used the failures and hurtful experiences of my own life more than anything else to mold, shape and transform me exclusively for His purposes.
Those bad life experiences of my have helped me grow uniquely, spiritually.
Truthfully, in the good and happy times of my life, I have usually just coasted spiritually, taking God’s grace for granted that He will always, forever be there.
I have to see, from the long shadow extending outward from Calvary, and into eternity, God does not want me to allow my experiences to count for nothing.
I have to become the better person, through Christ, God needs me to become.
Now, it is my relationship with God which continues to keep me looking more forward versus more backwards, instead, a day at a time – Sweet Savior Jesus.
He was my Best Forever friend, much better than a brother I never had.
I was so “at ease, more comforted, more encouraged” with my Sweet Savior Jesus, stark comparison to the “disease of sin” I was struggling to recover from.
He truly brought wholeness to my life, an indescribable joy and immeasurable degrees of comfort that will always and forever be etched deep in my memory.
In His time on earth; Jesus had completed God’s mission for His life; and there is no doubt God touched uncountable many lives through him.
Through Calvary, by my walk to Calvary, My Sweet Savior Jesus helped me to see how life is supposed to be lived—in tune with my GOD and the Holy Spirit.
He helped me to find God and my family, the church to which my wife and I go.
On more than one occasion, the Bible says that God chooses to use weaker vessels to do His work so that He may get the glory.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God says: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul responds: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
God can help people more through their weakness than we can through our strengths.
That’s why we need each other; it’s why we need the supportive fellowship of the church.
You can learn from others who have gone or who are going through the same struggles you are.
Perfection, if we could achieve it, would help nobody.
What experiences have we had to confront in our own lives which GOD could use to help comfort and encourage others?
“I Thirst” and then “It is Finished”
John 19:28-30 Amplified Bible
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said in fulfillment of the Scripture, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of [a]sour wine was placed there; so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a branch of] hyssop and held it to His mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] [b]gave up His spirit.
At Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, At Calvary, the death of the perfect Son of God was the darkest moment in world history, but look back at the portraits in the length and breadth and width of your hallway at how God used Jesus’ death.
Jesus’ death atoned for every single one our sins and everybody else’s sins and made for each of us an unobstructed way back to God, into heaven when we die.
Out of Christ’s crucifixion, God brought to all mankind the ultimate comfort and encouragement – God brought salvation for all who trust and follow Jesus.
This is our hope in Jesus Christ!
On that first Easter Sunday two millennia ago, God brought life out of death.
Jesus Christ died, three days later he arose from the dead and is now a living presence among us right now— forgiving us, delivering us, shaping us, guiding us, loving us, living in and among us and wanting to use us for His purposes.
God can use all your life experiences, good and bad, to shape you for His unique calling in your life—if forego any resistance to any, all change, if we let Him.
Hebrews 3:12-16 Amplified Bible
The Peril of Unbelief
12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving [a]heart [which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart] that turns away from the living God. 13 But continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called “Today” [and there is an opportunity], so that none of you will be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [its cleverness, delusive glamour, and sophistication]. 14 For we [believers] have become partakers of Christ [sharing in all that the Messiah has for us], if only we hold firm our newborn confidence [which originally led us to Him] until the end,15 while it is said,
“Today [while there is still opportunity] if you hear His voice, Do not harden your heart, as when they provoked Me [in the rebellion in the desert at Meribah].”
16 For who were they who heard and yet provoked Him [with rebellious acts]? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
“Today, while there is still opportunity, if we WILL hear His voice …”
“Do not harden your hearts again and again, with further acts of open rebellion …”
God’s Call and Invitation to each and everyone of us through Mount Calvary:
God has 3 callings in the lives of each and everyone of His Children:
(1) He calls you to salvation and a new life in Jesus Christ;
(2) He calls you to be an active part of His church;
(3) He calls you to serve Him and comfort and encourage others in the unique way He has gifted and shaped you.
Encouraging one another is an important part of our daily walk with Christ.
Comforting one another is an important part of our daily walk with Christ.
We live in a world corrupted by unbelief, sin, and, at times, persecution.
How can we stay firm in our faith?
Scripture gives us this recipe:
Comfort, Love, Encourage, and Daily Pray for one another.
In God’s grace, the Holy Spirit uses these acts of mutual and shared comfort, care and encouragement to guide us, see us, through the most trying of times.
When fellow believers are struggling, be quick to extend your helpful, sharing hand.
Be graceful and be generous.
Be gentle and be merciful as unto the Lord.
Be comforting and be encouraging.
Offer words of comfort and prayer, as well as tangible acts of help, encourage people around you, and be surprised by how much you are encouraged yourself!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Would you pray this prayer with me?
Almighty God and my Everlasting Father, Lord of my life, I offer back my life to You. Everything I’ve been through, Lord, use it for Your glory. Jesus, I give You my all. In your name I pray and commit myself to Your continuing work in this world. Lead, Guide and Direct my Steps back towards Calvary from whence comes my Savior. That I may be a comfort as I was comforted, I may be an encourager as I was encouraged. For indeed, there is no other name under heaven through which mankind is saved.
18 For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us! 19 For [even the whole] creation [all nature] waits eagerly for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration and futility, not willingly [because of some intentional fault on its part], but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will also be freed from its bondage to decay [and gain entrance] into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been moaning together as in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons—the redemption and transformation of our body [at the resurrection]. 24 For in this hope we were saved [by faith]. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
So, how is your day so far today?
Did you dread getting out of bed this morning?
Will you be irritated by traffic on the way to work?
Are you facing unreasonable demands from your employer?
Is there ongoing tension in your marriage?
Do you find that your children are ever more appreciative of what you do on their behalf?
Did the evening news cheer you at the end of the day?
Are you simply tired of the same old routine, and longing for something new?
Chances are you feel burdened about one or more issues above.
You are certainly not alone.
In fact, the Bible states,
“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Not only that but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the first fruits – we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22-23).
All of creation groans, longing for redemption.
The Definition of Redemption
The dictionary defines redemption as:
1. the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil.
2. the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.
Romans 5:8-11 specifies,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
Redemption is used in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
The Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, redemption involves deliverance from bondage based on the payment of a price by a redeemer.
The Hebrew root words used most often for the concept of redemption are pada, gaal, and kapar.
The verb pada is a legal term concerning the substitution required for the person or animal delivered.
The verb gaal is a legal term for the deliverance of some person, property, or right to which one had a previous claim through family relation or possession.
The meaning of the third verb, kapar, is to cover.
Fundamental to the message of the New Testament is the announcement that Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of Israel’s messianic hope and that, in him, the long-awaited redemption has arrived.
Deliverance of humankind from its state of alienation from God has been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ (Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
In the New Testament, redemption requires the payment of a price, but the plight that requires such a ransom is moral, not material.
