HOPE

     According to Webster’s Dictionary, hope is defined as "to cherish a desire with anticipation; to desire with expectation of obtainment; to expect with confidence" with the archaic definition: trust. (interesting)

     I hear the word “hope” used a lot. I hope you have a happy birthday. I hope I have enough….(fill in the blank), we hope there’s a white Christmas, you just got to have hope and... on and on. 

      Then I hear that Jesus is our hope.  Is it the same kind of hope? Until a recent Bible study, I never thought of the implications of the differences in the word “hope.”

Understand that when the Bible speaks of hope, it does not use the word in the same way we usually do today, meaning a faint glimmer of possibility…When the New Testament speaks of hope, it speaks of a certainty: The hope of eternal life rests upon the One who came to give us eternal life, and we are justified by His grace. This is rock-solid Reality!...If we do  not have a rock-solid hope in the midst of such rapidly shifting, dizzying, sickening changes, we will succumb to despair.   (Ray Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible)

   Now that got me thinking about how much I say “I hope this” and “I hope that.”  Then, a few days later, my morning devotion was on hope:

     … The hope of heaven is meant to strengthen and encourage you, filling you with wondrous Joy.  Many Christians have misunderstood this word hope, believing that it denotes wishful thinking.  Nothing could be farther from the truth!  … This hope keeps you spiritually alive during dark times of adversity; it brightens your path and heightens your awareness of my Presence.  My desire is that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Sarah Young, Jesus Calling )

     This made me think of the old hymn (yes, I do know a few) The Solid Rock and the words "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." 

     I think twice now before I use the word "hope."  I no longer "hope" things turn out for the best. Now, regardless of how things turn out, my Hope (built on Jesus) will be with me and see me through.

The Comfort of the Incarnate

   So Thanksgiving evening I started listening to Christmas songs. I refuse to listen any earlier! Yet, as I thought about the words to some of my favorite songs and carols, I began to think, "These really are for every day, all year long." Without the birth, the life would have never been offered up on my behalf so I could spend eternity with God. I love the way the Message translates John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

   The whole "moved into the neighborhood" thing is what really makes it alive for me. There are several other verses translated in the Message that use that talk about God living with His people, yes, even moving into the neighborhood.  Check out Exodus 29:45-46, Zechariah 2:11 (Talking about the Gentiles, you think?) , Ezekiel 37:26-27, (WooHoo for the Everlasting Covenant!) Jeremiah 7:7, II Chronicles 6:18 (The cosmos isn't big enough to contain God, but He chose to live with us, in us.), and Revelation 21:3.

   The three songs that really get me thinking about the incarnate Christ are  "This Baby" sung by Steven Curtis Chapman ("Holy and human right from the start."), "Did You Know?" sung by Todd Agnew (Did the cross cast a shadow o'er your cradle?), and "Mary Did You Know?" sung by Mark Lowery (this child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you...And when you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God...This sleeping child you're holding is the great I Am."
   Thinking about Jesus being fully God and fully man is a profound concept. Can it be explained? I read an Albert Einstein quote about things that said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." The simplest explanation I can give, based on what I've discovered from Bible study and personal relationship, is well put in Hebrews 10:14 (The Message) "It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people" The reason, simply put, is pure love.
   Here are the songs I mentioned:

     "This Baby"

"Did You Know?"

"Mary, Did You Know?"

 

A Couple of Awesome Easter Activities

     Easter is kind of late this year, but still it seems to have sneaked up on me. I guess I "remembered" when Sis let me know what to bring for dinner next Sunday.  I have my Easter dress ready for next Sunday. (I know I don't need one, but it's something I've done every year since I can remember.) I also have bunny ears to wear to school on Friday. (Hey, it's fun to wear them and God's not afraid of bunnies!)
     I was thinking of a couple of activities I want to share. One is the homemade Resurrection Eggs.  The other is Empty Tomb Cookies. The activities can be used together or separately. They may be used as lessons with studies from preschool to adult.  I've actually used the Resurrection Eggs as a youth group lesson, with students reading and discussing the scripture in the eggs. Both activities would be great for use as family devotions.
     For instructions on the Resurrection Eggs, check out the Thrifty Living Mom blog version (one of my favorites) by clicking here. You don't need to be exact when finding items for the eggs.  The important thing is to make sure the story, starting with Palm Sunday, gets told through ending with the empty tomb.
    For instructions on Empty Tomb Cookies, click here.  If you decide to do these, you need to start them the evening/night before Easter. Make sure you get up early enough on Easter Sunday to finish the project before heading off to church.

          HAVE A BLESSED EASTER!

From Last Year...Still True

Jesus is the Alpha, the Omega and the Nu
From Asbury Tidings, January 2010:

William D. Watley, Senior Pastor at the St. James Aftican Methodist Church, provides encouragement in the realization and truth of Jesus as the ultimate connection:

"You are connected to somebody who is not only the Alpha and Omega, but the Nu as well. Alpha and Omega are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet; nu is the middle letter. Thus, Jesus is not only the somebody who will be with us in the beginning, when we're born and at the end when death comes. He abides with us in all that is between...in the middle. In the middle, when temptation comes to turn us around. In the middle, when Satan attacks to dismantle and destroy. In the middle, when friends become few. In the middle, when resources run short. In the middle, when the unexpected shakes the foundations of our lives. In the middle, when relationships are severed. Yes, in the middle. Therefore, we can continue to abide in Jesus. He is sufficient for whatever comes between our beginning and our ending."

Wow...What a great reminder of who Christ is and that in the things I can't handle (which are a bunch) we...Jesus and I...can handle together. Starting the New Year with promise!