Devotion
Hope We Can Believe In David Jacobs
What is hope? And what do you feel when you are hopeful? The Apostle Paul asks that we are not ashamed for our hopeful thoughts and feelings. In Hebrews 6:11, it says: "And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end." The same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. What is the basis for our hope? We have answers that we can believe in.
2 Thessalonians 2:16 - "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,"
Colossians 1:23 - "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
1 Peter 1:3 - "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"
All Christians have reasons to be hopeful: we have been given the gift of salvation from our Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe we feel that we don't deserve this and we should not be hopeful because of our sinful ways. It is right: we don't deserve it. We have been given it, however, and with this gift God also asks that we remain steadfastly faithful, filled with hope. The Scriptures and the life of Christ act as encouragement so that we might have hope (Romans 15:4). We owe it to God, to rejoice in His glory, to celebrate the life of Jesus, and to remember that we are surrounded by the Holy Spirit.
Prayer
What is the opposite of being hopeful? Think about that for a minute: do you want your life to NOT be filled with hope? Do you want it to be filled with doubt and despair? Of course not, and neither does God. A hopeful life is a happy one. Paul knows this and asks us to rejoice in the name of the Lord. We must rejoice, lift our hearts, minds, and voices, rejoicing in his name. A hope that we can believe in! Amen.
Devotion
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