Humankind is held in the captivity of sin from which only the atoning death of Jesus Christ can liberate. (“Entry for ‘Redeem, Redemption'”. “Evangelical Dictionary of Theology”)
Redemption is Necessary
When life gets hard we tend to say that we need a break.
What we really need, however, is redemption.
Instead of gaining a momentary respite from the madness that surrounds us, redemption is the promise of God to deliver us from the power and presence of sin.
If this promise sounds too good to be true, consider the fact that the world used to work this way.
Prior to their rebellion, Adam and Eve had unbroken fellowship with God, unparalleled intimacy with each other and undisturbed enjoyment in their Edenic environment.
There has never been a time such as theirs when humans exercised biblical dominion over creation, complemented each other so completely and joyously lived every moment of every day under the rule of God.
But there will be again.
The Bible envisions a day when these broken relationships will be forever restored.
God’s people will inherit a new earth that bears abundant food apart from the sweat of their brow and without the threat of thorns (Revelation 22:2).
They will never feel pain or cause others to experience hurt of any kind as their tears have been eternally wiped away (Revelation 21:4).
Death will no longer haunt the living as gentle lambs will rest side by side with formerly carnivorous wolves (Isaiah 11:6).
Best of all, God will dwell with his people (Revelation 22:3).
Nothing unclean will be allowed to enter the new creation.
There will be no trees that trick or serpents that tempt.
Worship, not worry, will characterize the family of God in a world without end.
In a word, this fallen world will be redeemed.
Thus, the Christian worldview is premised on two realities:
God’s good world spoiled by human sin (fall) and sinful humans made fit to enjoy God forever (redemption).
In spite of the fall, the world continues to work – sort of.
After the fall, Adam and Eve’s oldest son proved remarkably adept at navigating through life.
Cain married a woman and loved their son (Genesis 4:17).
The curse of the ground notwithstanding, Cain became a farmer and then a city builder (Genesis 4:3, 17).
Even Cain’s descendants were known for their creative prowess, including advancements in shepherding livestock, playing musical instruments and developing sturdy weaponry (Genesis 4:20-22).
Put simply, even fallen people in a fallen world somehow manage to contribute to human progress.
On the other hand, even morally upright people manage to confirm the human predicament.
Noah is such a man who, in the midst of a moral sewer, managed to find favor in God’s eyes (Genesis 6:8).
His craftsmanship is demonstrated through his ability to build an ark that withstood the most destructive storm ever.
His attention to detail spared not only his life but that of his family and the entire animal kingdom (Genesis 6:14-22).
Nevertheless, in spite of God’s grace towards him, Noah later became drunk and passed out naked in his tent (Genesis 9:20-21).
When he awoke he cursed generations yet to be born (Genesis 9:24).
This is hardly the behavior one would expect from the man God used to rescue the world but Noah’s life confirms that “there is no one righteous, not even one”(Romans 3:10).
Redemption is Already Accomplished but Not Yet Complete
Humans still retain the image of God, which accounts for any semblance of goodness and enables any sense of progress (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6).
However, life is not as it should be in this fallen world.
Theologians have differed over the means by which Adam’s sin has been passed down to every person but the reality of death provides sufficient confirmation that no one is exempt (Romans 5:12).
Though Charles Manson and Billy Graham took completely different paths with their lives, both are subject to the death sentence as are you and I.
The Bible thus describes our common plight: we are “dead” in our “trespasses and sins” and we are “by nature children under wrath” (Ephesians 2:1,3).
Redemption is the reversal of the fall.
In part, this reversal means that those who were spiritually dead are made alive (Ephesians 2:4) and those who were children of wrath are now children of God (1 John 3:1).
Though the Bible recognizes fallen people may make positive contributions to the world as a whole, the Bible is quite clear that no one can contribute anything positive to their own redemption (Romans 3:23-28).
The only person qualified to undo the effects of the fall is Jesus Christ who, as the eternal Son of God incarnated through the Virgin Mary. by the Holy Spirit.
This is not to say that he was not tempted as he lived in a fallen world and experienced genuine struggles that all humans face (Hebrews 2:14-18).
However, the Bible unflinchingly states that Jesus never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22) and thus focuses on him alone as the one who can make sinful humans fit to worship a holy God (Acts 4:12).
Even the death of Jesus was not the result of any sin he committed but rather the most gracious act of love ever displayed, where he took upon himself the sins of the world so that all who believe in him will be saved (Romans 5:6-11).
The Big Picture of Redemption in the Bible
The doctrine of redemption extends even beyond the matter of individual salvation.
During his lifetime, Jesus provided abundant proof of his ability to completely restore a fallen world.
He demonstrated his lordship over heaven when he calmed the storms on the sea (Mark 4:35-41);
he demonstrated his lordship over hell when he exorcised demons from a troubled man (Mark 5:1-20);
he demonstrated his lordship over life when he healed a woman of her incurable disease (Mark 5:24-34);
and he demonstrated his lordship over death when he raised a young girl from the dead (Mark 5:35-43).
With these and countless other unwritten miracles (John 20:30-31; 21:25), Jesus provided ample reason for us all to conclude that this troubled world is not our home – in the end, He himself will make all things new (Revelation 21:5).
The final book of the Bible is, therefore, a fitting end to the story of the fall with its triumphant declaration of full redemption:
“Then he showed me the river of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His slaves will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. Night will no longer exist, and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).
Living in Light of Redemption
Living in a fallen world as Christians means we will experience trials and tribulations and will continue to struggle with our own temptations.
We are forgiven, but God is not finished with us yet(Philippians 1:6).
Consequently, longing for a better world, even a perfect world, is not a form of escapism.
Rather, it is the Christian’s rightful anticipation of a promise made by the One who justly pronounced a curse on this world and then lovingly took that curse upon Himself in order to, for once and all time, redeem people for His glory.
What are some practical steps that you can use to share the story of redemption with others?
Recognize that we are all products of the fall and in need of redemption.
It’s easy to forget that people who bother us are often people just like us.
We are all affected and afflicted by the fall.
When we view people through the lens of being fallen (instead of expecting them to live as if they were fully redeemed), we can be more sympathetic.
Thus, instead of bearing a grudge against them we should recognize the need to point them to their Redeemer.
Jesus stated it this way: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”(Matthew 22:35-40).
Realize that the sufferings of this world are temporary.
This is not to diminish the pain we feel when our bodies fail or when friends betray us.
Pain is hurtful and we will feel it.
Yet, the promise of redemption is that our pain and hurt are not final.
We have hope because God Himself has promised to redeem all of creation.
If we want others to share in our story of redemption, we do this best when we live in light our future redemption.
