Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009

11-04 Hope – A Virtue or Vice?

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I love Tuesday nights! Every other Tuesday I meet with our two LTDers (Some call it our Long Term Disabilities class, but it is really our Leadership Training & Discipleship class). I spend three hours in class with Mike & Larry. Long class? It doesn’t seem like it. We cover lots of great material and time just seems to fly! There are some great books to read, verses to memorize and some great interaction. I just love the fact that the lights are coming on and the vision is being caught! And that’s what it’s all about. Passing on the faith to some guys serious about serving the Lord!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 5; Isaiah 56; Acts 20
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:3-4 “3 Blessed be 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,4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

Hope. A man can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but can’t last even 4 seconds without hope! I always thought hope was a virtue! Hope is good, right? Did you know that the Greeks considered hope to be as dangerous as all the world's evils put together! In fact Hope was one of the evils that Pandora let out of the box! Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that hope, in truth, “is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man's torment." It makes men hang on when there is no rational reason to hang on. If they had only given up sooner their torment would not have lasted so long. Is that twisted or what? I hope that I don’t hope, because if I do hope I’ll end up more hopeless in the end! Seriously… it does make some sense, but only if you are basing your hope on a phantom or on something that won’t come through. So, what are you basing your hope on? The dictionary defines hope as “a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.” I hope so! That definition doesn’t do anything to reinforce the idea that hope is good! How many times do things turn out “good” for you? Marriage turns sour. Economy goes bust. People die. Cars break down. You are getting older and more infirm. I’ve got to admit it; hope that the things this life will come through isn’t too promising. I might as well hold out the hope that I’ll win the lottery! Good luck. You could win the jackpot only to be run over by a Semi five minutes later! That’s why the Bible calls the Christian’s hope “a living hope… that does not fade away.” Our hope is not like their hope. Our hope is based on solid footing. We believe that since Jesus was resurrected from the dead that we have a place reserved in heaven! Everything hinges on the resurrection! If Jesus was not raised from the dead we are the most pitiable of all people. If Christ is not risen our faith is worthless, useless, and misplaced and we are still in our sins. We are not forgiven and we are pushing a lie, the biggest lie ever concocted! But if Christ is risen we have more reason to hope than anyone else on the face of the planet. Did he or didn’t he? Only the disciples (and God) know… and they were willing to die for it! Who would die for what they know to be a lie? Listen, if, or should I say SINCE, Christ is risen from the dead, he has given us a LIVING HOPE. This has nothing to do with “I hope so…” nothing to do with an insubstantial phantom of a promise that evaporates like an illusion in the desert. This is hope based on the rock solid fact of the resurrection. Bank on it. No matter what happens in this life, “all things work together for the good of those who love God and… nothing can separate me from the love of God!”

Dear Lord Jesus, I hope in you, and that hope will not be disappointed because you have always come through in the past and always will in the future. I don’t hope in the circumstances of this life, I do hope in the promised future of eternity. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you

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