Tag: Hope

¹⁶ And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁵ It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” ~ Luke 1:16-17^NASB1995

The Old Testament ends with the prophecy that the New Testament starts with. In other words, the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant, ends in hope, but the New Testament, or the New Covenant, begins with hope fulfilled.

The name John means, The LORD Remembers, and it is he who ushered in the hope fulfilled. John, meaning God remembers, was the forerunner of Jesus, whose name means salvation, and was the voice crying in the desert, “Prepare the way…”

Hope has come because Christ the Savior is born. That is what Christmas is really all about. When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate hope fulfilled because Jesus, being God, came in the flesh to save each one of us. So, God bless you this Christmas as you and your family celebrate the birth of hope.

Father, thank You for giving us Jesus, our living hope. Thank You for the free gift of life, and as I celebrate the birth of Your Son this Christmas, help me never to forget the real and true meaning of Christmas, for I pray in the name of Jesus our LORD and Savior, amen.

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⁸ Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” ~ Luke 1:8-17

The angel Gabriel broke 400 years of silence. God had not spoken to the rebellious Israelites since Malachi uttered his prophecy in Malachi 4:5-6, the last two verses of the Old Testament. God was dealing with the sin issue in Judah. He had already sent Israel, or the Northern Kingdom, into exile because of idolatry, as well as Judah, the Southern Kingdom. God was upset with His people, but He did not leave them without hope.

He warned them over and over about exile and punishment, and because He had no choice but to make good on His threats, He sent them into exile by the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, and now they had returned, but they were still a wayward people, not paying their tithes, nor giving offerings, and the sacrifices were of poor samples and not their best.

But even in all of this, God never leaves His people without hope. He said that He would send them the prophet Elijah before the LORD comes, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and children to their fathers. Then, the voice of God went silent for 400 years.

Now, here, the angel Gabriel is speaking to the future father of the promised forerunner of the Messiah Himself, the LORD Jesus. God makes good on His threats, and God makes good on His promises as well.

So, you may be going through a time of silence. It seems like you are in a period of 400 years of silence, but know this, God has not forgotten you, nor has He forgotten His promises to you. In the fullness of time, the time set by God Himself to visit you and bring with Him all that He has promised.

So, this Christmas, let hope reign in your heart. Do not give up on your promises or on hope itself! Do not give in to doubt or temptation, but stand firm and always remember that God is faithful and will never leave you hopeless but will always bring you hope, and He will always deliver on His promises.

Heavenly Father, thank You for hope. Thank You for the promises that you will fulfill. Help me to hold on to Your every word and believe in Your holy word; in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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³⁸ …Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. ~ Luke 1:38b

Mary accepted the plan of the LORD, come what may. Her only concern was to please her God, and in so doing, she became the recipient of the very first Christmas present.

Make no mistake, Mary needed a savior just like everybody else; even though she was the mother of the Savior, whose name is Immanuel, which means God with us, she still needed saving; she could not save herself. So, it is with each and every one of us that we all need a Savior.

I’m sure this was not the Christmas present Mary had envisioned, thought about, or even considered. Nonetheless, she gracefully accepted her part in God’s eternal plan.

Each and every one of us has a God-given call on our lives. None of us were created without purpose, but all of us were created to follow a plan that God has for our lives. Plans that are for our good and not for evil. But God never forces those plans on us; like Mary, we each have to accept His plan for our lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept His Good Plans.

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¹ In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ~ Luke 2:1-5

Caesar Augustus made a decree that would put Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, the City of David. If it was not for the governmental census, Mary and Joseph would have had no reason to travel to Bethlehem. I’m sure it was a stressful time. Mary’s almost ready to give birth. They don’t know where they’re going to stay. The trip wasn’t going to be easy, especially with Mary’s pregnancy.

Nevertheless, this stress not only brought forth the fulfillment of Scripture but also gave hope to all of Bethlehem. See, if they weren’t in Bethlehem, the shepherds wouldn’t have been able to come and see the Christ child born. If they couldn’t come and see, then they couldn’t go throughout the town and tell everyone of what they saw.

Sometimes, the road is difficult, but it always leads to hope. It always leads to good news of great joy. It was because of the decree of Caesar that a town that had no hope was given the ultimate hope in one moment.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept The Difficult Road.

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²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. ²⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ²⁹ “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.” ~ 1 Kings 21:27-29

King Ahab is known for being one of the most wicked kings Israel has ever had. Under him, the prophets of God were murdered, and the prophets of Baal and Asherah were elevated. The land lived in sin, as did he and his whole household. Yet, even when he, a wicked king, humbled himself before God, God heard his cries. See, Elijah had just prophesied destruction on not just Ahab but on his entire family because of his wickedness. When King Ahab heard all that was coming upon him and his household, he tore his clothes and fasted.