1 Corinthians 2:9 states,
“But as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived’ – God has prepared these things for those who love him.”
Respond to God’s grace in your life by offering grace to others.
One of the joys we will experience in the new heavens and new earth is knowing that we are there because someone shared the good news of the gospel with us.
How much more will our joy be to know that someone has been redeemed because we shared the story of redemption with them!
We can do this with gentleness and kindness: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
Creation is Groaning as in the Pains of Childbirth.
Romans 8:22 Amplified Bible
22 For we know that the whole creation has been moaning together as in the pains of childbirth until now.
God created a paradise and sin ruined it.
Fortunately for us that is not the end of the story, creation is longing to be restored to the state it was created to be in, based on the promise of God.
This promise was fulfilled in Jesus and now Paul describes the physical fulfillment of this promise as something creation is in anticipation for.
He likens this waiting period to the labor pains of childbirth.
The process might be hard and might take awhile but once started there is no way to stop it.
And the end result makes the whole thing worth it.
Many people look around and make a judgment call based on what they see.
They look at the state of our natural realm and see death and decay.
Our news channels are filled with warnings of global warming ruining our environment.
Many organizations rally the governments and it’s citizens to save the planet.
However, the Bible says that creation as already been saved.
After taking all of this in it would be easy to say that God hasn’t fulfilled his promise to creation yet based on the natural evidence of this.
However, when Jesus came, I John says, that he came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
Since he has already come, Satan’s power over creation has been destroyed.
We know this because Jesus came the first time to reconcile us to the Father and he will come the second time to redeem us and take us home.
Based on this we understand that creation has already received the first fruits of it’s redemption because Jesus has sent to us the Holy Spirit to testify that we are his children.
Paul said earlier in this chapter that this revelation of the sons of God is what creation has been waiting for (Romans 8:19).
Paul uses the illustration of childbirth to illuminate this very truth and to help us understand that just because we cannot see it, does not mean it has not happened yet.
Pregnancy is a sign that new life is something which is already taking place, awaiting the moment when God and God alone calls the new life into being.
Psalm 29:8-10 Amplified Bible
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord [a]makes the doe labor and give birth And strips the forests bare; And in His temple all are saying, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sat as King at the flood; Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
When a child is conceived within the womb of the mother, the evidence of this isn’t apparent for a time, even to the women – but changes are already starting.
Psalm 139:13-18 Amplified Bible
13 For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were appointed for me, When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.
The body of the mother is already beginning to adjust itself to receive the new life and attach it to the walls of the uterus where it may be nourished by mom as it steadily comes together and grows and grows as God has ordained it to be so.
A women doesn’t become pregnant when there is evidence to support that she is bearing a child, a women becomes pregnant at the conception of this child.
This illustration helps us to understand that the physical evidence always follows the act.
The spiritual always births the physical.
Creations’ redemption is already complete in the spiritual realm and now it is experiencing the labor pains which have started announcing to the reader the physical manifestation of this.
The amazing thing about labor and childbirth is that afterward comes fullness of joy.
The pains and hardship experienced are quickly forgotten once a baby is held in arms.
Countless women cannot recall any details of their labor because the joy of motherhood is so great.
Knowing what this type of suffering produces gives courage to all to endure it.
The same is true with creation.
Expectation of being restored to a perfect sinless existence is enough to endure hardship right now.
Creation is waiting in anticipation for it’s final redemption because it knows the One who promised is faithful.
Today, I join with creation in praising our God, looking forward to that day when I will see him face to face.
May you also join with us in celebration our full redemption through Christ Jesus, Amen!
The First Fruits of the Spirit
Romans 8:23 Amplified Bible
23 And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons—the redemption and transformation of our body [at the resurrection].
Heart change comes quickly on the heels of Salvation.
This is because at Salvation our entire being and nature is completely changed when we get the Holy Spirit deposited inside of us testifying to the fact that we now belong to the family of God.
The Holy Spirit is given to us as the first fruits of our eternal redemption through Christ Jesus.
This is a foretaste of the blissful things that are to come.
Our bodies long to be clothed with Christ and like creation, we groan inwardly a waiting for this adoption to take place.
If the world and it’s desires held anything over you, once you are born again, the illusions of this world seem to fade away.
Replacing them comes a longing to be reunited with Christ.
Paul talks in detail about this desire.
In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul talks about a inward groaning in which we long to be further clothed and fitted with our heavenly dwelling.
On this earth we long and groan under the burden of this body because we are being fitted with a heavenly body fashioned after Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:2-5).
But in the same way that he is preparing us and making us fit for this heavenly body, the Holy Spirit is given to us as a guarantee of the fulfillment of this promise while on this earth (2 Corinthians 5:5 Amp).
So in this we can rejoice knowing that we have already received the first fruits of our redemption.
The amazing thing about knowing this promise is that we can rest assured of our future with God.
He left nothing up to chance but has done everything to bring restoration to us through his son Jesus.
Today I am so blessed to be called a child of God.
I am so blessed to have the Holy Spirit inside of me to testify to this wonderful truth every moment of the day.
I pray that this scripture based truth will come to bless you mightily today!
Amen!
In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Everlasting God, as our hearts yearn and groan within us waiting for the fullness of your kingdom, help us to pray, help us to wait, help us to not be misled by deception, but with undivided hearts look for the true light of your coming. Heavenly Father, thank You that in Christ I have been made a new creation. Thank You that the day is coming when the curse on the whole of Your groaning creation will be lifted. Until that time I pray I may live and work to Your praise and glory in Jesus name I pray,
Dear Father, you have blessed me with so many wonderful blessings. I thank you for each and every one of them. At the same time, dear Father, I do long to be brought into your presence in glory as your child. The pain and heartache of the world, the fragility of my body, and my frustration with my own vulnerability to sin keeps me longing for the day that your Son returns in glory. Until that day, help me as I try to be your holy child, let the Body of Christ be Your Church. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
21 When they approached Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples [ahead], 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and at once you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you should say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and without delay the owner will send them [with you].” 4 This happened so that what was spoken by the prophet would be fulfilled, saying:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion (the people of Jerusalem), ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Gentle and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 Then the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and they brought the donkey and [a]the colt, and [b]placed their coats on them; and Jesus sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road [as before a king], while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting [in praise and adoration],
“[c]Hosanna to the Son of David (Messiah); Blessed [praised, glorified] is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”
10 When He entered Jerusalem, all the city was trembling [with excitement], saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Triumphal Entry? Great Expectations? A King on His Donkey?
At first observation after a few readings of this narrative account of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, I realized something about the two images disconnected.
The picture would have been perfect if Jesus had been riding a white horse, used in those days by warrior kings to symbolize conquering power, decisive victory.
But the narrator Matthew specifically highlighted: Jesus rode on the back of a donkey – the disciples celebrated and paraded their Messiah King on a donkey.
