Faith and hope are so intertwined that it may be difficult to separate them. It appears that one cannot operate without the other as its companion; without faith hope has no certainty, without hope faith has no object to believe for, or entity to believe in, no aim, goal, or target if you will. Romans […]
The book of Lamentations portrays the people of Judah, God’s covenant people who were given the covenants and promises, but had now rebelled and disobeyed, breaking the covenant. For this reason God withdrew His hand of blessing; punishment, destruction, and judgment had come upon them, and under these conditions hope seems to have been lost, […]
The book of Habakkuk begins on a note of despair as the prophet views the conditions around him, and dialogues with God. Then in the middle part of the book God brings him to discover the truth that “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). I believe this truth must have revolutionized the […]
In 1 Peter 1:3-7, Peter addresses Christians with praise to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope…” Why is it a living hope? First, because it is established in a living person, “…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from […]
Hope, one of the anchors of the Christian life, is deeply rooted in the same garden as faith. The Psalmist sums it up in 119:81, “… I hope in Your word” and here, the word that is translated “hope” from the Hebrew language, means to wait, and implies to be patient. Looking at hope in […]
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel (the message or word*) of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes …” Romans 1:16. To all who sense the deep inner longing within them to know God, by heeding the message of His word and coming to Him believing […]
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills – From whence comes my help?” (Psalm 121:1). The KJV places a period at the end of this verse, but six other versions I have looked at place a question mark. Looking at it from that angle, the Psalmist recognizes that the hills and mountains in […]
The basis for this meditation comes from 1 Corinthians 15:53-58. Living in a broken world, we must reconcile ourselves to the fact that “it is appointed for men to die once…” (Hebrews 9:27). Death is so cruel, so cold, and appears to be so permanent; even having been redeemed from the curse of sin and death our […]
Peter, in the midst of portraying to his readers the inheritance that is reserved for them in heaven, points out that they too, like the inheritance, are being kept (guarded over) by the power of God, for that day when salvation will be fully disclosed, 1 Peter 1:5-6. Peter says we are being “kept […]
In 1 Peter 1:3-5 we are told that “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven […]