Category: Hope For The Hopeless

²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ~ Matthew 1:20-21

This world strips hope; Jesus gives hope, yet the world will not receive Him, nor will they accept Him as their Yeshua, their hope, their salvation, their Messiah, their Savior. That is what His name literally means. That’s why the angel said, “And His Name Shall Be Called Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.”

Jesus will save you from your sins. If you are burdened down with a load of care, cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. If you are lost and cannot find your way, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to Father except through Him. If you have lost all hope. Jesus is the true and real Christmas Hope. He is the only way to salvation. He is the only way to eternal life.

Every day the world tries to darken the Light that is Christ the LORD, but the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome. They may be able to quiet some. They may be able to temporarily kick God out of the schools, cities, states, and even the country, but God is still God. He is still the King of kings, and He is still the LORD of lords. He is still seated on His throne, awaiting the appointed hour when He will break that eastern sky and bring judgment upon the world. But to those who have clung to His promise and His salvation, He will rescue them from that wrath. And where He is, so we will be with Him forever.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cling To The Christmas Hope.

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³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” ~ Luke 1:30–31

We read right over that without noticing the profoundness of what the angel said to Mary. He said, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…” To us, that is no big deal because we just take it for granted, but it is a big deal.

You see, Gabriel was explaining to Mary that she would become pregnant with child but not in the ordinary, natural way, but she will conceive in her womb in a miraculous way. Please understand that women, according to medical science, do not conceive in their wombs but conceive in their fallopian tubes and then move down to the womb, which wasn’t discovered until the 1500s by an Italian physician by the name of Gabriel Fallopius.

 And just for the record, isn’t it strange that the angel’s name that first announced it was named Gabriel, and the physician who discovered it was also named Gabriel? Just an interesting thought…

So, Mary wouldn’t be impregnated the natural way because the baby was not to be conceived the natural way, but supernatural. Therefore, baby Jesus was conceived in the womb because a man was not needed, but it was the seed of the womb who was to make restitution for the whole world.

Therefore, His name shall be called Jesus. Old Testament Joshua or Yeshua. New Testament Jesus or Iēsous. These names mean Salvation or Savior. That in itself means Hope. Jesus or Yeshua is our Christmas Hope. It’s only that name that gives us hope. Hope of life eternal. Hope of peace that passes all understanding. Hope of joy, unspeakable joy, and full of glory. Hope that the world certainly cannot give, and neither does it try to give.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hope In His Name.

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¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16

The story of Christmas is about love; it’s about giving; it’s about hope. God Himself gave us our hope through His only begotten Son, Jesus. Why? Because we, all of humanity, have been filled with sin ever since Adam ate from the forbidden tree. We were hopeless until Christ Jesus came. We were stuck in utter darkness until Jesus, the Light of the World, came 2000 years ago. His one reason for coming was to be a sacrifice for anyone that would be willing to believe in Him and follow Him. This was, is, and always will be the ultimate Christmas gift. An unaffordable, excessive Christmas gift. You CANNOT buy this Christmas gift, but you can receive it for free.

This is why the Christmas story boils down to this one word, hope.

H  –  He
O  –  Offers
P  –  Peace
E  –  Eternally

He Offers Peace Eternally. Because even though we are sinful and corrupt, we have the hope of eternal life with Christ Jesus. We have the hope of salvation. We no longer have to walk around in the darkness; instead, we can walk boldly in the Light of God Himself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk Boldly In The Light.

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⁵for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. ~ Genesis 17:5–6

God told Abram that He would make him into nations. That he would be the father of a multitude of nations. This promise isn’t just about being the physical father of the Jews but the spiritual father to every believer in every nation. In fact, God said, “It’s already done.” But Abraham hadn’t seen it; Sarah hadn’t given birth yet. Nevertheless, God said, “I have made you a father of a multitude of nations.”

Please understand that God did not say a multitude of people; He said a multitude of nations. Abram and Sarai had already tried to help God out with the promise, and Ishmael was the result. The son of the slave woman. But God’s promise is not enslaved; neither does He need help to bring to past that which He has declared.

Although, at the time, Abram might not have understood the full promise, The Promise of Christmas, Abraham, the new man, the covenanted friend of God, he understood; for he longed to see Jesus’ day, and Jesus said that he did see it and rejoiced. In other words, Abraham saw the promise of Christmas. Abraham longed for this day, and it has come. Christ came 2,000 years ago. The Messiah has come. The Christ has come. Abraham’s seed has come. He died. He rose. He ascended. And He is coming back for His people. He’s coming back for the multitude promised to Abraham. Don’t miss out on the fulfillment of this promise, like so many missed out on the fulfillment of the first promise.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be A Part of The Multitude.

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²¹ But we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. ~ Luke 24:21

The disciples’ great hope had died with Jesus. They were living in a hopeless world now. Their focus was on what their eyes could see: The mock trial. The sentencing. The crucifixion. The death. The burial. What went wrong? God, why did You not answer? LORD, You know we’ve been waiting for so long.

