Born again to a Living Hope! I Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Hope – Expectation of something that is going to happen in the future.  The world’s hope is uncertain.  As we live our lives we may set our hope on having a quiet and peaceful life. Hope for a fun-filled life that may go something like this: I really hope I get ________; ________ this year. This hope is how the world views things.  As believers in Christ, we have a “Certain” hope. Certain means to be free from doubt or reservation; confident; sure to happen!

I Peter 1:4 & 5 “God is protecting our inheritance”; and our inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, kept in heaven for you & me and guarded by God’s power. I don’t know about you, but I want to hold onto the expectation of “my inheritance waiting and being guarded for me in heaven.”

The only thing certain in the world is that we will have suffering. Jesus never said we’d be free of pain and suffering. II Timothy 3:12….we will be persecuted……and in John 16:33….”in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart: I have overcome the world.”

Truth to hold onto:

1) We have a living hope to hold onto in the midst of the storm. “Jesus is our lighthouse.” Be confident, God has our back; I trust Him and because I trust Him, I can rest in Him, I can sleep.

If you have never heard “There’s A Lighthouse” sung by Joyce Hayes, I encourage you do get a copy of the CD by Robert, Joyce & Jordan Hayes. Every time I hear the words “Jesus is our Lighthouse” it brings tears of joy to my eyes because this is certain;

2) We will only face trials that are necessary – What is He teaching me? In shunning a trial we are seeking to avoid it;

3) Our trials will only last a little while. We must have a proper perspective: “God is in it with me – He’s the only one who truly has our back.  When we are in the dark remember the light of God’s Word” – “He is our Lighthouse”.

“When a train goes through a tunnel you don’t toss the ticket, you trust the engineer.” Corrie TenBoom.

Blessings,

Pat Spies

A Servant of the Lord and America’s Keswick Volunteer