Posts with the tag “hope”

If you've been to enough funerals, you know there are two kinds. Both are heavy, and something is different in the room when the people gathered believe the story isn't over. Paul doesn't say believers don't grieve. He says we don't grieve like those who have no hope, and that difference is worth telling somebody about.  Read More

Set a bucket under a downspout in a hard rain and it fills, then keeps filling, and water goes everywhere. Paul doesn't pray that you'd have enough hope to get by. He prays you'd overflow. An overflowing life carries more than it needs, and the extra gets on people.  Read More

Peter makes an assumption in this verse that ought to make us uncomfortable. He assumes people are going to ask. If nobody has ever asked you about your hope, that's worth sitting with. The way you're carrying this season is not a private matter.  Read More

Jeremiah wrote these words sitting in actual rubble, with his city destroyed and his people marched into exile. Out of the worst season in his nation's history came one of the most beautiful declarations of hope in the Bible. His mercies are new every morning, not recycled from yesterday. Whatever you fall asleep carrying, fresh mercy is already waiting.  Read More

Get let down enough times and you stop hoping out loud. It feels safer to expect nothing than to have your heart handed back to you again. But Paul says this hope will never leave you ashamed, because the proof of God's love was never a comfortable life. It's His Spirit already poured into your heart.  Read More

An anchor doesn't flatten the chop or talk the wind down. It holds you where you are so the current can't carry you off. That's what biblical hope does, and Hebrews says yours is anchored inside the presence of God Himself. The water will always move, so the only question that matters is what you're tied to.  Read More

In Christ, the old is not renovated. It is gone, and whatever you have been carrying does not get the final word over who you are now.  Read More

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" - Isaiah 52:7As we conclude this month's focus on wisdom, stewardship, and purpose, we're reminded that the ultimate purpose of gaining wisdom is to share the good news of God's reign and salvation with others. The beaut...  Read More

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." - 1 Peter 3:15The wisdom we've been cultivating this month is not meant to be hoarded for our own benefit. It's meant to be shared with others who are searching for truth, meaning, and hope. Peter reminds u...  Read More

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” - Lamentations 3:25–26If you have ever climbed into a deer stand long before dawn, you know waiting takes patience and trust. Sitting there in the cold, not knowing what the morning will bring, reminds us that some things are beyond our control. We prepare, we do al...  Read More

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." - Philippians 3:20 Your identity in Christ includes citizenship in God's kingdom. While you live in this world, you belong to another kingdom with different values, different priorities, and a different King. This dual citizenship shapes how you live in the present while anticipating the future.Pau...  Read More

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." - 1 Peter 3:15 Your identity in Christ gives you a story worth telling. When people see the hope, peace, and purpose in your life, they want to know the source. Being prepared to share your identity story is one of the most powerful ways to impact ...  Read More

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:19May arrives with a distinct sense of fullness. April’s showers have passed, leaving the earth soft and ready. The hesitation of early spring is gone, replaced by a confident explosion of green. It is a season that demands we look forward, not bac...  Read More

“The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” - John 4:14The month draws to a close, but resurrection life is meant to well up and spill over without end. There’s no “graduation” from new life. It’s a daily overflow, a spring that keeps surprising us and those around us, with grace.Jesus offers the Samaritan woman not just acceptance, but living water—a ...  Read More

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” - Psalm 27:14 Waiting is one of the hardest parts of faith. Prayers breathless with longing, answers postponed, dreams deferred—these can tempt us to despair. Yet resurrection assures us that waiting is never wasted, and that “delay” for God is not defeat.David writes Psalm 27 during a season of threat and exile. His faith stirs ...  Read More

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary.” - Isaiah 40:31 Everyone faces disappointment: doors that close, prayers that seem to hit the ceiling, diagnoses we can’t change. Resurrection hope isn’t denial of reality; it is the persistent grip on the belief that God rewrites endings—even the ones we never wanted.Isaia...  Read More

"Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:8 Some things fade—the bouquet on the table, accolades, excitement, strength. But Paul’s bold claim at the heart of the “Love Chapter” is stunning: Love never fails. Resurrection is not just an event; it’s the persistent rising of love where hope, patience, and self-sacrifice seem worn thin.Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate proof that love outlasts hate, pa...  Read More

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile… If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” - 1 Corinthians 15:17,19What do you live for? The world pulls us to focus on results, accolades, comfort—now. Even Christian faith can be reduced to strategies for happiness and success. But resurrection beckons us further: What if your deepest hope outla...  Read More

“In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’” - Luke 24:5-6The sun rises on resurrection day and history splits wide open. The graveyard becomes a garden. Those who came to mourn find themselves swept up in a miracle—the world’s first Easter dawn. The phrase “He is not ...  Read More

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” - 1 Peter 1:3Hope is a fragile thing in a wounded world. We carry disappointments like old bruises—projects left unfinished, dreams that faded, relationships that soured. Sometimes hope feels like a thin thread, and fait...  Read More

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." - 1 Peter 3:15Peter reminds us that our understanding of Scripture isn't meant to be kept to ourselves; it's meant to be shared with a world that desperately needs the hope we've found in Christ. But notice...  Read More

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. - John 20:1Before anything miraculous happened after Jesus’ death, there was waiting.Jesus had been crucified, buried, and sealed inside a tomb. Mary had watched everything unfold. She had followed closely, loved deeply, and now she believed the story had ended. Scripture tells us that after the burial, t...  Read More

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it that you are seeking?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away.” - John 20:15When Mary saw Jesus standing in front of her, she assumed He was the gardener. That detail is easy to overlook, but it is incredibly revealing.Grief narrows perspective....  Read More

But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” – John 20:11-13The story of the resurrection begi...  Read More

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” - Colossians 3:1 Resurrection is not just something Christians believe happened to Jesus. It is something that is meant to show up in the way you live. When God brings someone to life in Christ, the change does not stay hidden. Over time, it begins to surface in how you think, respo...  Read More

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:27 A lot of people believe Jesus is in charge but still feel alone in their day-to-day life. They know Christ rules heaven. They trust His authority. Yet when anxiety hits or weakness shows up, it can feel like God is distant, watching from above instead of present within. That gap is where many believers quietly struggle. The gospel offers someth...  Read More

“See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.’” – Matthew 1:23 Christmas is not just a story about a baby born in Bethlehem. It is the story of God stepping into human history. The Creator entered creation. The infinite became an infant. Jesus did not send help from a distance. He became the help we needed. The ...  Read More

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” – John 1:9 For four hundred years, heaven was silent. No prophets spoke. No new words came from God. The people of Israel waited, generation after generation, wondering when the promised Messiah would arrive. The world grew darker, and hope felt distant. But then, at just the right moment, silence was broken, not by thunder o...  Read More

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace.” – Ephesians 2:4-5 There are few phrases in Scripture more powerful than these two words: But God. They mark the turning point in every believer’s story. We were lost, broken, and spiritually dead, but God stepped in. When there was...  Read More

“God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - Colossians 1:27 When Paul writes that Christ is in you, he is revealing something that had never been clearly understood before. For generations, the presence of God was confined to places. It was in the burning bush, the tabernacle, the holy of holies in the temple. Even...  Read More

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 15:57 If you’ve ever rooted for a losing team, you know the pain. The frustration. The hope that rises in the offseason, only to crash again by midseason. As a Cowboys fan, I know that feeling way too well. When the losses pile up year after year, winning starts to feel more like a fantasy than a possib...  Read More

"Then I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God." – Revelation 21:3 It is hard to wrap our minds around how different heaven will be from this world. We are so used to brokenness, sorrow, and pain that the idea of a world without them feels almost ...  Read More

"Look, I am making everything new." – Revelation 21:5 It is easy to get attached to this world. We spend so much of our lives building things here: careers, homes, relationships, goals. We put so much energy into making life comfortable and meaningful here on earth. But Scripture gives us an important reminder. This world is not permanent. Isaiah 43 says God is doing something new, and Revelation ...  Read More

"Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, each one was judged according to their works." – Revelation 20:13 Earlier this year, I heard a story about a fisherman’s monument in Homer, Alaska. It was a tribute to those who lost their lives at sea. On a plaque beside the statue was a line that said the sea tells a story. It tells of the lif...  Read More

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." - Revelation 21:4 Can you picture a world where all the pain and brokenness we see today is gone? A world without crime or violence, without fear or loss. It is hard to imagine because everything around us now seems to ca...  Read More

"Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him." – Revelation 1:7 For over 2,000 years, people have been talking, wondering, and waiting for one of the greatest promises in Scripture, the return of Jesus Christ. And in Revelation 19, we’re given a glimpse of what that moment will be like. John writes, “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white hor...  Read More

"My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." - Psalm 121:2 We all have things we run to for security. For some, it’s money. You feel safe because your bank account is full and you believe those dollars will catch you if you fall. For others, it’s relationships. As long as you have certain people in your life, you feel like everything will be okay. Or maybe your sense of security comes...  Read More

"He is not here, for he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." - Matthew 28:6 Easter changes everything. On Friday, the world saw defeat. Jesus was beaten, mocked, and crucified. His body was laid in a tomb, sealed behind a massive stone. His followers were filled with grief, confusion, and fear. But what looked like the end was only the beginning. Because on Sunday morn...  Read More

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand." – Psalm 37:23-24 Failure can feel like the end of the road. When you fall short, when you make mistakes, when you let yourself or others down, it is easy to believe that you have ruined everything. The enemy wants you to think that your failur...  Read More

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 We’ve all seen those movies where the hero fights bravely, only to fall short in the end. They’re powerful stories, but they can leave you with an ache, wondering why the ending couldn’t have been different. Sometimes, life feels like tha...  Read More