Season of Hope

Our Perseverance in Hoping advent week #1

We have hope because He came and will come again! Our hope is alive because Our Savior lives! Advent is about preparing for His return again! Scripture is from Berean Standard Bible. Images created using Night Cafe Studio.

Christ: Our Living Hope

A Living Hope 1 Peter 1:3-9 emphasis mine:

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials 7so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

8Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This hope enables us to persevere and rejoice! The knowledge that He is saving us and coming back to complete human history (Revelations chapters 21 & 22) make this journey worthwhile!

The Longing of the Prophets

1 Peter 1:10-12

10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully, 11trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the numerous other prophets longed for the coming of the Messiah! Jesus was the fulfillment of many longings and hopes! They lived lives of faith, hope, and trust in God knowing that God would fulfill His promises.

Faith and hope work together

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as:

1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.

Hope is vital to faith! Got questions explains this: emphasis mine

https://www.gotquestions.org/difference-faith-hope.html

Biblical hope is built on faith. Hope is the earnest anticipation that comes with believing something good. Hope is a confident expectation that naturally stems from faith. Hope is a peaceful assurance that something that hasn’t happened yet will indeed happen.

Hope must involve something that is as yet unseen: (Romans 8:24). Jesus’ return is our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13)—we can’t see Him yet, but we know He’s coming, and we anticipate that event with joy.

Got Questions, “What is the difference between faith and hope”

Hope is a form of trust! We believe God’s Word and what He promises! This hope is made possible by faith.

Faith is a complete trust or confidence in something. Faith involves intellectual assent to a set of facts and trust in those facts. . . This means we completely trust Jesus for our eternal destiny.

Got Questions, ibid.

Faith and hope work together!

Faith and hope are complementary. Faith is grounded in the reality of the past; hope is looking to the reality of the future.

Without faith, there is no hope, and without hope there is no true faith. Christians are people of faith and hope. (Titus 1:2).

Got Questions, ibid

Pilgrims worshiping together Image created using Night Cafe Studio.

Ephesians 1:16-21

16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

18I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, 20which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

We are wise to pray for God to enlighten our hearts and increase our hope in His Presence!