Why?
What image were they hoping, planning to project to the gathered crowds?
What were they expecting the gathering crowds to see and understand of this?
What of the gathering crowds at the gates of the city of Jerusalem?
What were their expectations of the coming of their “Messiah King?”
What were we expecting to see?
What “coming new thing” were we expecting to learn about or be reminded of?
An unarmed conquering warrior Itinerant Master Rabbi?
Long ago, prophet Zechariah said the Messiah would come in righteousness, riding on a donkey, a symbol of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9 Amplified).
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O Daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King (Messianic King) is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, [a]Humble and unassuming [in submission to the will of the Father] and riding on a [b]donkey, Upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Though most of the people would have probably seen Jesus fulfilling this prophecy as their Messiah (see also Psalm 118:25-26 Amplified),
25 O Lord, save now, we beseech You; O Lord, we beseech You, send now prosperity and give us success! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; We have blessed you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship].
Jesus came in triumph into His city under God’s guardianship, they expected him to announce the arrival of a war of rebellion against Roman oppressors.
But he didn’t.
Instead he had no army behind him, nobody is waving any swords or spears.
He was not even armed with a spear or a sword nor did anyone hand him one!
Perhaps with expectations crushed that’s why the chanting crowds changed their tune from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him!” 5 days later (Matthew 27:22-23).
Matthew 27:22-23 Amplified Bible
22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all replied, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why, what has He done that is evil?” But they continued shouting all the louder, “Let Him be crucified!”
Considering our state of current events, I don’t guess, and I wont prophesize that things will have actually changed much from then until now, have they?
People are still willing to rally around the banner of Christ if it goes along with their own interests, if their expected understanding of Christ comes to them as they always expected, approved because their expectations have been fully met.
We also desire, even to go so far as to expect we can maintain a good Christian confession while trying to avoid standing too close to the lingering shadows of the cross, or getting too close to actually running to the tomb to see emptiness.
But Jesus, the King who actually rode on an actual donkey, calls us to actually examine our much paraded walk with him as we come to the cross this Friday.
Center yourselves and dig deep and CRY,
“Am I just here for the Parade?“
Am I just coming along side of everyone else, because everyone else is here right now or everyone else is going along for the ride because it all looks so very interesting and might even be a measure of fun or something I and my business might profit from?
If I have to actually get serious about all this, to decide between God and my job, my reputation, something else in my life—will I also change my expectations?”
The celebration of Palm Sunday is about King Jesus riding to the cross in total obedience to his Father – about His grace and peace come by way of the cross.
Will we with our packed luggage of preconceived expectations receive him in the same way he was presented by the Gospel narrator Matthew in chapter 21?
Our Expectations – A Humble, Triumphant King?
Matthew 21:5-11 Amplified Bible
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion (the people of Jerusalem), ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Gentle and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 Then the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and they brought the donkey and [a]the colt, and [b]placed their coats on them; and Jesus sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road [as before a king], while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting [in praise and adoration],
“[c]Hosanna to the Son of David (Messiah); Blessed [praised, glorified] is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”
10 When He entered Jerusalem, all the city was trembling [with excitement], saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus was getting near the end of His ministry.
He had been telling the disciples that He would be killed.
Now He comes riding into the city, sitting on donkey’s foal.
This was to fulfill a prophecy made by Zechariah.
Kings, leaders, presidents and others in high authority are known for arriving with a lot of pomp and circumstance – it is expected to show them great respect.
There is always a lot of fanfare going on to bring in someone of high leadership.
Whenever the President of the United States arrives at a building where he is going to speak, he arrives with a great fanfare and a great entourage of people.
There are multiple vehicles in front and behind him.
When he walks out into a room, there is always some music playing, people rise up for him, and He is announced.
The same goes for famous celebrities.
Standing room only crowds
There is a lot of pictures and videos being taken.
All kinds of busyness, posting and sharing activity across social media outlets.
Celebrities arrive in a large limousine.
There is flashing of jewelry and expensive clothing.
There are red carpets.
There are lots and lots of television and journalists, and paparazzi’s.
It is a show of pride and luxury, with no sign of humility.
In many countries, when their leader arrives, there is also a great show of their military power.
Soldiers, weapons, and military equipment tour d’ force go paraded before the visiting leader to show who is in control and who exactly has all the power .
Jesus did not do any of this.
He came in riding on a baby donkey.
In the biblical times, a king would arrive on a horse showing great power.
Jesus did not show any of that, even though He had more power than all the kings on the earth combined.
He created the earth and all who are in it (John 1:1-5).
John 1:1-5 Amplified Bible
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
The purpose of His arriving in that way, was to show love and compassion.
He is a king who can understand where people are, so He comes in humility.
Most people do not have the grand horse to ride on, but just have the donkey.
Even today, our Savior, our King Jesus comes to you in love and compassion.
He does have the power, but will not show a force of threat to get you to follow.
Jesus wants you and me to want to follow Him.
He understands where we and our “great expectations” are and is there for you.
As we proceed through this Holy Week,
Let’s take a slightly longer look at our “great expectations,”
our Godly versus Worldly priorities;
Matthew 6:33Amplified Bible
33 But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
He is not unapproachable.
He is not unknowable.
He is not unreachable.
He is not untouchable.
Do not fear your king.
Do not fear your Savior.
He is gentle.
He is always and forever in and within our very midst …
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
1. Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
2. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.
___Charles Wesley___ 1707-1788
I pray today that you will know this Jesus riding on the donkey’s back as your king; you will know Jesus is gentle and loving; that you and I will seek him as he seeks you and me to find Jesus in our life; that we will show His love and humility in your life. Lord Jesus, may we ever so lovingly and willingly obey you and joyfully follow you, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Savior of us all, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we pray always for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] [a]love which you have for all the saints (God’s people); 5 because of the [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved and waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this hope in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation] 6 which has come to you. Indeed, just as in the whole world the gospel is constantly bearing fruit and spreading [by God’s power], just as it has been doing among you ever since the day you first heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth [becoming thoroughly and deeply acquainted with it]. 7 You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf 8 and he also has told us of your love [well-grounded and nurtured] in the [Holy] Spirit.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
The Root Of Our Hope Is Our Savior Jesus
It’s wonderful when someone comes into the kingdom of God.
That person receives God’s gift of grace through faith in Jesus, and they begin a new life of walking with the Holy Spirit.
The new believer realizes that the full measure of their “sacred cow” plans for their old life of selfish pursuits offers them nothing that will ever satisfy them.
By their new hope in Christ Jesus, they have turned their back on the darkness and are enjoying the light of the world, Savior Jesus – Praise God for his love!
