Welcome to my randomized study & miscellaneous thoughts about the Awesome God of the universe, who He is and what He wants us to be.

---

---

---

---

Verse of the Day

---

Today's Quote

---

 
Biblical Hope

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-11)

It is easy to sympathize with the disciples, seeing how they must have felt thoroughly alone as they watched Jesus ascending up into the clouds 2000 years ago. The Bible says that they looked "steadfastly toward heaven" as Jesus was lifted up and left the world.

If we had been there with them and had shared in their intimacy with Jesus, our eyes would have been steadfastly transfixed on Him also. Would we have wondered if we would ever see Him again? They surely turned to one another and sensed in each other's eyes the same agonizing question, "Are we left here without any hope?"

In I Corinthians 13:13, we read that the greatest spiritual gifts the Lord left us are faith, hope and charity (love). Unfortunately, many associate the word hope with a negative connotation. It is most often related to our basic perception of luck or chance, e.g., I hope it doesn't rain, or I hope that we win the game, etc.

Another perception we ascribe to hope is that it is merely something we wish for coupled with the belief that its fruition is very small. But these common perceptions about hope as it is utilized in the Bible are opposite of its true meaning. Given man’s usual conception of hope as stated above, the average church member may say that salvation is his hope or that he hopes to make it to heaven when he dies.

But to relegate the Lord's spiritual gift of hope to merely a "future state of happiness,” or worse yet, to only an unsure “possibility” of future happiness, is to equate it to a non-believer’s understanding of the word. The truth is that biblical hope is beyond this human rationale.

A Living Hope
Peter referred to a living hope that dwells inside the believer. This hope is a life-giving mechanism. It emanates from the Holy Spirit and permeates, enlivens and energizes the believer.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
(1 Peter 1:3-5)

All believers have this hope, but it is not a mere wish or “pie in the sky dream.” It is a living attitude born of the Holy Spirit that empowers them to live righteously and soberly in this present evil world. It is a firm assurance that enables the child of God to confidently face the sin and degradation around him. It provides spiritual sustenance, because it is a firm expectation that Jesus Christ will keep all of His promises. It is a constant influence from the Holy Spirit that churns within the believer and which gives testimony to all spiritual reality.
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:2, 3)

Eternal life is a precious gift that every single believer possesses, and for him there is absolutely no possibility of future condemnation. Because of this wondrous gift of eternal life, the child of God knows that when Christ appears once again he will be like Him—this being the sure hope within the believer that purifies him.

A Confident Hope
The word hope in the New Testament is as common as are the precious words of faith and love. Its final outcome is expressed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to Titus with a verse that conveys both an exhortation and comfort.
Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

The English word, “hope,” is translated from the Greek word, "elpis," meaning a confident expectation. The Christian is to confidently expect (i.e., to have full assurance without doubt) that the Lord will not only fulfill every single promise that He has made, but will also appear at the end of the age to gather His own unto Himself before the Day of the Lord. This resident spirit of confident trust stems from the omnipresence of the Lord in the form of the indwelling Spirit of God within the believer.

A God-Originated and Christ-Embodied Hope
Throughout the ages, God has set before his people a hope that has always centered on Jesus Christ. In the Garden of Eden, God introduced the promise of a redemptive hope—His Seed that would eventually crush the head of Satan and deliver man from his sin. Abraham looked forward with a biblical hope (confident expectation) that God would indeed send His blessed Seed, and this biblical hope, the equivalent to biblical faith, was credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:3).

And again, Isaiah says: "There shall be a root of Jesse; [the promised Seed—Jesus Christ] and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope." Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:12, 13)

In this verse it is clear that biblical hope stems only from God, and it is embodied in a single person—Jesus Christ—who was promised from before the universe was formed.

A Salvation-Centered Hope
Biblical hope is equivalent to and manifested in one’s understanding of biblical salvation, a threefold event involving:
1) The absolute and total forgiveness of all sin,
2) The on-going process of sanctification (becoming holy) while still in one’s earthly body, and
3) The eventual and final transition into heaven in one’s resurrected body.

In every age this hope referred to the deliverance from the penalty, power and stain of sin. But this “hope of salvation” never meant something that was simply “wished for” with an attitude of uncertainty. Unfortunately, many church members possess a vague and unsure expectation regarding their salvation. They say, "I hope that I am saved.” Or they say, “I am doing my best to be good, and I hope that is enough to get me into Heaven."

This typical response reveals that they do not possess a "confident expectation," which is the sure hope that is founded solely in the promises of God. Nowhere in Scripture does it depict salvation as being a “hoped for” or “wishful” thing. Rather, it is an absolute certainty regarding one’s place in eternity that is available to anyone who places his faith in Christ's substitutionary work of grace on the cross of Calvary.

As Christians, the restitution of our bodies is future, for it will not be until our Savior's return that He will change our vile bodies into one that is fashioned like unto His glorious body (Philippians 3:20, 21); but our deliverance from the wrath that is to come is an accomplished fact. Salvation is not way off in the distance, as something to be attained through additional efforts upon earth or later when we pass from this life. It is an accomplished fact based on the authority and credibility of God’s Word. Because God cannot lie, Christians may possess a confident expectation—a definite assurance—in the matter of salvation.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

The hope of our salvation is an unchangeable fact! This living hope provides every believer an undeniable hope for eternal life as he continues down the road toward physical death.

A Blessed Hope
The Biblical Hope also incorporates a definite future event referred to as the blessed hope. This is when Christ Jesus comes again to receive His children who have not yet passed through the door of death unto Himself. For those, the sting of death—the sorrow for those who have gone on before—will be erased as they meet Christ and their loved ones in the air.
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

The blessed hope is something that is connected to our special and residing confidence as we look towards the future. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, writes about the order of this event and explains that there will be some who will remain alive unto the Day of the Lord—when Christ comes again—and who will not taste death. In verse 51 he says, “Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Now, whether we live till Christ comes or die before His coming, the end in all is still Jesus Christ. He is our hope!

The hope of every believer is to be with Jesus, in our new home, and in our new bodies that He has prepared for us. Our hope is to be taken out of sin's dominion, to a place where there is no more suffering and sorrow, nor pain. The humanists and the atheists call this blessed hope an escapist mentality. But in truth, this escape clause is part and parcel of God's divine plan, and is a component of His promises to the generation of the “last days.”

An Imminent Blessed Hope
60 years after the Lord's ascension into Heaven to join His Father, Jesus sent His angel to the beloved John while he was on the isle of Patmos to convey the final declaration of His Word (information that his disciples were not able to bear while He was still with them—John 16:12).

The Revelation of Jesus Christ begins with an assertion that the time of the end is near, and it ends with an intimate appeal, “Surely, I come quickly.” This is our Lord's last promise to His people, and it is given as a mandate to them to be continually occupied with the thought of His imminent return. As Paul referenced in 1 Corinthians 15:52-58, the impending and abrupt return of the Lord can be superimposed upon any single moment in earth's time; and it is an event, when it takes place, will happen quicker than the time it takes for a mere twinkling of one's eye. It is the Rapture! And it is the imminent blessed hope of every believer.

Jesus and His disciples spoke of being watchful for the imminent hope. Jesus spoke to the inquiries of His disciples regarding the sign of His coming and of the end of the age. Jesus specifically advised them, "Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord will come, but know this, if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” An analysis of this passage from Matthew 24 reveals that, although we may not know the hour of His return, we are instructed to keep a vigilant attitude of confident expectation concerning this, our blessed hope. Today, as we see the signs of His imminent coming tick off one after the other, we are encouraged to be even more watchful.

A Practical Blessed Hope
The imminent return of Jesus is a practical hope. It is the overwhelming motive for spiritual service in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit links it with every precept and practice of Christian character and conduct. The blessed hope arms, strengthens, arouses, encourages and quickens the affections and zeal of every believer. The imminency of the blessed hope produces loyalty and faithfulness to Christ. In our vigil of watching for the Lord, our fidelity intensifies. On the other hand, not being watchful, results in a tendency to worldliness and carelessness in this life. The blessed hope helps the Christian toward a proper separation from carnality.

Blessed hope mechanisms for this life are designed to:
· Instill the grace of patience.
· Alleviate the natural tendency to worry.
· Stimulate sobriety.
· Comfort the bereaved.
· Encourage a godly walk.
· Motivate brotherly love.
· Create a sense of urgency in the believer to be busy about the Lord’s work.

The blessed hope compels us toward the “fullness of time” (“times of refreshing”). Why has our Lord armed us with this blessed hope for such a protracted interval (since the time of his departure and His promised to return)? First, it is because God is longsuffering and patient, “not willing that any should perish.” God is granting fallen mankind the opportunity to completely develop his evil schemes and thereby demonstrate the world's need of a competent ruler! When Jesus appears one day soon, man will not be able to lodge any complaints that God did not allow him time to experiment and test his free will that was so lovingly granted unto man in the Garden of Eden. Man has been permitted to do his utmost in ruling and regenerating this world. God gave man dominion over this entire planet, including its government, and mankind has conclusively shown that he is incapable of governing himself. Mankind has shown, and continues to show even in our modern age, that he is completely unable to grapple with and overcome the forces of evil.

The combination of the living hope and the blessed hope is the Christian’s dual-hope in this world; all else is vanity and failure. Mankind’s hope in philosophy has failed. Greek and Roman philosophers once set out to solve the riddles of our universe and to explain by human rationale answers and theorems to all the problems that beset mankind. Philosophers have proposed remedies for every societal ailment known to man, only to end in abysmal failure, as did the very empires from which they sprang.

The human experiment with government and legislation has also proven to be a fiasco. Various societies and cultures have tried everything from democracy, republicanism, monarchies, dictatorships, socialism, capitalism, communism, to isolationism—all to no avail. None of these have offered any hope for mankind’s survival. The insufficiency and failure of human civilizations and their “hopes” serve only to highlight the fact that mankind is incapable of perfecting government and solving the plagues that emanate from his inherited sin nature. Because of our failure as a civilization, we cry out for help; but there is only one source of help that can offer true hope—Jesus Christ. Jesus was born into the world for this very purpose.

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6, 7)



The Song: Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance Jesus is mine! Oh what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His spirit, washed in His blood.

Chorus: This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long, this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
scribbled with crayon by dr. larry at 8:57 PM