Today, many people are struggling to find a shimmer of light in this dark and gloomy world. All around us, we can see that what was once considered right is now considered wrong and vice versa.
Although today things seem to be going down hill in record time, the good news is that not all is lost. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you understand this; if you're not a believer, hopefully you will understand after reading this article. The truth is, our hope was born two thousand years ago with a cross.
The only real hope we have in this world is found in Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus is the answer to all of our problems. While you may not be a believer, again, those who are believers know in their hearts that Jesus is the only place to find true hope.
For people who have never put their faith in Jesus, I urge you to continue reading so that you will, at the very least, have this information and use it to make a decision that's based on truth. Please don't come to any conclusions based on what you may have heard from others or what you believe to be true before you actually know the truth.
Who is Jesus?
You may have heard that Jesus is God. This is a hard concept to grasp for new believers, so it's safe to say that it's even harder for non-believers to comprehend. However, stay with me and I will explain.
How I can say that God sent His Son, Jesus, to the earth while at the same time say that Jesus is God? First of all, you have to understand that we are human and our minds are finite. This means that we will never fully understand the ways of God. God is infinite, He is higher than us, His ways go beyond our comprehension, and He can do whatever He wants in whatever way He chooses.
That being said, God chose to become a man - Jesus Christ - in order to live as a human being. He did this to see things from our perspective and to feel the things that we feel. Ultimately, He did this in order to save us. Although Jesus became a man, He was without sin and blameless before God.
So, Jesus was fully God and fully Man. You see, God exists in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This fact is something that may be hard to understand, but as you get to know each of the Persons of the Triune God, it becomes more clear.
Here is a diagram of the Holy Trinity to help with understanding:
Almost every religion teaches that Jesus was a real person who walked the earth. To some religions Jesus was a prophet, to others He was a teacher and still others He was a godly man. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was all those things and so much more. In John 10:30 Jesus states “I and the Father are one.” In this statement Jesus was claiming that He is equal with God. Additionally, in John 8:58, Jesus claims to have existed before the world began. This is another attribute of God. Jesus says: "Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!"
There are additional clues in the Bible that tell us that Jesus is God. In John 1:1 it says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Now add that to John 1:14 which says: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." These two verses also point to the fact that Jesus is God and furthermore, came to earth and lived among His people.
Why it's Important to Understand Jesus is God
We've established that Jesus is God in flesh. He is the One who came to earth to be the Redeemer of mankind. It's important to point out the Jesus is God for several reasons:
If Jesus is not God, then He would be a liar and untrustworthy in every way
If Jesus is not God, then that would make the twelve Apostles, the Apostle Paul and all those who claimed to walk with Jesus when He was on earth nothing but liars as well
If Jesus is not God, His death would have been insufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world (see 1 John 2:2)
Jesus had to be God because the Messiah was promised to be the “Holy One” according to Isaiah 49:7
Jesus had to be God because no one on earth was or is righteous before God according to Psalm 53:1 and 143:2 and therefore, God Himself had to become a man
Jesus had to be God because only God Himself could provide a sacrifice that is infinite and eternal (see Romans 5:8 and 2 Corinthians 5:21)
God is the only Savior according to Hosea 13:4 and 1 Timothy 2:3, and if God is the only Savior, then Jesus must be God
You see, Jesus had to be both God and Man. As God, it was only Jesus who could satisfy God's wrath, and as a Man, Jesus was given the ability to die. According to 1 Timothy 2:5 Jesus became the perfect Mediator between Heaven and earth.
Jesus Came at the Appropriate Time
Galatians 4:4-5 tells us that Jesus came to the earth when God felt it was the perfect time. "...When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." God knew that the world needed to be saved and His plan included His only Son, Jesus Christ going to the cross to die in our places.
Remember, God knows everything and His timing is perfect. Just when the world needed Him the most, God came down and saved the world. Since the time Jesus was here, the world has never been the same. The good news is that salvation is still (and will always be) available to everyone at any time, but we have to believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is the Lord (Romans 10:9-10) in order to receive this salvation. With our belief in and confession of Jesus Christ comes the hope of every believer in Christ.
What Exactly Is Hope?
Let's look at two definitions of hope. One is the worldly definition and the other is the Biblical definition. You will see that there is a big difference between the two definitions.
Worldly Hope
The dictionary's worldly (temporal) definition of hope is:
a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
grounds for believing that something good may happen
a wish whose strength is the strength of the person's desire
The sad thing about worldly hope is that there are no guarantees. Worldly hope may have a solid base or on the other hand, it may be misguided. In both of these instances, God's will is not considered. Often times worldly hope will leave you sad and even depressed. When you put your hope in man, sooner or later, you will be disappointed. Likewise, when you put your hope in the things of the world, you will eventually be let down.
The truth is, our personal beliefs, feelings and wishes aren't based on truth, they're based on things that aren't absolute. Our beliefs, feelings and wishes may change, they may be challenged, they may be misguided or they may be squashed. They are fleeting and finite and again, they come with no guarantees.
Worldly hope offers no particular value or virtue. This type of hope usually includes some degree of doubt, uncertainty, and personal bias. It can most definitely be selfishly motivated and misdirected.
Biblical Hope
Let's compare worldly hope to Biblical hope. The definition of Biblical hope is:
the sure and confident expectation of receiving what God has promised us in His Word
putting your confidence in God and in the things of God
trusting in God’s faithfulness and presence no matter what the circumstances are: whether good or bad
Biblical hope is certain and offers solid guarantees, unlike worldly hope. Hebrews 6:19 describes Biblical hope as: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil." So Biblical hope is an anchor of our souls, and is sure and steadfast. "Sure" meaning "definite" or "certain" and "steadfast" meaning "immovable" or "secure."
Unlike worldly hope, you can rest assured that Biblical hope is valuable and virtuous because there is no doubt or question about it's validity. You can place your trust (hope) in God, knowing that this ONE thing is certain - God will fulfill His promises - every single one of them.
Where Do You Find Hope?
Jesus is Our Only TRUE Hope
To understand the hope that I am speaking of, you first have to understand what it means when Christians say that Jesus Christ died for your sins. Once you understand that concept, you begin to realize that His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection is what brings us hope.
Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ. As He proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Before receiving Jesus, we are dead in our sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1) headed for hell. This means that no matter what we do, we will never be right in the eyes of God because on our own, we can never meet His standards. EVERYONE is a sinner who falls short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have to acknowledge that we are sinners who need a Savior, and through the blood of Jesus, we become righteous in God's eyes. This is our HOPE.
First Peter 1:3 says: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
The best way to say it is this: there is no hope in the world without Jesus. In other words: there is no hope in the world that you can count on as a certainty like the hope that lies in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the only One we can truly rely on. The promises God makes in His Word are solid and will never let us down. When God says He will never leave us (Deuteronomy 31:8), He never will. When He says He is with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9), that means He is constantly by our side. When He says he has plans for us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11), He means it wholeheartedly. You see, there are roughly 8,000 promises in the Bible and God stands by every single one of them.
Finally, 1 Timothy 1:1 Paul writes that Jesus Christ is "OUR HOPE." That's it. It's that simple.
When you have hope that comes from salvation through Jesus Christ, you don't have to worry, you don't have to fear. When you know that you know, the TRUTH of the cross gives you peace that leads to hope.
For Those Needing Hope...
Do you desperately need and desire to have a life filled with hope or do you feel as though you don't deserve God's love? Maybe you just feel like you can't take another step, or go on another day. This is what I would say to you:
We all have a past (before Jesus comes into our lives), and the truth is, we DON'T deserve anything from the Lord. BUT, He is gracious and merciful and loves us so much that He blesses us in spite of everything that we've done. It's not because we're good that God gives us things and meets our needs or keeps His promises, it's because HE'S good. That's why He does what He does for us. He loves us!
Like I said before, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven. Our righteousness comes from Him.
So, your past is forgiven (and present and future) when you receive Jesus into your life. And guess what!? Psalm 103:12 says: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." This means that not only are we forgiven, but God forgets all that we have done. Jesus paid all of our sin debt in full and because He did that, the Lord remembers our sins no more. That in itself is reason to have hope!
We all have to keep trusting and keep believing. We just have to press on. One of my favorite verses of scripture is "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). This verse is a great reminder for me - no matter what I go through, there is HOPE in Jesus Christ.
Sometimes when things in life are crazy or less than desirable, I remember that everything I feel or go through, Jesus went through it all as well. There is nothing I face that He cannot help me with. That is hope. That is what gets me through. In Christ alone, my hope is found. Jesus laid down His life for all of us and when we finally realize that He LOVES us that much that He did so, that is all the hope any of us should need.
The truth is, we were never promised an easy life just because we're Christians. In fact, Jesus said in John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Life does get hard. Trials do come. But when you have Jesus, you have everything you need. Ephesians 2:14 tells us that Jesus Himself is our PEACE.
Scriptures To Give You Hope
Isaiah 40:31 - "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Micah 7:7 - "But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me."
Romans 5:3-4 - "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Romans 12:12 - "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Blessings,
Amy
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Hope is for a fool
Seek THE GOD and HE welcome you