Paul is filled with thanks to hear that the people of Colossae have come to faith in Christ Jesus and are showing their love for all God’s people.
He even says, “We always thank God . . . when we pray for you . . .”
They have become wonderful examples of living by faith in Jesus.
They believe and trust, they love, and they hope in what God has already stored up in heaven for them.
Drawing all this together, today we can echo with great assurance with Paul that the new faith of the Colossian believers is decisively rooted in Jesus Christ.
Friends, my prayer is you will have faith in Christ Jesus; my hope for you is that in Jesus’ name you are loving others, giving yourself up for them, and growing in hope in all that God has promised and is storing up for you and me in heaven.
Stay rooted in Christ, stay united in His hope anticipating the reality of our own resurrection, the reality of God’s coming kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
The Hope of Resurrection Brings Us All Together
What is the basis for Christian unity?
What is the basis for being able to correct another believers doctrine?
What is the foundation of love and faith in the Christian life?
Paul answers these questions in the beginning of his letter to the church at Colossae.
In the beginning of Colossians, Paul teaches that the basis of Christian faith and love is hope.
We can view hope as elemental to the gospel message, proclaimed to all who believe.
This foundation of hope in the gospel unites us with other believers, for all believers share the same foundation of the message of Christ.
From those foundations proceed faith and love, essential to the character of believers.
Faith And Love As Reasons For Giving Our Thanks
Paul thanks God for the faith and love evident in the church at Colossae.
The believers at Colossae were believers in Christ Jesus, found in Him and known by Him.
Their faith set them on the side of light.
For, Christians have been rescued from darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of the Son, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13-14).
The Incomparable Christ
13 For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty].
Faith is what made these believers dwell in a new understanding about life, truth, what matters on this earth, and what matters for times to come.
And Paul even heard about the faith of the Colossians, so completely notable was their expression of it.
Paul also heard about the love that believers had for the saints.
The believers had love for their fellow believers, and this was an outworking of the eternal truths of the gospel.
Their love is further identified in the letter as being “in the Spirit” (Colossians 1:8), the mark of its veracity.
Paul notes the rich and beautiful Christian love of the Colossian church:
Colossians 2:1-3 Amplified Bible
You Are Built Up in Christ
2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those [believers] at [a]Laodicea, and for all who [like yourselves] have never seen me face to face. 2 [For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] [b]love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the [c]mystery of God, that is, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God].
Paul will ultimately write to the church at Colossae about heresy creeping in, and with that in mind, he writes he desires the body of Christ to be encouraged together with hearts unified in love.
This is Paul’s desired way for the church to have reception of truth and correction of error: to write to a church about these matters who is knit together in the love of Christ.
Then, they would be able to further share in the genuine message of Christ, separate truth from error, and have the full experience of Christ leading and guiding in truth amidst His very own body at Colossae.
No wonder Paul thanks God for the love he sees in the saints at Colossae: it gave him genuine confidence about the message of correction he would be sharing.
That love in the context of faith was made possible by the foundation of hope in Christ and Christ alone present in the church.
The Hope of the Gospel in Us
Hope as a Foundation
Paul credits hope as the foundation for the believers’ virtues. Hope is the basis for Christian faith and love.
Hope is the basic element of the faith — that we have a future with Christ through the truth of the gospel.
And hope is the basis for Christian love — that we have a future with One who unites all believers.
Faith springs from the message of hope. Love flows through the message of hope because the message is what unites the church, one to another.
Hope from the Gospel
Hope comes from the gospel, the word of truth.
The hope of the gospel is restored union and communion with Jesus Christ, the God who made us.
Colossians 1:27 says that Jesus Christ in us is the hope of glory.
Surely this is the center of Paul’s message in the opening words of his letter.
Hope is the basis for faith and love — and the basis for this hope is that we have restored relationship with Jesus Christ.
This relationship means we have a future of even closer communion with Jesus when we are one day with Him in glory.
Hope Passed On
The word of truth is learned through the teaching of another.
The gospel is passed from person to person through teaching.
Hope becomes passed through the fellowship and instruction of other believers.
Not only had Paul and this church not met face-to-face, so it was with many believers spread throughout the world.
The gospel — the hope of Christ — spreading is an encouraging point of union between Paul and the church a Colossae.
Their shared hope is spread by Jesus Christ who would surely build His church (Matthew 16:18).
Hope is the foundation from which virtues spring and is testified to in the gospel of Christ.
The Blessed Unity of Believers’ Shared Foundation of Hope
Because Paul and his fellow believers at Colossae had a strong foundation of hope — with evidence he could hear about — he is solidified in his union with them through Christ.
Paul’s Connection with the Church at Colossae
Paul uses this expression of prayer-filled thanks to establish his unity with the church at Colossae.
He would be writing to warn against heresy creeping into the church.
But at this juncture, He is establishing truths about the faith, love, and hope that are basic to the Christian message.
He heard about this church’s faith through Epaphras, not being a church that he planted.
But he had thanksgiving-filled unity with this church nonetheless because of the message of the gospel.
Paul’s Connection with All Churches
With thanks, Paul indicates that the message of the gospel was spreading throughout the world — and not only through Paul’s ministry.
What joy that these Christians could receive a message of warning through Paul based on Christian gospel unity — and not based upon personal connection.
Many could, and indeed would, be wary to receive correction from someone not personally known, but Paul would deliver this message faithfully and with great hope that it would prayerfully be received well by those he had never even met.
Through the unity of the gospel and on the basis of broad Christian unity through Jesus Christ, Paul would be proceeding with his message of correction.
Suggested Points of Meditation and Application
As we consider Paul’s opening comments of the letter to the Colossians, we can note hope as the central theme, and basis for his commitment and unity with the church members.
This commitment and unity comes from a heart that shares the indwelling of Christ Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit with fellow believers.
As you take these teachings to heart, pray over the following application points:
1. Strengthen your understanding with conviction in the hope that you have
2. Ensure that you are loving others in the church because of the hope that you share from the hope to be found only in resurrection of our Savior Christ Jesus.
3. Know that your hope means your faith is in a different world, for a different life to come. John 17:6-12Amplified.
6 “I have manifested Your name [and revealed Your very self, Your real self] to the people whom You have given Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept and obeyed Your word. 7 Now [at last] they know [with confident assurance] that all You have given Me is from You [it is really and truly Yours]. 8 For the words which You gave Me I have given them; and they received and accepted them and truly understood [with confident assurance] that I came from You [from Your presence], and they believed [without any doubt] that You sent Me. 9 I pray for them; I do not pray for the world, but for those You have given Me, because they belong to You; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and [all things that are] Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world; yet they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and protected them, and not one of them was lost except [a]the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
4. Trust a shared foundation of hope with other believers provides a foundation for doctrinal correction—should you ever be placed in the position of giving or receiving such correction
5. Be ever more thankful to God than to humanity for the unity of the gospel being spread throughout the world.
Resurrection of Hope
It’s not the experience of hope but the object of hope that is stored up for us in heaven–and that gives rise to faith and love, says the apostle Paul.
Colossians 1:27, Paul talks about “the hope of glory,” meaning the final unveiling of our salvation, when “righteousness and peace kiss each other” (Psalm 85:10).
This grand source of hope does not mean we ignore this present life.
Instead, this hope encourages love.
In a sermon on this text, author John Piper says,
“Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love.”
He adds, “It’s not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort that do that, and the power to sever those cords is Christian hope.”
To live in the utter certainty, centrality of the hope of His coming glory, frees us all from greed and bitterness, despair and laziness, from impatience and envy.
Being fully captivated by this future Paul says we’ve heard about in the gospel empowers, inspires, moves us forward against the tsunami’s of culture, to give us grace to live in faith and in love to become examples of God’s new creation.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
In your kingdom, Lord, there are no favourites, all are equal, all carry the image of the one who made all things, and all are welcome in your home. You forgive those who in humility make the journey to repentance, even those who now reject you. Such love,Such faith, Such hope, beyond our imagining. Such love, Such faith, Such hope, that could die for us. Such love, Such faith, Such hope, sown into hearts, that we might display its beauty through hopeful lives and hope-filled words. Thank you Lord!
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
8 Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! Amen.
Many of God’s plans are detailed throughout the Bible.
He has plans for nations, for people groups, and for individuals.
Isaiah 46:10–11 summarizes what God wants us to know about His plans:
“My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.”
It’s one thing to recognize that God has an overarching plan for the world; it is quite another to acknowledge that God has a specific life plan for each person.
Many places in Scripture indicate that God does have a specific plan for each human being.
It starts before we are conceived.
Lord told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
God’s plan was not reactive, a response to Jeremiah’s conception.
It was preemptive, implying that God specially formed this male child to accomplish His plan.
David underscores this truth: “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).
Unborn children are not and never will be accidents.
They are being formed by their Creator for His purposes.
That is one reason abortion is wrong.
We have no right to disrespect God’s plan and violate God’s workmanship by killing a child He is in the process of forming and shaping into His Image.
God’s plan for every human being is that each one comes to know Him and accept His offer of salvation (2 Peter 3:9).
He created us for fellowship with Him, and, when we reject the reconciliation He offers, we live at cross purposes with His plan for us.
Beyond salvation, God also designed good works for each of us according to our gifts, strengths, and opportunities (Ephesians 2:10).
He orchestrated the location, time into which each of us is born (Psalm 139:16).
If He knows the number of hairs on our heads, then He knows us better than we know ourselves (Luke 12:7).
He knows the gifts, talents, strengths, and weaknesses He gave us, and He knows how we could best use them to make an eternal impact.
He gives us opportunities to store up treasure in heaven so that, for all eternity, we can enjoy His reward (Mark 9:41; Matthew 10:41–42).
God’s plan for each person is generally stated in Micah 6:8:“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
His plan is for relationship over duties.
When we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25), enjoying a loving relationship with the Lord, our actions indicate that closeness.
Pleasing Him is our delight.
His plan unfolds naturally as we grow in faith, mature in knowledge, and practice obedience with all we understand.
As we obey His general plan for His children, we discover His uniquely designed plan for us individually.
We know God’s plan for those who know Him includes reaching others with the good news of reconciliation and salvation (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 5:20).
His plan is for His children to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
He wants us to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18).
He wants us to love other Christians the way He loves us (John 13:34).
As we diligently read, and study and follow His Word, we will discover our own spiritual gifts and abilities that specially suit us to serve Him in unique ways (2 Corinthians 12:4–11).
God’s plan unfolds in our lives as we use all we have exclusively for His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).
We often become impatient in wondering what God’s plan is for our lives.
But it is not as complicated as we make it out to be.
God’s plan for us is revealed a little at a time as we follow Him, and His plan may look different in different seasons of life.
Hypothetically …
A middle aged person working hard to support the responsibilities of career and family, an older person working hard to successfully get into their retirements.
An already retired person looking to quietly move and gradually settle into their “time away” years, a young person may ask God to direct their steps to His plan for their lives and believes college or vocational training is part of that plan.
But halfway to their happiness and joy through their plans for themselves, they fall ill and must spend an extended and unknown period of time to rest, recover.
Are they now out of God’s plan?
Not if their hearts and souls are set to focus exclusively upon Him.
In that time of rest and recovery and rehabilitation, the young women meets a young man who becomes her husband.
They both love the Lord and desire to serve Him and believe that His plan for them is some ministry or mission field which they have had their hearts upon.
They begin planning and preparation, but halfway through the training, she becomes pregnant with what becomes an unplanned high-risk pregnancy.
Did they miss God’s plan?
Does the Lord have a plan to forsake them?
Has the Lord got a “plan B” to abandon them when things go awry?
Will the Lord abandon or forsake the middle aged person when plans change?
Will the Lord subtly or suddenly turn His face or His back unto the aged when their lives subtly, or suddenly become diverted by health or financial concerns?
Will the Lord change His plan for everyone to come to know Him in these times or from these times and seasons?
Not at all.
Proverbs 16:1-4 English Standard Version
16 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.[a] 3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. 4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.
We must recall, God guides and Shepherds us in and unto HIS plan not our own.
The answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
The Lord alone is the one who weighs the spirit.
Commit your work unto the Lord and your plans will be established.
The Lord has made everything for its purpose.
The Lord alone has made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:10-13 English Standard Version
10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
All this is of God, from God alone, to fulfill God’s own purpose, plan for them.
Hypothetically,
Perhaps because of their experience caring for a child with special needs, they are able to get closer to God and minister to other families with similar needs.
A person coming through the harsh reality of a Cancer diagnosis may find the need to share their experiences with treatment and surgery – to give comfort.
Whatever was “their planned mission field” will subtly, suddenly look much different from the one they had envisioned, but it is now God’s plan for them.
Hopefully, Prayerfully, Faithfully, Lovingly so …
They are able to look back and see God’s hand in every turn along their way.
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 English Standard Version
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.[a]14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with[b] every secret thing, whether good or evil.
“Will God please make up His and my mind so I will know what I am to do!”
We will struggle mightily acknowledging and accepting God’s plan as rarely being a straight shot to, as much as we can tell anyway, a clearly visible goal.
Psalm 57:2 English Standard Version
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
His plan requires of us a journey, illustrated so well in Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, and that journey may be filled with detours and diversions, sudden and slow crawls, stops, and hosts and myriad and myriads of confusing turns.
Psalm 138:8 English Standard Version
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Romans 8:28 English Standard Version
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[a] for those who are called according to his purpose.
But if their hearts and their souls are genuinely set to obey Him in all that they know to do, then they will be at, in the center of His will every step of the way.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 The Message
8 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.
3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?
5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden’s dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us stewards of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.
9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
8-9 Yes. Believe it or not, this is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God: “Don’t let all those so-called preachers and know-it-alls who are all over the place there take you in with their lies. Don’t pay any attention to the fantasies they keep coming up with to please you. They’re a bunch of liars preaching lies—and claiming I sent them! I never sent them, believe me.” God’s Decree!
10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.
13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.
“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.
“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
How rare is the Word of God today?
How rare is the genuine understanding of the Word of God today?
How rare is the genuine truth of the Word of God sought after today?
How rare is the person who seeks after the genuine truth of God’s Word?
How rare is the person who actually, diligently, genuinely, seeks to apply the wisdom and the genuine truth of the Word of God to their lives?
How rare is the person who actually, diligently, genuinely applies the genuine truth of the Word of God to their lives?
How rare is the person who then actually, diligently, genuinely, seeks with all of their heart, souls, minds and strength, to diligently, genuinely teach all others? (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
Do we genuinely want to know, love, experience God through His Word alone?
Do we really and genuinely want to surprise ourselves by seeking His Kingdom?
The True Deeper Meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 Might Surprise You
Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most well-known and quoted verses in the Bible.
It’s promise is held dearly by Christians all over the world.
But despite it’s popularity the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is often misused and misapplied.
It’s one of the most misquoted verses in the entire Bible.
While many Christians have this verse memorized and hanging on their walls, the context in which it’s written is often ignored.
The Bible passage of Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse that we, as Christians, cling to in times of trials and hardships.
Whenever problems occur in our earthly lives, we always find safe refuge in the Word of God and one of those verses is Jeremiah 29:11.
Because of this,
it is essential to understand the historical as well as the literary context of the verse to give us a deeper understanding as to why Jeremiah wrote it.
When we ignore the context in which the Bible is written we can quite literally make it say anything we want.
What We Commonly Get Wrong About Jeremiah 29:11 Meaning
Jeremiah 29:11 is everywhere.
From coffee mugs to graduation speeches this verse is plastered everywhere.
Yet despite the popularity the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is often misapplied.
Most commonly the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is applied as a personal promise.
That God has a wonderful and perfect plan for ME.
Many take this verse and apply it specifically to them, that God has their life perfectly mapped out, and that they only have to walk in obedience to God.
Others take this verse a step further claiming this verse is a continuous promise of health and wealth.
Since we are children of the King we would, could, should only hope to expect the best from God.
With this view, anything less than that view, pain and suffering are interpreted as a sign of disobedience, being disciplined by our God for our true lack of faith.
The main problem with these interpretations of Jeremiah 29:11 is that they are very ME centered.
It’s all about what God can and is going to do for ME.
And that’s not the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11.
Or the Bible for that matter.
Where do we begin to more deeply, genuinely acknowledge, the grace of God?
When do we acknowledge the genuine authority, sovereignty, power, of God’s exclusive to God truth behind Psalm 46:10-11?
Psalm 46:10-11 The Message
8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”
11 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
See all of the marvels of God and God alone!
The alleged marvels of humanity are not even mentioned by the Psalmist!
The sovereignty of God and God alone is where everything remains the same.
Psalm 46:10-11 Amplified Bible
10 “Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
So, accounting for it being about God alone, what does Jeremiah 29:11 mean?
Let’s dive into the context and find out.
The Meaning Of Jeremiah 29:11 In Context Historically
Context matters. In fact, I would say context is king.
When we are reading the Bible we cannot ignore the context in which what we are reading is written in.
That means we should do three things when reading the Bible:
Look at the surrounding verses
Consider the original audience
Look at the larger narrative of the Bible
What is the history behind his words and what is the reasoning?
What is its literal meaning and how can we apply it to our daily lives, not just during tribulations, but rather, as followers of Jesus Christ and children of God?
To help us understand the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 we will focus primarily on the first two in the list above.
Let me just say this, the common ways this passage is interpreted does not fit the Biblical narrative – the Bible teaches selflessness not a ME centered faith.
When you rewind a little bit from Jeremiah 29:11 what you see is God talking to the nation of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah.
What Does ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ Mean in Jeremiah 29:11
Based on the historical context of the verse and the major events that happened in the past, we can understand why Jeremiah said the words in Jeremiah 29:11.
His primary goal was to speak to God’s people amidst hardships and suffering.
The people on the long march into Babylonian captivity needed to know there was some kind of hope they could latch themselves onto to face down reality.
The people were ready to grasp onto any smidgen of reality that would reveal for them that somewhere in this national tragedy befalling them, there is hope.
The unfolding breadth, unrelenting scope of trauma in every which direction of recent events of Babylonian siege, and plunder and war, of this disaster abound.
No one was immune from the impossible to measure effects of its devastation.
National identity was being systematically, violently stripped away from them.
Even their beloved Temple, where God was always to be found – was destroyed.
The Temple where God resided, was desecrated beyond repair – God was gone.
No God in residence…the spiritual trauma behind that thought – unfathomable.
Can anyone of us identify with this feeling?
Their lifeline to God and His divine protection – violently, visibly, severed.
Can anyone of us identify with this feeling?
No lifeline to God was equated with having no Hope of seeing Hope ever again.
Can anyone of us identify ourselves with this feeling?
The people of God were asking for an immediate rescue from the suffering that they were experiencing, and the counter-cultural, against the grain, prophet Jeremiah had a huge responsibility to tell them the truth about God’s promise.
He was also tasked to rebuke a very huge and ultra convincing lie that the false prophet Hananiah had widely circulated, which was not a very easy task to do.
This verse was his message, inspired by God’s guidance, to tell the people that God’s response is not an immediate answer, rather, God has a plan to prosper His people amidst hardships, God has a promise for the future of His people.
The needed caveat to these words – being after seventy years of exile is done.
The duration of the exile would continue until God had designed it to be over.
There would be no avoiding it or getting away from its experience or its effects.
The exile was a done deal.
Praying would not end it before its anointed and appointed time.
The exile was going to have to be fully, inescapably, endured. (Psalm 137)
Considering the coming tragedy of that march to Babylon, and what the people already had to endure and bear witness to (Psalm 137:8-9), it was a bitter time!
If we reflect on the words of Jeremiah, we can see the wisdom that God gave him during those trying times.
He starts with a clear, direct message, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,”
These words can be interpreted as a direct message and an assurance that God knows their plans.
And then, the verse continues with a more profound explanation of God’s plan, “‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
These words give more detail of His plan — to inspire His people to continue on, to persevere through the very harshest of seasons, times and circumstances.