Many of us are currently living our lives very wickedly. We say we’re a good people, but we live in sin. We don’t acknowledge God unless we absolutely have to. In fact, we live our everyday lives as if He doesn’t even exist. Even though we do much wicked before the LORD, if we will humble ourselves before Him and seek His face with all that is within us, He will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Our past doesn’t dictate our lives, but our present does. What we do today will dictate our future. Therefore, turn to God. Repent and be saved. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done; if we will humble ourselves before the LORD, He will hear us from Heaven and forgive our sins.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for all the sin that I have committed. Please forgive me for living my life as if You don’t even exist. I humble myself at Your feet and ask You to be the LORD of my life. Thank You for Your grace, love, and mercy that gives me second chance after second chance. Help me to not return to my old self, but help me to remain a new creation in You. Please continue to change me and work on me so that I might be exactly who You want me to be. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” ~ Mark 10:29-31

Remember Joseph? Joseph was loved by God. He was blessed and highly favored. But still, he was hated by his brothers, who sold him into slavery. Someone will ask, how can that be favor? Being sold into slavery by his own brothers who hate him, is that really favor? Not only that but he was falsely accused of attempted rape and thrown into prison. Is that favor?

Favor, as defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary, means:

friendly or kind regard; good will; approval; liking

It doesn’t mean that you will spend your life wallowing in the lap of luxury and sleeping on a bed of roses. The favor and grace of God come with a price. There is a price to pay, but the reward is way, way greater. The reward is eternal life without all of the cares and worries of this world.

• Never again to persecuted
• Never again to hungry or thirsty
• Never again will we be scared or worried
• Never again will we be concern over things
• No more tears
• No more sad goodbyes
• Because there will be no more death
• No more lies, or murders, or cheating
• There will be eternal peace and the eternal joy of the LORD

When the LORD returns for us, we will be rewarded for all that we have gone through for the sake of His name. Right now, you may be feeling the hatred of the world, but if you turn your focus to the love of God, their hatred won’t tear you down. It won’t destroy you or depress you. Why? Because when you focus on the favor of the LORD, His love surrounds you, encourages you, and gives you hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold Tight To This Hope.

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⁶ And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ~ Philippians 1:6

God wants us to enjoy His favor. He has given us the opportunity to seek Him so that He can grace us with His unfathomable favor. Grace is often defined as the unmerited favor of God shown to unworthy men and women, which Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter one that God has lavished His grace, or His favor, upon us. The LORD’s favor is what wakes us up in the morning, what keeps us through the day, and what lays us down at night. But best of all, it’s God’s favor or His grace that saved a wretch like me.

God’s grace has saved you, and it is God’s grace that saved me. Without God’s great favor, we are hopeless. But please understand that God shows His love, His grace, and His favor on all people when He lets His rain fall on the wicked as well as the just. And causes His sun to shine on the righteous as well as the unrighteous because He is a good, good God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Dwell In This Great Hope.

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⁵ You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. ~ Psalms 23:5 ^NLT

I never thought about the table that was prepared in the presence of our enemies as a feast before. Feasts were celebrations and commemorations of future promises soon to be fulfilled. What does that mean for us?

It’s like when we’re surrounded by doubt, fear, grief, anger, and all manner of spiritual and physical attacks, the LORD prepares a feast for us, reminding us of our past victories and our future promises soon to be fulfilled. That’s why hope is so important.

Without hope, those things won’t encourage us. Those promises won’t lift our hope. Those past victories won’t strengthen our faith. Why? Because without hope, we have no faith. And without faith, not even God can move in our lives. Therefore, we must all cling to hope and be encouraged at the feast God prepares for us in the presence of our enemies.

It’s like that song says:

All I need is a memory of a victory
Like a stone in the sling
All the times that you fought for me

Sometimes all we need is a feast prepared for us to be encouraged and strengthened, but here’s the catch. God is faithful, but we aren’t always. Oftentimes, we get distracted by the enemies surrounding us and the situation we’re in to even notice the feast prepared before us. So, what do we do? We shift our focus. We focus on God instead of the world. We focus on God’s promises instead of the world’s trials and tribulations. We focus on God’s Truth instead of the world’s lies. And in doing so, we will cling to hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Enjoy The Feast.

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²⁵ I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. ~ Isaiah 43:25

We’re all ridden with sin. It often overcomes us and causes us to do the things we hate. Why? Because we’re flesh. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. This causes a great chasm between us and God because God is a perfect, holy God. He can’t allow sin to enter into His presence. So, what hope do we have? Jesus.

God prophesied through the prophet Micah that He would fulfill His promise to Abraham by pardoning the iniquities of His people (Micah 7:18-20). This would be fulfilled by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Our sin, though it’s red as scarlet, God will make it white like snow for anyone willing to accept the sacrifice of Jesus (Isaiah 1:18, John 3:16, and Hebrews 8:12). God may not overlook sin, but God does forgive the repentive heart. God not only forgives the sins of those who repent and then live for Him, but He blots out our sin from our books. Our ledger is covered in red because of our sin, but because of the blood of Jesus, our ledger is erased and made white as snow.

We’re filled with sin, but our God loves us so much He made a way for us to have forgiveness. God didn’t just leave us in sin; He came to us, became one of us, died, and then rose again. What a loving and merciful God we serve. He is a good good Father to us, His undeserving children.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Made White.

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