StriperAddict
Senior Member
... because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
In context: Rom 5:1-5
I was considering the Romans 5 verse(s) when enjoying this note from Frank Friedmann this morning.
Happy SONday saints!
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Hope!
It is one of the great words in the Bible, but unfortunately, the way our culture uses the word has robbed many of us of the power of that word – Hope!
The world uses the word as an issue of anticipation, something that we long for that may or may not come true. For example, “I hope I win the lottery? I hope I get that job? I hope I pass that test?”
WE NEED MORE THAN A PIPE DREAM WHEN CONFRONTING THE DANGER OF LIVING IN A FALLEN WORLD.
So, what is hope?
The word in the New Testament is elpidos and it means ‘confidence.”
That sounds wonderful, but it is woefully incomplete. We can have confidence that is based on someone or something that cannot deliver what we long for. Fortunately, for us as believers, our hope and confidence are in the promises of God Himself, and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). His promises are going to be fulfilled.
II Corinthians 1:20 tells us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so, through Him, the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” Oh, my goodness, did you see that? Every promise God made is going to be fulfilled in Christ! That is why Hebrews 6:17-20, affirms that our hope is an anchor for our soul, because Jesus has gone into the holy of holies as our High Priest between us and God. He finished His work on our behalf, and made us children of God’s promise. Therefore, we can look back on the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus and have confidence that God will fulfill every promise He has made to us.
Let’s expand on the issue of hope with an “amplified definition.”
HOPE:
For the believer it is a confident attitude, a settled mindset, a prevailing disposition, a fixed determination based on the character and ability of God, that carries with it the tenacity of faith to rise up from within us, to explode over and against all that rises up against us in a fallen world, with the conviction that the obstacles in front of us and the despair that resides within us are NOT THE END OF THE STORY! (We should all read that last paragraph again)...
Because we are “in Christ,” we will endure to the end. If He is for us, AND HE IS, then nothing can stand against us. Because of Jesus, and only because of Jesus, we will be the ones who will be doing the standing. In Him, we will function just like those three Hebrew lads Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael as they went through their own fiery furnace and emerged victorious.
We have the promise that He Who began the good work in us, will be faithful to complete that good work (Philippians 1:6). We will be more than conquerors in and through Him (Romans 8:37). That is why we shout His praises and declare “the Amen” to His glory (II Corinthians 1:20).
JESUS IS OUR HOPE! AND OUR HOPE IS SURE!!!
From Frank Friedmann
Grace Life Fellowship
In context: Rom 5:1-5
I was considering the Romans 5 verse(s) when enjoying this note from Frank Friedmann this morning.
Happy SONday saints!
---------------------------------
Hope!
It is one of the great words in the Bible, but unfortunately, the way our culture uses the word has robbed many of us of the power of that word – Hope!
The world uses the word as an issue of anticipation, something that we long for that may or may not come true. For example, “I hope I win the lottery? I hope I get that job? I hope I pass that test?”
WE NEED MORE THAN A PIPE DREAM WHEN CONFRONTING THE DANGER OF LIVING IN A FALLEN WORLD.
So, what is hope?
The word in the New Testament is elpidos and it means ‘confidence.”
That sounds wonderful, but it is woefully incomplete. We can have confidence that is based on someone or something that cannot deliver what we long for. Fortunately, for us as believers, our hope and confidence are in the promises of God Himself, and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). His promises are going to be fulfilled.
II Corinthians 1:20 tells us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so, through Him, the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” Oh, my goodness, did you see that? Every promise God made is going to be fulfilled in Christ! That is why Hebrews 6:17-20, affirms that our hope is an anchor for our soul, because Jesus has gone into the holy of holies as our High Priest between us and God. He finished His work on our behalf, and made us children of God’s promise. Therefore, we can look back on the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus and have confidence that God will fulfill every promise He has made to us.
Let’s expand on the issue of hope with an “amplified definition.”
HOPE:
For the believer it is a confident attitude, a settled mindset, a prevailing disposition, a fixed determination based on the character and ability of God, that carries with it the tenacity of faith to rise up from within us, to explode over and against all that rises up against us in a fallen world, with the conviction that the obstacles in front of us and the despair that resides within us are NOT THE END OF THE STORY! (We should all read that last paragraph again)...
Because we are “in Christ,” we will endure to the end. If He is for us, AND HE IS, then nothing can stand against us. Because of Jesus, and only because of Jesus, we will be the ones who will be doing the standing. In Him, we will function just like those three Hebrew lads Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael as they went through their own fiery furnace and emerged victorious.
We have the promise that He Who began the good work in us, will be faithful to complete that good work (Philippians 1:6). We will be more than conquerors in and through Him (Romans 8:37). That is why we shout His praises and declare “the Amen” to His glory (II Corinthians 1:20).
JESUS IS OUR HOPE! AND OUR HOPE IS SURE!!!
From Frank Friedmann
Grace Life Fellowship
