June 24, 2018 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Always With Hope

Hope Series #3

I have been writing about hope. Everywhere I turn I see people without hope. They are injured, angry, lost, confused, bitter and alone. Without hope, we are indeed individuals that are without purpose or compassion—totally miserable.

Hosea says, that God has given us a door of hope—an avenue to walk through that opens up all that God has to offer to us (Hosea 2:15). The Bible says that with the hope of Christ we are blessed, unashamed, happy, live with purpose, have faith and charity, have eternal life, are saved & delivered from evil, healed & healthy, can believe all things when I have hope, have reasons for living, and attain to the resurrection of the dead, but we must continually hope in the Lord in order to never be alone.

We must become people of hope in our words, actions, belief system, and attitude in approaching God. God is hope and offers us His hope; we must respond to Him in like manner.

I refuse not to have hope in what I do. It is not my hope but Christ’s hope He has spoken to me. Hope to be a better person and do the will of God cheerfully. I do not try to create a fake hope or a false hope, which I can perform. I rather trust in God—in what God says about Himself and what He has said He will do for me. I live in that hope.

It is not possible for God’s love not to reach me. It is not possible for what Jesus promised to do for me not happen to me. It’s just not possible—it was finished 2,000 years ago with His death.

How can I have hope? I do these things: I quote to myself Bible verses that reference the word ‘hope’, I remember who Jesus is and what He said He would do for me (Isaiah 61:1-2), I listen to songs of hope and encouragement, I tell myself what God thinks about me—who I am in Christ, I affirm that I am forgiven through prayer and worship, and I do not allow Satan to discourage me through circumstances or people’s opinions about me.

Why do I have hope, so I can have faith and love God? My hope is grounded in Jesus Christ not in what I can do. It is built on nothing less than Christ’s righteousness and faithfulness. This is what Jesus would like me to do—place my hope in Him.

WWJWMTD

What would Jesus want me to do?

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately.