A LIVING HOPE IN JESUS

I Peter 1:3-9 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

There is no other religion or even hope like what we have in Jesus.! Whether it is Muhammad, Buddha, or any other great leader or teacher, none has done what Jesus did and proved it beyond questionable doubt. While some may doubt, the proof is in the pudding so to speak. For forty day Jesus appeared to individuals, groups of people and even crowds up to 500 people at one time. People touched him, stuck their fingers in the holes in his hands and their hand in his side. They ate with him and sat and talked with him. People that seen this were willing to die horrible deaths, rather than simply sware that he did not raise from the dead.

There is no hope for this life and any life to come that is based on such powerful testimonies of resurrection. Many strive to be good, moral, gracious and the like, but this hope is based on short term achievement based on self. The Christian’s hope based on the living. Our Savior and Redeemer is alive and will be forever more. Death could not hold him in the ground and Satan, the powers of darkness or the evil of this world can not hold us back from being with Jesus for all eternity either. What Jesus has given us in his victory over sin and the grave, no one can take it away.

Our hope is living. At any given time we can talk to Jesus and he will not only hear us, but he will come to our aid. There is no power that is too strong for him that he can not overcome for us. He is all wise and all knowing. His love, compassion, mercy and grace are beyond our understanding, but not beyond our obtaining it. What we have committed unto him, he is more than capable to bring about. We don’t have to worry what tomorrow will bring, because Jesus will be with us for all our tomorrows. We don't have to worry. All we have to do is praise his holy name. Because of this we live our life in constant expectation for good and not evil. Jesus wants to be revealed in our lives. Our hope lies in the living God that loves us so much as to extend his arms out on a cross. I believe that the nails were not needed, because his love was for us so great. We have a living hope that is worth living for and dying for.

If you do not have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then any hope you have is built on sinking sand. Trust in Jesus and you will find that you have not believed in vain. We can trust in such a wonderful God as Jesus.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for making yourself real to us. Thank you that you showed yourself to be alive following the cross. Please be with us each day and please bring us home to be with you. We ask this in your holy name.

#DailyDevotionals