Our True Hope

 This past year has been a roller coaster for sure, for my personal life, our family, our church, our nation, and the world.   We have heard that the pandemic was winding down, it is ramping up, wear a mask you will be safe, a mask will not protect you, get the vaccine, don't get the vaccine, stay home, get together with those you love.  With so many contradicting statements and breaking news where is our hope?  We have one source of true hope - Jesus.  He is our hope.  He has defeated death for all - everyone - and gives eternal life to those who chose to believe.  

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in HIm shall not perish but have eternal life." NASB 

What wonderful news!  God loves us, unconditionally, so much so that He sent His Son to pay the price of death for our sins.  God provides us with the means to eternal life through His grace by our choosing to believe in Him.  We can not work our way there, we must choose to believe.  There is no measuring stick of how good or bad - we would all fail - it is a matter of belief. 

John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."NASB

When will we see our hope? 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this, we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord HImself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." NASB

Keep pressing on, spending time with God in your quiet time and in prayer asking for your focus to be kept on Him.  This is meant more as a reminder for myself and maybe encouragement to others.