This is what went wrong. This is the problem. They only heard what they wanted to hear. They only saw the Jesus that they had conjured up in their own minds. He had told them plainly that He would have to suffer and even die, but no one took that seriously. Because that was not what they wanted or expected. That was not a part of their plan, their agenda, or their vision.

They had shut their ears to the teaching and the promises of Jesus. And instead, they had their own expectation of who the Messiah was, and what He would do, and even how He would do it. But God is not bound by our limited imaginations. God said that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). In other words, God doesn’t work how we expect Him to work. God works according to His perfect and just plans.

If we want to remain encouraged and filled with hope, we have to set aside our plans and cling to the plans of God. His plans are for our good, so we don’t have to worry. We can put our trust in Him. Our hope will never die if our hope is in the LORD God Almighty.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hope in God’s Plan.

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¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ~ John 3:16-18

John 3:16 is probably the most quoted verse of all time. The love of God is shown in this verse as John details God extending His hand to mankind and offering us a way out of death. The following two verses explain in detail two things:

1. The need for salvation
2. The path to salvation

John made it clear that we need salvation, and without it, we will perish. Then he explained that God made a way for us to have or receive this salvation, but we must do something in order to obtain it. That something is to believe and accept the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Therefore, without this free gift of salvation, we will not inherit eternal life, but rather we will perish forever. And that is the reason why we all need salvation.

Here’s the encouraging part, none of us have sinned too much for God to forgive. Christ died for all sinners. Therefore, we can be filled with hope that the free gift of salvation is for all who believe. All you have to do is to repent and accept the sacrifice of Jesus. You don’t have to clean yourself up first; Christ will clean you up. All you have to do is accept and believe.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept and Believe.

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⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:4-5

Too many Christians are walking around offended, instead of groaning, being burdened with the sins and iniquities of this generation. This world is not our home for which we have to fight for and defend. We’re only passing through.

Our home is an eternal one. One that God Himself will dwell with us in. Jesus will sit on the throne, and He will tabernacle us, and we with Him.

This promise wasn’t an empty promise. We have been given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee, and anything that the LORD guarantees will certainly come to pass. This is our great hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold To His Guarantee.

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³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” ~ Revelation 21:3

God promised us that His dwelling place is with man. What a great and mighty promise from our God. For what is man that God Himself should want to tabernacle, or dwell with us? We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us right now, but one day, when Jesus comes back, He Himself will physically dwell with mankind. We will be able to see Him, talk with Him, and walk with Him. He will be our God; we will be His people. This is the promise for His people. This is our great hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember His Eternal Promise.

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³³ And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” ³⁴ And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. ³⁵ And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. ~ 1 Kings 18:33-35

The sacrifice Elijah offered was soaking wet. The trench surrounding the altar was filled with water, yet God was still able to burn up Elijah’s sacrifice when he called on Him. Today so many of us, Christians, have become so watered down because we’re spiritually asleep. Our hearts have grown cold. We’re so far from the plan the LORD has for us it seems impossible to return to Him. We’ve run so far from His presence that we feel like He wouldn’t even hear us if we called His name, but the LORD desires that none perish. Instead, He desires that all come to acceptance.

The LORD promised that if we seek Him, we will find Him. Jesus already did the heavy lifting. He died for all of your sins. All that you have to do is call on His name. For all who call on His name shall be saved.

There’s nothing too hard for the LORD. Just as God burned up the soaked offering as Elijah called upon Him, so will He burn up your soaked offering and light that flame within you. There’s nothing too hard for God. He loves you and is waiting for His prodigal child to come home.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Call For Fire.

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¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” ¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” ¹³ And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” ~ Isaiah 7:10–14

It was because of Ahaz’s rebellion, and blatant disbelief is why he would not ask for a sign. He was putting his hope and trust in idols, not in the Living God. So, he refused to commit himself to God by asking for a sign because if he did, then he would have been obligated to trust God. So, God responded by saying that He Himself would give a sign by sending a deliverer to not only save Israel but to save everyone who will believe, whomsoever will…

Jesus came to be the way for everyone from every nation, every tribe, and every tongue. No one is left out or excluded or disqualified from the plan of salvation. Whomsoever will, can come and receive through faith the free gift of salvation.

That prophecy came to pass over 700 years after it was made in the God-man Jesus Christ. The promise of Revelation 21 was given to us over 2,000 years ago. And not one of God’s good promises has ever failed and this one will not either.

So, prepare yourself and your household. Jesus is coming back. Make no mistake, He will come back to get us so that where He is, there we will be also. And we will be with Him forever and ever. This is our promise from the LORD God Himself. Don’t allow the world with its false gods and idols to convince you to place your hope and trust in someone or something else. The LORD is coming back, and He is coming back soon.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold To The Sign.

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