Tag: Hope

What Makes a Christian?

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HIGHLIGHT

Colossians 1:3–5 (ESV): 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

EXPLAIN

Paul had never gone to Colossae. While he had met (and presumably converted) Epaphras and may have also met some others from this city and church, Paul had never personally visited the church. Yet Paul prayed for them regularly, thanking God for the great reports he had heard of these believers.

APPLY

What makes a believer of Jesus? How can you know when you have met a Christian?

The answer to this could vary greatly, depending on whether the person answering wanted to focus on lifestyle, outward appearance, attitude and more. Some may even answer this question sarcastically, listing characteristics that should not be true of Christians.

Paul in this passage identifies three key marks of a follower of God: this person has faith in Christ Jesus, a love for all the saints, and assurance of hope laid up for him or her in heaven. The good news – the Gospel – speaks to these three identifying marks of a Christian.

The Christian has faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith is more than about Jesus. It is faith in Jesus. It is a trust, a reliance, in Christ. This faith is much more than head knowledge or belief that Jesus exists or even is the Son of God. It is a reliance, a commitment of oneself, to him as Lord and Savior. Notice that Paul wrote “Christ Jesus”. Christ – Messiah, King, Lord. Jesus – Savior, Rescuer. Paul emphasizes the lordship of Christ to whom the believer has surrendered one’s life in the title he gives our Lord.

The Christian loves all the saints. Our belonging to the family of God is marked by our love for the family of God. Love does not mean agreement with others on all their beliefs, opinions, or ideas, but love does mean a commitment to them because of our love for God.

Indeed, our love for all the saints, the family of God, is given to us by God who changes our heart from one of self-love and even hatred for others to one of sacrificial love. We love because he loved us, and take as our example Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross.

In both our natural and spiritual families, there is sometimes hurt, disagreement, misunderstanding, and much imperfection. But Christians are family, and so our growing love for one another should be evident.

The Christian has an assurance of the hope laid up for him or her in heaven. This world is not all there is for the believer. In fact, our main identity should not be found in the things of this world, but in the Kingdom of God, which is here now in the hearts of all believers of Jesus but will be fully realized in the future when Christ returns.

And so the Christian should be noted for their joy despite current circumstances, their peace in the midst of trouble and suffering, their hope in the world beyond this world. The Christian lives with confidence and perseveres. The Christian lives free of worldly entanglements. The Christian lives to please the eternal King.

Sometimes, there is a tendency to emphasize certain scriptures, which support rules and regulations, as a method to identify the “true” believer in Jesus. Unfortunately, this reliance on certain scriptures, while often ignoring others, is used to force others into one’s mold of “Christianity.” The result can easily become legalistic hypocrisy.

God expects holy living of his people, but true holiness is the result of radical trust in Christ, a life filled with love for God and others, anchored in the sure hope of living for eternity in the very presence of God.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace that changes us dramatically from sinners to saints. May I live as a person with faith in Jesus, love for all, and a settled hope in heaven. May I always welcome and join others of like faith, love, and hope and together may we witness to a lost and dying world the change they may experience through the amazing grace of Christ Jesus. Amen.

Plans for a Future

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HIGHLIGHT

Jeremiah 28:8–9 (ESV): 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

EXPLAIN

During the reign of King Zedekiah, the last king before the final deportation of Jews to Babylon, a prophet named Hananiah publicly proclaimed that God said he had broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years, Hananiah said, the vessels of the Temple would be returned, and the exiles would come back home.

During this time, Jeremiah was carrying around a yoke of wood on his neck. Jeremiah spoke, seemingly agreeing with this prophet, but then closed with the highlighted text. In other words, “if this man is truly prophesying the truth, it will come to pass.”

Hananiah then took the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and broke them. Jeremiah simply left.

Later, however, God gave a word to Jeremiah, telling him sending him to Hananiah with a message: God was replacing the yoke of wood with a yoke of iron. Furthermore, God would remove this false prophet from the earth. A short while later, Hananiah died.

In that context, then, we read in Jeremiah 29 that God’s prophet sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon telling them to build houses, plant gardens, plan to eat the harvest, and settle down in that foreign country.

And in that message we find the verse that is very popular today: Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV): 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

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It may be only natural for Christ followers to want relief from a world that is hostile to God. It may truly feel like there is no future ahead for us. It might even sound spiritual to be faithful and merely “hold on to the end.” But God wants us to thrive for his glory in whatever situation we are in, seeking the growth of His kingdom.

In what ways am I extending the kingdom of God in my world today, promoting the Good News that the King has come, bringing salvation for all?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, may I thrive, not merely survive. May I consciously and purposefully seek to extend your kingdom by sharing the Good News with others, living the Good News in community, and in everything glorifying your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Waiting on the Lord

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HIGHLIGHT

Psalm 130:5–6 (ESV): 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

EXPLAIN

The psalmist appears to be in great despair when he sings this song. Indeed, one could imagine Jonah penning this poem, or at least forming it in his mind, as he lay in the belly of the big fish: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!” (v. 1).

The psalmist recognized that he was not perfect. Indeed, his despair may have been due to his sin and its consequences. But his hope was that if God tracked all our failures, we would surely be doomed, but he knew that God forgives freely.

So the psalmist waited upon the Lord.

APPLY

As I think about waiting upon the Lord, I think of a puppy waiting upon its master. His eyes watch his human, especially the human’s hands. He is ready to jump into action at any moment. He delights when his human is ready to play with him. He mourns when he must go away.

Do we wait upon the Lord with such fervor? Does any move of God excite us beyond measure? Are we patient, waiting for any sign of God’s activity in the world and our lives?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to wait upon you with fervor, hoping and trusting in you. Thank you for your grace and mercy, and the hope we have by trusting in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our confidence and hope

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HIGHLIGHT

Job 4:6 (ESV): 6 Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

EXPLAIN

Eliphaz the Temanite was the first of Job’s friends to speak and to try to make sense of the tragedy Job had experienced.

In verses 3-4, Eliphaz spoke of Job’s various good deeds. And in verse 6, he suggested that fear of God and integrity in one’s ways gives us confidence and hope.

There is truth in what Eliphaz said. We do find confidence when we know we are living a holy life before God.

Yet there is a danger here also. Our fear of God and integrity comes through our faith in God and our resulting faithfulness, aided by the Spirit, to God. Furthermore, confidence and hope do not preclude trouble from coming our way.

Eliphaz continued down this train of thought to suggest that Job couldn’t be truly pure before holy God. Therefore, he argued, Job had sinned and therefore God was punishing him or allowing this difficulty in his life.

This, of course, was not true. God had commended Job as most upright, but still allowed Satan to test him. The tragedies Job had experienced were not the consequence of any sin he had committed.

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1 John 3 emphasizes this truth.

1 John 3:14 (ESV): 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

1 John 3:21–22 (ESV): 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Our confidence is not found in our goodness, but rather in that by grace through faith God has redeemed and renewed us; therefore, our changed life is evidence of God’s grace.

If our faith is in God and we are striving by his help to live holy, we can have confidence and hope even though we may suffer difficulty and setback in life.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, my hope is in you. Thank you for your grace. Continue to change me to be more like you. Amen.

Singing in the Pain

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HIGHLIGHT

Acts 16:25 (ESV): 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

EXPLAIN

Paul was traveling on his second missionary journey with Silas, having gone separate ways from Barnabus and John Mark. He first visited some of the churches that he had started on his first mission trip, and asked Timothy to join him.

After going through Phrygia and Galatia, Paul began hitting roadblocks. He wanted to go into Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbade him. He then desired to go up to Mysia, but the Holy Spirit stopped him again.

Finally, Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia urging him to come and help them. Paul immediately set sail for that area and was able to have some progress preaching and teaching in Philippi.

But a demon-possessed slave girl followed Paul and his companions everywhere and undermined his message by loudly crying out that these men were servants of the Most High God.

Paul finally cast the demon out of the girl. The girl no longer was able to tell fortunes and her owners seized Paul and Silas, who were beaten by the city rulers and cast into prison.

With their feet fastened in stocks, a torturous practice, Paul and Silas were left suffering in prison for the night. But instead of crying out and despairing, these missionaries sang in their pain, and God provided an earthquake to set them free.

APPLY

Paul and Silas provide a great example for how we should respond to suffering and indignity for the name of Jesus. Instead of moaning, complaining, seeking revenge, or feeling bitter, we should sing in the midst of our pain, entrusting ourselves to Lord Jesus.

Singing in the pain keeps our spirit sweet, demonstrates trust in our Heavenly Father, and robs our enemy of any joy he might feel in inflicting harm upon God’s people.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to respond to difficulties in life with singing praise to you. May my spirit be sweet and my attitude jubilant because of your love for me and my hope in you. Amen.