Values No 9 - Hope

"(2) We give thanks to God always for you, making mention of you in our prayers (3) remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of our God and father,"   
                                                                            1 Thessalonians 1:2-3   NKJV

In our final day of looking at Christian Values, let us look at hope. The Greek word for hope is elpis which means, not having wishful thinking without any foundation; but a confident expectation based on solid certainty. 
Kenneth Copeland says:

'Wishing accomplishes nothing in the Kingdom of God; but hoping will, especially when you couple it with faith and love'.  Copyright 1995 Kenneth Copeland

Biblical hope is certainty! Many people say, 'I hope to make it into Heaven one day.' That is not biblical hope, it is wishful thinking; it is almost like we say, 'fingers crossed.' Biblical hope says, 'I hope - fully that I will go to Heaven someday. I have a certainty about it Because Jesus is My Lord and He has gone to prepare a place for me.' (John 14:2-3) 
But saying, 'I hope to make it into Heaven one day,' is uncertainty. As born again believers of Jesus Christ, He has given us a certainty of Heaven. It is not being facetious or big-headed, rude or pompous. It is being certain of what Jesus tells us: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.' (John 3:16).

Living with biblical hope changes your life. God wants us living this way. He wants all of us and that includes our ailments and problems. As we give everything to Him, totally trusting Him for everything in our lives, we transfer over from uncertainty to certainty in Jesus. To be uncertain is to doubt Jesus. Have you ever considered that.? When problems come our way or a big bill drops onto the mat, the best way is to say, 'Lord, we have a problem here, but I'm trusting in you.' It is not being irresponsible. It is putting Jesus in the driving seat of our lives. Doubting and getting all wound up and upset about stuff, is putting Satan in the driving seat. Who would you sooner have drive you? Yes, so would I.

So grab hold of biblical hope and start living at a new level in Jesus. Yes, it may be scary at first but if you trust Jesus, you know that He will NEVER let you down.!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com