TRANSFORMING THURSDAY... Jesus is OUR HOPE

At the end of yesterday's post, I shared this:

"When reading different scriptures that talked about Jesus as our hope, I was struck by the similarity of some of the language or words used. There were close to 20 words that jumped out at me, as being common words used in many "hope" scriptures. So, I decided to take a tally. I found 7 words/themes that were in many of those scriptures. I will share them here and then I'd like you to ponder on the connections they have, with Jesus as our hope, until tomorrow. Then, tomorrow on TRANSFORMING THURSDAY, we can study together some of the transformational implications."

If you are a "born again christian", then you have lived out the apostle Peter's directive in Acts 2:38:

Peter replied,

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,

 in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

 And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
³⁹ The promise is for you and your children 

  and for all who are far off —

for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

So, your sins are forgiven and you've come into a right relationship with God because of the gift Jesus Christ has given you.  Yet, sometime since then, life has you on a journey that may include some or all of the following:  suffering, affliction, insult to injury, discouragement, exhaustion, and/or powerlessness. 

Just a reminder:  Jesus is our hope!  WITH HIM, this too shall pass!  Oh, I know... it's easier said than done...

Many of the scriptures that talk about Jesus as our hope include:

1. God, the Father-another aspect of God that we do not deny!
2. The Holy Spirit-the third characteristic/piece of God that we do not deny!
3. Love-who God is and what He does!
4. Suffering/affliction/insult- difficulties that will either bring us closer to God or drive us away from Him.
5. Persevere/perseverance/endure/endurance-defined a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement;  continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation. 
6. Encourage/build up-to give courage
7. Power-ability to act or produce an effect

Where does the power, encouragement, perseverance/endurance, to keep HOPE, come from in the midst of suffering/affliction/insult? 

• It comes from our GOD who is LOVE:  as a loving Father, a sacrificial Brother, and a Holy Spirit at work within us.  It comes from the encouragement that is received by GOD's family, too!

It is possible to go for years and years and years of suffering, rejection, affliction, rejection, insult, rejection and still have the power to overcome... to be encouraged... to persevere... to love...


Colossians 1:24-29
Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."

Jesus, in you, the HOPE of glory!

Oh, the JOY!

WOMEN IN THE WORD WEDNESDAY....Jesus is OUR HOPE...7 words/themes...

This month, we are focusing on our Lord Jesus Christ as our hope.  In the past few days I have posted multiple scriptures taken from the books of Matthew through Colossians that have the focus of Jesus / hope. Please read these two additional scriptures and then be encouraged by the connections I found in THE WORD.

Ephesians 4:1-6

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Colossians 1:24-29
^{24 "}Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."




When reading different scriptures that talked about Jesus as our hope, I was struck by the similarity of some of the language or words used.  There were close to 20 words that jumped out at me, as being common words used in many "hope" scriptures.  So, I decided to take a tally.  I found 7 words/themes that were in many of those scriptures.  I will share them here and then I'd like you to ponder on the connections they have, with Jesus as our hope, until tomorrow.  Then, tomorrow on TRANSFORMING THURSDAY, we can study together some of the transformational implications.

1. God, the Father
2. The Holy Spirit
3. Love
4. Suffering/affliction/insult
5. Persevere/perseverance/endure/endurance
6. Encourage/build up
7. Power

 Jesus is our Hope!

Oh, the J.O.Y.!

GRATITUESDAY... Jesus is OUR HOPE!

I am so grateful today that Jesus is:

• My Hope!
• Your Hope!
• Our Hope!

Matthew 12:21
"In His name the nation's will put their hope."


Acts 26:6-7 
"And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. ⁷ This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me."


Romans 5:1-6

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly..."



 Romans 8:18-25 

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. " 

Romans 12:9-12

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. "



Romans 15:1-5

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. ³ For even Christ did not please Himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on Me.”  ⁴ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had..."


Romans 15:12-13

"Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
    One who will arise to rule over the nations;
in Him the Gentiles will hope.”

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

I am so grateful that Jesus is my hope... your hope... the hope of the world...   Join me in grateful perseverance today!  Come back tomorrow for Women in the Word Wednesday to be encouraged by more scriptures connecting to Jesus - our HOPE!

Oh, the J.O.Y.!

MEDITATION MONDAY: Jesus is OUR HOPE!

So, you are a "mom"?!?!!?  Maybe you came by motherhood in a different way than giving birth to these children.  Maybe, not!  But, just maybe this motherhood gig is a little more challenging than you envisioned.  I am praying, to God, for you today, the prayer out of Ephesians 1:

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know THE HOPE to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, ¹⁹ and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms..."

Join me today in fixing our eyes on Jesus...

Jesus is OUR HOPE!

Oh, the J.O.Y.!   

Jesus is our HOPE! A Ketchup and Mustard Saturday!

It's a really needed Ketchup (catch-up) and Mustard (Must Do) Saturday!  What a long time it has been since I've written on this blog.  My last words here were to remind us of how great God's faithfulness is to us.  I believe that more than ever today.  According to the sidebar, there was a Plan for the year on this blog, but life had a way of taking over some of my plans the last few months!  So thankful for God's grace, patience, and hope! 

I grew up as an "army brat", but my dad returned to Fort Carson, Colorado twice.  I attended school in the Colorado Springs area in 4th, 5th, 8th, 11th, and 12th grades.  That is where my parents chose to stay after my dad's retirement.  The fires and violence in Colorado this past month have brought my heart "homeward":  1. For my Colorado home! 2. For my eternal HOME! 

Two of my favorite scriptures address what has happened this week in Aurora, Colorado:

2 Corinthians 4:6-16

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”  made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
⁷ But we have this Treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”  Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
¹⁶ Therefore, we do not lose heart..."


Colossians 1:27-28

"...Christ in you, the hope of glory.  He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ."

One of the survivors of the Aurora shooting has posted a blog that is a must read as she gets us to think more on the topic of:  "this treasure in jars of clay" and  "Christ in you, the HOPE of glory..."
  
 Therefore we do not lose heart.

http://aminiatureclaypot.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/so-you-still-think-god-is-a-merciful-god/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog

Oh, the JOY!  Be Blessed!  Be Transformed!