A NURTURED HOPE IN CHRIST

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November 24th 2018

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” – Romans 15:13

In the Scriptures, the use of the word – HOPE can be summarized around something like, “Hope means a confident expectation in the future.” The idea of hope is that you’re looking forward to the future with enthusiasm, with confidence, with expectation, that there is a blessing on the other end of this. To be Hopeful is good, only if it is well placed. But a misplaced hope brings disappointment.

For instance, some of us put our hope in a person or in people or in a government or in an ideology or in a system. But in the end, we are disappointed. Today’s scripture says, “May the God of hope…” First, note that this is a declaration of who God is – God’s essence and character is HOPE. If you believe in that, then your hope is neither lost nor misplaced. By believing in the God of Hope, you are banking on the promises that God himself has made. Today, Paul is praying and asking that you and I would be filled up with the evidence of the work of the Spirit in our lives. He says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing…” Here you have to believe. “In believing”, means that you have placed your love, trust confidence, and your faith in God through Jesus Christ

“So as you place your love and your trust in God, the Spirit is at work within you producing the fruit of the Spirit, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” The good news about the One who supplies hope is that he has an abundant supply of it. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the hope of a believer is constantly replenished and nurtured. This means that at all time, we are hopeful of the best in our lives, and our hope is never diminished. Starting from this morning, begin to refocus your hope on the things of the spirit, for these things would bring to you the greatest opportunities and limitless love. First, over the next 30 days, increase the regularity in which you’re in the Scriptures. Why? Because it’s through the Scriptures that the Spirit reveals the God of hope to you. It’s through the Scriptures that our perspective is lifted and the cloud over our heart of understanding is cleared. Secondly, I encourage you to courageously identify some of the misplaced hopes you have suffered in the past, where you have maybe placed hope in someone or something, good or bad. Ask the Spirit to purify your emotions and heart. Start from a clean slate by placing Hope only in Jesus Christ; wash your spirit and emotions with the essence of the word of God.

Prayer
Father in the name of Jesus Christ, I thank you for your word today. Father, deliver me from hopelessness and let your amazing truth sink into my heart. Fill me with joy, peace in believing, so by the power of the Holy Spirit, I shall abound in Hope forever. AMEN

FURTHER READING: 1 Peter 1:3-4

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