Grace For The Journey

Today I would like to share a message of hope with you.  We can live weeks without food . . . days without water . . . minutes without oxygen.  But we cannot live a single moment without hope.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:4, “But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.”

If you are reading this today and Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are among the living; and because you are among the living, you are to be filled with a holy hope.

The Bible provides one powerful Gospel truth as to why that is true in Lamentations 3:25, “The Lord is good to those who wait for and hope in Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”

Isn’t that a wonderful truth?

Notice that the Bible does not say the Lord is good to those whose hope is in their career path, their bank account, their good looks, their education, or their physical ability.  It says the Lord is good to those who wait for and hope in Him.

So . . . where is your hope today?  Is it focused on Him . . . or on something other than Him, which may offer the promise of a great benefit and reward but in the end will never deliver on its promise?

Listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 34:10, “Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”  In other words . . .

Everything you need to live the life God wants you to live and to

Accomplish all that God is calling you to do will be placed at your disposal.

God will never lead you to do something without giving you everything you need to get it done.  Nothing can stand in the way of God’s purpose for your life.  The world, the flesh, and the devil will oppose you, but greater is He who is in you (1 John 4:4) – and that makes you able to overcome any and all opposition that stands in your way.

• Difficulties at work? Look to, turn over to, and hope in the Lord.
• Struggles in your relationships? Look to, turn over to, and hope in the Lord.
• Distance in your marriage? Look to, turn over to, and hope in the Lord.
• Challenges in your parenting? Look to, turn over to, and hope in the Lord.
• Discouragement and distress over bad choices? Look to, turn over to, and hope in the Lord.

Regardless of where this finds you today, keep your hope in the Lord.  Go to Him in prayer and confess and plead your case.  Go to Him in His Word and stand on His truth.  Go to Him through the godly people He has placed in your life to give you counsel and comfort.  Because God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), each day is a day of glorious new beginnings.  With every dawn there is new hope, new opportunity, and new possibilities – but not for a dead lion . . . .  or any other dead thing for that matter!

All those new beginnings are available only to one who is alive in Christ.

I think we would all agree that in the realm of the physical world it is far better to be a live dog than a dead lion.  Regardless of how much skill, power, and ability the lion has it is of no use to him if he is dead.  What is true in the physical world is true in the spiritual world, only with far greater importance.  There are many great individuals who are walking around this world drawing breath, but they are outside of the kingdom of God.  They do not know God or the things of God; they have no concern about Him, no relationship with him; and thus they are dead in trespasses and sins.  They are as the dead lion.

But for you whose life and hope is in the Lord, even if you are the “least” of all those who reside within the courts of heaven, you are alive today and shall live forever more.

You can enjoy life as God designed it and desires it;

You can experience a life of freedom and fulfillment;

And

You can expect forever life with Jesus in heaven!

Rejoice!

This is God Word … This is Grace for your Journey

… Rest And Rejoice In The Wonderful Truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”