Blessed Hope, Future Hope!

“It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that He might save us.  This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” –Isaiah 25:9.  “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God:  for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.” –Psalm 42:11.  “But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells…You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.  But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.” -2 Peter 3:15,17-18.  “In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” –Titus 1:2  “so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” –Titus 3:7  “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life…Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen.” Jude 21, 24-25 (ESV).

Christians live in hope for three basic reasons.  First is God’s work of reconciliation through the Lord Jesus Christ.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3, ESV).  The second reason Christians live in hope is that the Holy Spirit dwells within each believer:  “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16)  The third reason for living in hope is what awaits the Christian in the future.  God promised and His promises will always be fulfilled.  The anticipation of what is yet to be is the Christian’s future hope.  “But as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him’—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.  For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”  (I Corinthians 2:9-10).  Here Paul was referring to Isaiah 64:4 and Matthew 25:34 which tell of the glory that is yet to be.  Blessed hope sustains us in the present; future hope helps us anticipate the fulfillment of God’s promise of life everlasting and of the consummation of the Kingdom of God.

It is interesting to note that the future hope was both an Old and New Testament idea.  Scholars who have counted the references tell us that the Hebrew words indicating future hope are used repeatedly in the Old Testament.  For example, qawah (meaning wait for God) is used 26 times; yahai (long for God) 27 times; hakah (to wait for God) 7 times; sabar (wait and hope for God) 4 times [“Future Hope” in Holman Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Broadman, 2001, pp. 519-20].  Nouns that carry the idea of future hope are added to the strong Hebrew verbs to give at least 146 references in the Old Testament of future hope.  The references to future hope in the New Testament are numerous and frequent.  These are based upon the promise of the Lord to come again to earth, receive His own (his bride) unto Himself, and to establish His righteous reign.  In the meantime, while we await that day, Christians live in the present with confidence and face the future with courage.  Even if we have to suffer while awaiting the glorious consummation, we know “that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).  Blessed hope and future hope—hope that fills our present and colors our future is not an ordinary hope.  Christian hope is a gift from God:  “we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul”(Hebrews 6:18-19).  Please reread prayerfully the focus verses given at the beginning of this devotional.  And as you reread them, let your heart fill with gratitude to overflowing for our blessed hope, our future hope.  Thank Him that some of these promises of God have been fulfilled and all of them will be fulfilled. To God be the glory!

A Living Hope

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary you have been grieved by many trials.” –I Peter 1:3-7 (ESV).

For nine consecutive days we have looked at the subject of love, from the Lord’s command that we love one another to the astounding concept that “God is love.”  We looked at family love, burden-bearing love, and the characteristics of love.  On Patriot Day (9/11) we saw how love remembers.  We examined how love endures and how when we love others, it is proof that we love God.  We leave the subject of love, not because nine short teachings have in any way exhausted the in-depth subject of God’s love for us or how we should exercise Christian love, but to move on to another vital concept.  For days now the word “Hope” has been in my thinking.  Perhaps it is the times we live in that brought the need for hope so keenly to my mind.  Have you heard the national and international news this week?  Extreme unrest is volatile in many countries of the world, especially in the East.  The death of a U. S. Ambassador to Libya and three others occurred.  We witnessed on television their bodies’ being returned to the U. S.  Much mistrust is rampant at home and abroad.  Where is hope in the welter of world events?

We need desperately to renew hope, or confident expectation, trust.  Is there a way to do this? I looked in Strong’s Concordance and read scriptures of many of the more-than-a-column of references on the word hope.  Both Old Testament and New Testament citations abound for God’s Word on hope.  And so often the declaration was “my hope is in God” (Ps. 39:7; 42, 5, 11; 43:5; 71:5, 14).:I chose as the focal passage today the verses from Peter’s first epistle, because he was writing of the “living hope” to which Christians should hold; and the times they lived in then were volatile and uncertain.  Scholars believe Peter wrote the epistle during the reign of Emperor Nero who ruled the Roman Empire from A. D. 54-68.  Peter addressed the letter to the “elect exiles” scattered abroad in the dispersion to “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.”  Times were hard and persecution of the Christians was rife.  Peter wanted them to hold steadfastly to their faith and to think of “the living hope” made possible through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the promise of “an inheritance…imperishable, undefiled, unfading kept in heaven for you.”  Indeed, a reminder of the salvation in Jesus Christ and the inheritance in heaven would keep the Christians looking forward regardless of current circumstances. Christian hope is strengthened by the Scriptures.  Maybe you would like to take your concordance, as I did, and read several references on hope.  The promises of the Word will make your heart rejoice, regardless of current circumstances.  The gift of the Holy Spirit to encourage and lift us is further assurance of a living hope for believers.  Then we should wear hope around our heads as a helmet (I Thessalonias 5:8) so that at all times we will be able to share our hope with others.  On the other hand, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).  A constant position for the Christian is to “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12).  With God’s help we can!

“Yahweh M’Kaddesh” – The Lord Who Sanctifies

“Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” –Leviticus 20:8 (ESV).

To be sanctified carries the idea of being set apart for a particular use, especially for a holy, sacred purpose.  God Himself is holy and that which He sanctifies or sets apart is holy.  Many places in the Psalms convey this idea of God’s holiness.  Here are two references:  “Let them praise Your great and awesome name.  Holy is He! (Ps. 99:3).  “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!” (Ps. 99:9).   God exists in the realm of the holy rather than the profane; all that pertains to Him is holy.  This includes time, space, things and people.  But specifically, people and places are set apart—sanctified—to God.  In the Old Testament, the priests were called out and set apart as sanctified.  And by choosing and calling the nation of Israel to be His special people, they were considered set apart and sanctified.  To Abraham, God gave the promise that his descendants would be “as the sands of the seashore” and would be a blessing to all nations. 

Sanctification is inherent in the salvation experience. Paul writes in I Corinthians 6:11:  “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  “Washed” is a means of referring to cleansing from the guilt and power of sin and experiencing regeneration (renewal).  Leaving the old life of sin is symbolized by baptism.  This rite has no saving qualities but rather indicates death to the old life of sin before salvation, and arising to a new life characterized by walking in the way of Jesus Christ.  “Sanctified” means made holy and set apart for a special calling and purpose.  It also means an ongoing action in the Christian’s life—set apart from evil and dedicated to the Lord’s service.  And “justified” is a judicial term which means “to be declared righteous” or to have the penalty for offenses paid. 

In I Peter 1:14-16, the concept of “Yahweh M’Kaddesh, I am the Lord who sanctifies”is made clear for the Christian:  “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “you shall be holy for I am holy.’”

Thank God that His love touched your heart and in mercy He saved you.  Thank Him that He sanctified you—set you apart—for His own purpose and plan. Thank Him that with His help we can be as lights shining in the darkness of this world to reflect His glory and His holiness.