12/22/17 THOUGHTS ON HOPE

12/22/17 THOUGHTS ON HOPE

THE SOURCE OF HOPELESSNESS
The prospect of defeat or devastation brings hopelessness (whether individually or nationally). As long as a person is threatened or vanquished by his enemy there is hopelessness. This is true whether our enemy is God or our enemy is the enemy of God.
When we make God our enemy (through self serving and self confidence) we are without real hope. There may be a counterfeit or imaginary hope, but when we are at odds with God, there is no real hope.
Likewise, when we listen to, when we bow before the enemies of God we lose hope because we are not trusting in God. We are only delivered from our hopelessness when we look to Jesus.

THE COMING OF CHRIST GIVES US HOPE
The Old Testament prophet and the New Testament apostle tell us that the coming of Jesus brought hope to the hopeless, and this hope is the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:12-13
12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

DLG says...
Without real hope (seeing the unseeable through Jesus), there is no real joy, no real peace, no real faith, no real love, no real purpose, no real life.
If a person holds on to hopelessness, if he refuses to receive hope as a gift of God, he robs himself, robs God, robs everyone who is around him of God's blessing.
Just as hope leads to greater hope, hopelessness leads to more hopelessness.
It takes humility to receive God's hope because a person must acknowledge that he cannot deliver himself from the bondage of his own failure.
We cannot be victorious as long as we refuse to surrender to God. We will either be conquered by Him or by His enemies.
Hope will bring joy, peace, power, love, light, life. Hopelessness will rob you of every blessing of God.
We choose to either be children of hope or children of futility, emptiness, misery, defeat.

THE ANGEL SAID
Luke 2:10-14
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.