Hope

I have Hope because ....

Hope because God loves me and He proved His love for me in deed not just talk.

The greatest thing anyone can do for another is to lay down their life. He constrained Himself to a human form in order to be like me. He paid the price as the only eligible representative human for all our sins in the sacrifice of His own life for all of us. For what other sacrifice than that of God Himself would be sufficient to cover for the sins of all mankind? What animal, ritual, grain, fruit or other offering can ever cover or make up for my sins? Thus He showed His love for me by dying for me that I might live life as a forgiven human and live it abundantly. I don't know anyone else who willing constrained themselves, suffered and died for me.

 John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Hope because Jesus knows what it is like to be me.

Being fully human, he knows everything we experience. He was tired, thirsty, disappointed, betrayed, abandoned by his own, rejected, physically suffered great torture, was mocked, disbelieved, he wept and knows how we sometimes feel abandoned by God. So He knows what it is like to be human. He did not live like a king in luxury, not like a warrior who waged mighty battles on the battlefields of men, carried no weapons, wore no finery or jewelry, was born into a humble and poor household, did not have a favorite animal or food or drink, did not get married or settle down. He knows what it is to be a normal citizen of a country, a common man.

Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”

Matthew 27:46  (on the cross) About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Matthew 26:38 (in the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest) Then he said to them," My soul is very sorrowful, even to death"

Mark 3:21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind"

Hope because God forgives me and makes me new.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”

Hope because God knows my future and wants good for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Hope because God knows every detail about my life and His eye is on me.

Luke 12:6-7 (Jesus saying) "... Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Psalm 33:18 “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy”

Hope because God makes me stronger.

Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.”

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not; for I am with you, do not be dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Hope because nothing is impossible for God.

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Hope because God will never abandon me.

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you”

Isaiah 49:15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

Isaiah 54:10 “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

Hope because God is faithful.

2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful;”

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Hope because God gives my soul what I need to be content.

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

Eternal Hope because my eternity (moksha, nirvana, salvation) is secure.

He died for me, paid for all my sins, I will have life everlasting in His presence when my days on earth are up.

John 6:51 Jesus answered." ...I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

John 14:2 (Jesus speaking) "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?"

1 Corinthians 2:9  What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him

Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

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Dear reader, I pray as per Romans 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit”

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