The Historical Context of ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ in Jeremiah 29:11
In its context, Jeremiah is speaking to his fellow people as they were forced to exile from their home in Jerusalem to Babylon and, now, under enemy rule.
There was too much turmoil in terms of emotional and physical stress among the believers of God during this time.
To add to this, there was also a false prophet named Hananiah who gave false hope to the Jews regarding the prophecy of God.
According to Hananiah, God promises to relieve the Jews of their suffering after two years and would come back to their home.
This was a false prophecy that Jeremiah heard and rebuked. We can read this verse further in Jeremiah 28:15-17;
Jeremiah 28:15-17 Amplified Bible
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am about to send you away from the face of the earth. This year you will die, because you have spoken and have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”
17 So Hananiah the [false] prophet died [two months later], the same year, in the seventh month.
Imagine Jeremiah having to tell the Jews that instead of two years, they would live in Babylon for 70 years and endure it as it is written in Jeremiah 29:4-10,
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”
Jeremiah was tasked to deliver a message that God’s people would have to live, build houses, marry, pray for peace, and prosper in a city that was not theirs.
It was an arduous, difficult task, and Jeremiah had to give the people an inspirational message and thus the words in Jeremiah29:11 were written.
What Deeper Meaning Would, What Could, What Should, ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ Genuinely Mean for Us Today?
Indeed, Jeremiah 29:11 is a great reminder amidst the longevity of suffering, God alone has a boundless God sized plan for us to prosper and hope for our future.
We should not give up. We may be experiencing different situations such as the severe health or a financial crisis or a family relationship on the brink of being torn apart, the verse tells us that these things are in passing and God has a plan.
Just as what happened in the past with the Jews in Babylon, we may experience “lets grasp for human straws” hopeful words of false prophets like Hananiah.
The much beloved verse also reminds us not to believe in human things that are too good to be true and instead, trust God alone, His Grace, His processes alone.
For it is only in trusting His process we can all be assured of hope for the future.
Lastly, this much cherished verse also reminds us that if we seek God in our hearts, we will never be weary even if we experience suffering in our lives.
Let God alone transform our mindsets of unrelenting suffering to unrelenting joy in the Lord and the Lord alone who is our strength. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
More Bible Verses about Hope
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
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ~ Romans 8:24-25
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ~ 1 Peter 1:3
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
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
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ~ Romans 12:12
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1
2 Timothy 3:14-17 Amplified Bible
14 But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Seek out the deeper meanings, immeasurable truths of the Word of God.
The entirety of our lives is a Tapestry weaved by the Grace of God by God.
In Christ Jesus, our Savior, in Him alone our hope is found (Acts 4:8-12)
Give God 100% of the Glory – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.
Give God 100% of the Praise – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.
Give God 100% of the Honor – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Majesty, worship His majesty Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise, Majesty, kingdom authority Flow from His throne, unto His own His Anthem raise Majesty, worship His majesty
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise, Majesty, kingdom authority Flow from His throne, unto His own His Anthem raise
So exalt, lift up on high, the name of Jesus Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King Majesty, worship His majesty
Jesus who died, now glorified King of all kings
Copyright:
1981 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years [of exile] have been completed for Babylon, I will visit (inspect) you and keep My good promise to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. 13 Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Some years ago the well-known author James Michener wrote a book called The Drifters.
It’s a story about young students traveling aimlessly through Asia and Europe, drifting from one day into the next, without either a plan or even any purpose.
Lots of people today are drifters too.
Even if you have everything life has to offer, you can feel unfulfilled and without purpose, drifting from one day to the next.
Or maybe you feel as if you’ve been cut adrift.
For example, maybe you’ve lost your job and you don’t see much of a future.
Or maybe you’ve lost your spouse through death, separation or divorce, and you feel as if you’ve reached the end of the road.
Perhaps you are in that place in life where you are feeling unfulfilled, at an age where perhaps you are considering a career change but you are unsure what the next career might be or you are struggling with how you are going to finance it.
Or maybe you just retired and you feel as if you’ve been put on a shelf.
Or perhaps you’re permanently disabled and you’re not sure how you can go on.
If you’re feeling adrift for one reason or another, take heart from God’s words to us through His Prophet Jeremiah: “I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and … to give you hope and a future.”
God does not want us to drift through life.
He assuredly, definitely has a purpose and plan for each one of us.
Whoever you are reading this, ask yourself, “What does God have in mind for me? And how does God want to use me today so I can have hope and a future?”
God’s Presence in Our Plans
Jeremiah 29:10-11 The Message
10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
This quote was part of a letter God had Jeremiah write to the Jews whom King Nebuchadnezzar had been forcibly taken captive to Babylon from Jerusalem.
They had been ripped from their homeland, marched, walked, taken to a land where they were aliens and strangers.
I cannot imagine how hopeless they felt. (Psalm 137)
But God had already told them what to do when they arrived there.
What we do not know is how receptive this first generation of exiles were to the message of God, through Jeremiah, of a hope not manifesting itself for 70 years.
Jeremiah 29:4-8 Amplified Bible
4 “So says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there and do not decrease [in number]. 7 Seek peace and well-being for the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its peace (well-being) you will have peace.’ 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your [false] prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you; pay no attention and attach no significance to the dreams which they dream or to yours,
He told them to build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce.
To get married and have children, then give their children in marriage to have more children, to multiply there, to not decrease in their population numbers.
And incredibly, God told them to seek the peace and well-being of Babylon where ultimately he had sent them into exile.
God even told them to pray for Babylon’s welfare.
For in Babylon’s peace and well-being, the Israelite’s would have their peace.
Then God promised that after 70 years he would bring them back to Jerusalem.
He essentially told them to take heart, a measure of solace, He had plans for them, plans for their good, plans for their future, plans to give them hope.
This is a good reminder for us.
We need to regularly remember that this world is not our home.
As the Apostle Peter would later remind his congregations of readers;
1 Peter 2:9-12 Amplified Bible
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable desires] that wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that [a]for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God [b]in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].
Just as Babylon was not the Jews’ final home, neither is this our final home.
Our home is heaven.
But like the ancient Israelite’s, we are to build our lives here for now.
We’re to seek the good of our nation, our churches, our friends and neighbors.
John 14:1-6 Amplified Bible
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “[a]I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
We are to settle in, have generations of family, and build homes – temporarily.
We are to pray for the welfare, the well-being of where God will settle us down.
But we mustn’t forget that after “70 years” – sooner or later – God will come back, His Son, our Savior Jesus will take us unto our ultimate home – heaven.
Those are God’s plans for us.
But he has plans for us now too.
More on this tomorrow ….
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 The Message
8 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.
3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?
5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden’s dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us stewards of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.
9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 