Our hope is not of this world. Our hope is not found in a political candidate for the President of the United States (Praise the Lord!). Our hope is not found in a certain political party. Our hope is not in how much money is in our bank accounts or lack thereof.
My hope and your hope should be firmly established upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is our Rock. He is our Strong Tower. He is not weak or powerless. He is Mighty and Powerful and willing to save. The Lord's offer for salvation and forgiveness of sin is for everyone. Jesus paid the price for my sins and yours by shedding His own blood upon the cross at cavalry. We must admit that we are sinners and can't save ourselves. Then we must ask Jesus to forgive us our sins. When we confess our sins to Him, He will forgive us (I John 1:9). We must then trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior by coming to Him by faith and trusting in His grace.
What an Awesome God the Lord is. We believers in Christ should be full of joy because of who He is and that we are His children. I think that sometimes we get bogged down with life and the hard things that we each must face. Sometimes it is hard to remain focused when all kinds of bad things are happening all around us. It might not even be bad things sometimes that takes our attention off of Jesus the One whom we should be focusing on. There are times we just end up going through the motions and we just get in a rut and don't want anything or anyone to change anything. The reality is that things do change. Living in Northern Maine I know change pretty well by just looking at the weather. This summer we have had many 80 degree days and it has been nice, but I know what is coming ahead in just a few short months, winter. If you have never experienced a Northern Maine winter then you haven't truly experienced winter. I know there are probably worse places to be in the winter time, but the winters here seem harsh and bitterly cold and oh so very long and draining in so many ways.
The good news is that God never changes. He is always with us. He is with us on those wonderful sun filled days and He is also with us in those January days when the snow is blowing, it's dark, and the temperature is -20 degrees. Thankfully those cold days don't last forever. Eventually spring and summer do come again. We can take comfort that our Lord will lead us through those times and we know that we can trust in Him to take care of us. We can also take comfort in that one great and glorious day the Lord will take us home to Heaven to be with Him.
I just got back from a concert that was held at a local Church. My mother, my brother, his wife, and I went to hear the Hope Haitian Choir (www.hopehaitian.com). They were great and they sang to the Lord. The choir consist of young people from Haiti where conditions are tough and life is hard. They danced and made a wonderful joyful noise to the Lord. There was something that stuck out in my mind and it was the joy that was expressed on each of their faces. It was wonderful. It was the joy of the Lord shining through them to each one of us who was there tonight. What a blessing it was to be there. We had a great time and we truly felt blessed by them.
I was reminded of what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:4-5 which says,
"Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near."
Let us allow the joy of the Lord to flow through us as we continue to serve Him and trust in Him.
Let us Rejoice in the Lord always.
He is the Lord our God and there is no other.
He alone is worthy of our praise.
He is our hope. Somewhere very deeply embedded within my very soul I just want to shout,
"Praise the Lord!"
God is so very good. I hope that you always remember that no matter what you are going through and no matter how dark and unsettling your path may seem right now. Just remember to whom you belong. If you have put your faith and trust in Jesus for salvation then you can rest assured that you belong to Him and He will never let you go.
When things are going good, we'll rejoice in Him.
When things are going bad, we'll rejoice in Him because of who He is.
He is the Lord our God and we can trust Him throughout our lives and for all eternity.
Lord,
We Rejoice in who You are and what You have done for us.
We lift up the name of Jesus on high.
We praise You.
I lift up all of those trusting in You this night.
Revive us O Lord.
Help us express the joy that we have to those around us.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
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