April 4, 2025 ~ FROM A PASTOR'S HEART

April 4 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: PSALM 71:4-6

Suppose you had to live everyday with no real assurance of anything. I have prayed with people who have gone in to a serious surgery, but they were calm and peaceful...because they had hope. I have sat with people who were about to leave this life and go in to eternity...they were ready and they were calm...because they had hope. For we who are believers in Jesus another word for hope is assurance. Christ is our hope...meaning He is the assurance of every promise of God for those who belong to the Lord. Biblical hope is not a "shot in the dark"...it is a certainty, because it is guaranteed by the Lord for those who believe and trust in Him. No matter what occurs this side of heaven, we have complete assurance that our God holds all things in His hands. So, we place our hope in the One who cannot and will not let us down. He will not disappoint...He cannot come up short on His promises.

From the view of the world without Christ, hope is a gamble. They have no assurance of anything. They live life on their own and hope that somehow everything will turn out alright for them. Some gamble there is no God, no heaven or hell, no eternity. They hope that the temporary satisfaction or happiness they receive for the moment here is where it all ends...eternity is nonexistent to them...at least they hope so. There are those who hope that they can come to the Lord anyway they want, or not at all and if God exists and there is eternity, somehow everyone will be accepted of God, no matter what. They hope there is no accountability for their sin...no responsibility to live life for the Lord...no real need to trust in Christ alone as Savior....at least they hope so. The world's type of hope always leads to disappointment... because it's not just a gamble, it is a guaranteed loss. This is why we are told to share the Gospel with the world...so they might know the hope that is in Jesus...the assurance of sins forgiven, the promise of eternal life and the guaranteed acceptance of God!

Please share your thoughts.