Tag Archives: Hope

THERE’S HOPE FOR YOU!

Discovering New Testament HOPE

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It has been said that “we can live 40 days without food, 8 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope.”   What is it about hope that makes it so essential to our lives?  Surely it is not simply the capacity that we have for wishful thinking such as ”I hope the traffic will not be heavy today” or the happy anticipation that something good might happen like “I hope  I get an answer to my question soon.”  The dictionary helps us by defining the idea of hope as “a desire supported by some confidence of its fulfillment”.  It is an attitude of positive anticipation for what is to come, isn’t it?

Did you know that in Scripture God is called the “God of Hope”?  Hope is a part of God’s character.  In fact, God was so moved by mankind’s hopeless condition that He provided a way for us to experience hope not only in this life but for eternity through His Son Jesus.  The Bible tells us that “when the time was right, the Anointed One died for all of us who were far from God, powerless and weak.   While we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display – Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5: 6 & 8*)  It is in believing in Jesus that hope becomes much more than a wish or a desire.  It becomes a totally confident expectation that every promise He has made either is or will become a reality.  It is truth that gives life meaning and purpose now and forever.

As you embark on this study, I trust that you will discover in wonderful and meaningful ways the kind of hope that will sustain you in all of the circumstances of your life.   “I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit” – Romans 15: 13.*

*Verses are quoted from The Voice translation of the Bible

Helpless and Hopeless – An Insight for Lesson 2

It’s a pathetic description of the human race, isn’t it? Besides being unable to solve the greatest dilemmas of life and being unsure of an ultimate destiny and purpose for life, there are unseen powers that are always at work seeking to bring confusion and alienation into the human heart and into our world. There…Continue Reading

Hopeful or Hopeless? – Lesson 7

“Let’s just wait, watch and see what God will do.” She said it often. She meant it. Even when her diagnosis was first lung cancer and then a few years later brain cancer, she knew that God would be faithful. My friend would often encourage us by reminding us that God is always at work.…Continue Reading

Sharing An Insight – Lesson 4 – Secure in HOPE

          What do you picture when you hear the word “secure”?  The first scene that comes to my mind is a sweet little baby, wrapped in a soft blanket, resting contentedly in the tender arms of his/her mother.  Perhaps you pictured a family safe in their underground shelter waiting for the tornado warnings to pass…Continue Reading

Lesson 4 – Intro – May 3 – May 10 Secure in HOPE

             What makes you feel safe and secure?  We have bank accounts, IRA’s, insurance policies, and retirement plans in the hopes that there will be enough money for our retirement years.   We have medical tests, pills, and regular checkups with doctors and dentists so that we can avoid at least some health problems and take…Continue Reading

Sharing An Insight – Blessed By Hope – Lesson 3

         Why is it that when we hear the word blessings, we are so prone to think about our money, health, protection, and success? In fact, the dictionary defines that word as “anything promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity; a boon.” It seems to me that the apostle Paul’s definition might be quite…Continue Reading