Confident Hope

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

What is the order of things here?  Trust in the source of hope > joy and peace > confident hope
Hope doesn't just happen, doesn't just appear.  Hope comes from a source. Just as a stream doesn't just happen, there must be a source.  It may by a spring or glacier, but it has a source. God, God alone, is the source of hope.  When we trust (believe) God to be who He is, Hope, then we drink of that stream of hope. That stream of anticipation or expectancy.  As the hope fills our inner being, we experience joy and peace.  Joy and peace can be both emotions and a state of being.  God's hope produces joy and peace in both.  We feel joy and peace and we are characterized by joy and peace.  Furthermore, He causes us to overflow with confident hope [toward others] courtesy the power of the Holy Spirit.  As I have walked through the journey of my father entering into Jesus presence, I have a deeper appreciation for the joy and peace that have run deep and overflowed my being in a confident hope that, though physical death is accompanied by pain and sorrow, I can "take heart, because I (Jesus) have overcome the world." John 16:33  Yes, as we are in Christ Jesus, so we will overcome this world. I am declaring this to you, I have a confident hope, flanked by joy and peace, in this. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

The Reality

"And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you live because you have been made right with God."  Romans 8:10


As I sit with my father in the hospital I deeply feel the reality of the consequence of the fall.  The body does fail and it is not a lovely thing.  It is emotionally and physically painful.  The ray of light that filters through it all is the Spirit given life.  Yes, my dad has been made right with God through the saving power of Jesus blood.  Because of that, as I watch his body give way, I am assured that he has life.  That Spirit given life gives hope through this painful process.  Thank you, Jesus, for giving Your life so that we might live...live beyond these frail bodies.

Declaration

"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8: 38-39

Who's in Charge

I use this phrase often when talking about parenting.  Romans 8:6 asks the same idea in regards to our minds.  "...letting your sinful nature control your minds leads to death.  But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace."  The end results are pretty stark opposites.  It is a choice...however, it is only made possible because "God sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have.  And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins." (v. 3)  Lord, may I live moment by moment in that freedom; my mind controlled by your Spirit, leading to life and peace.

"Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
the Lord tested Joseph's character."  Ps. 104:19

Lord, don't let us loose sight of the dreams you've placed in our hearts amidst Your testing.  Oh that our character may conform to Your likeness.

Here or There

The tendency is to view life from where we are at.  That can be where I am at physically, emotionally or spiritually. I am challenged today by Philippians 3:19-21 that paints a stark contrast of those who think only about this life here on earth and those who think in light of their citizenship heaven, where Jesus Christ lives.  The fruits of these two different foci are polar opposites.  Galatians 5 gives the list:  impurity, lust, idolatry, hostility, selfishness, envy....VS. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I want the "there" view.  Lord, draw me in!

At Home

We work hard to create habits, especially the good ones.  But they can also be binding.  We are conscious of keeping them and conscious of when we don't keep them.  Sometimes we become slaves of sorts to them.  Especially those of us that tend towards being perfectionists.  That's when good habits become bondage.  We may use our diligence to keep a good habit as a source of pride or we may use our failures to follow through with good habits as a platform to criticize ourselves or even others when we see them fail at good habits they had once established.
I was challenged by some thoughts about habits by Oswald Chambers this morning in My Utmost for His Highest.  "Your god may be your little Christian habit."  Has our time of prayer or Bible reading become merely a habit, or is it an extension of our very being.  If we are simply performing because we are committed to a habit then this is an opportunity for invest in the relationship so that we are living the relationship rather than just performing the relationship.
When we return home at the end of the day, is it only because it it a habit?  No. It is because that is where we live.  It is our comfort zone.  It is where we can be ourselves.  It is where we can let down.  We can express how we feel, our hopes, our disappoints, our dreams.  We can just be quiet if we want to.  We don't need to put on or perform for anyone.  Are we at home with God, our heavenly Father, or are we just going there because it is a habit?
Is there any where or any situation that we are not a  home with God?  That should be a call to our attention that it is an area that needs to be drawn into that relationship most important to us.  We must press in to Him. He will  draw all of our loose ends into Him.  "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness... so that we might participate in His divine nature." (2 Peter 1:3,4)  The more we participate in Him, the more at home we are with Him anywhere and in anything.  Let this be our driving passion.  To know Him and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10) in our lives.