Hope In Christ

You lived in this world without God and without hope.
Ephesians 2:12c NLT

I have talked with many people lately who have no hope. Many of them ARE without God, so their lack of hope - while very sad to me - is not surprising. There's an old saying that states, "No God - No peace. Know God - Know peace." The Truth is, if you have no hope, you definitely have no peace. And that happens when we are separated from God - without Christ as our Advocate.

The passage from which our text is taken explains it...
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

Hope is so much more than wishing. We've talked about it before. There's a foundation for our hope. A sure foundation. A tried (and true) stone. A precious cornerstone, according to Isaiah 28:16. In the New Living Translation, it reads, Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken."

Wishing vanishes into thin air. There's no action to it. Hope - when based on the sure foundation of Christ and His Word - is something we can build on. It's solid. Our Hope is in Christ.

Prayer:

Father,
          Because You are at our right hand we shall not be moved. Therefore our hearts are glad, and our glory rejoices; our flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave our soul in Sheol. And for this, we give You all praise and honor and glory due only to You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen