Colossians 1:25-29 – “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.”  NASB

In considering the Hope of the Bible we are drawn to Abraham.  God promised him that one would come through his seed that would Bless all the families of the earth.  Then, we consider David and see the Promises in the Davidic Covenant.  We examine the prophets and hear them all declare that there was coming one who would bear our sins.  There would be one who was Lord of Lords and King of Kings.  There was one in whose kingdom there would be peace and joy beyond description.  They NEVER had that, but they Hoped!

Generation after generation lived reading the Seed Catalog and rehearsing the Promises.  Hebrews 11 tells us that they all died in faith.  They keep looking ahead.  It was the Hope of Israel.  They uniformly said, “We KNOW He is coming!  We are absolutely certain of that truth.”  Then as they died, they reached out to their children and said, “Don’t Forget, He is Coming!”  It has been passed on from generation to generation.  That is Hope!

In the Book of Acts, we hear the declaration – He Has Come!  The Hope of Israel was finally realized.  He Came!  Paul said, “That’s what I’m doing.  I am standing in judgment because I am declaring that Jesus is the Hope of Israel.  The Messiah has come!”

Please never lose sight of the reality that Jesus’ coming is not to be viewed as only some moment in history.  No, No, No!  He actually came to live inside of us.  He is coming again but now, because He came, we have HOPE!  Israel had a Hope, but they had to wait for generations before it was fulfilled.  But Hope has come!  He lives in us!  Now, because He lives inside of us, We Live in Hope!  Hallelujah, I live in the Hope that everything that I’ve ever hoped for will be realized before I die or before Jesus returns.  I hope you see this because this is Hope! 

You and I, as believers, are among the persons where The Hope has happened.  He is here!  What we have Hoped for is Here!  The Seed of the Woman, Jesus, is here.  The descendant of Abraham, Jesus is here.  The one that Isaiah said would Die for our sins, Jesus, is here!  He is Here and He Is In Us!    That is HOPE! 

Jesus is our Hope that everything that God has promised will come to pass in our lives.  He is our Hope!  He is the guarantee, the certainty, the absolute assurance, and He has come!  Therefore, everything that God has Promised WILL come to Pass.  That is Hope!

Unfortunately, too many Christians live without Hope.  Too many live in a state that could be identified as despair.  Why?  I believe it is because we sometimes live in a vacuum.  What do I mean by that? 

Let me offer this illustration and hopefully, it will resonate and liberate. The way that many Christians look this is, “We are pardoned.”  Most believe that we have been forgiven.  Some have moved a step beyond that position and entered into a living relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  But, what then?  Too often, we ‘freeze that experience’ and say, “That’s it, I’ve got it!”  We live more in the hope of the world than the hope of the Bible.

I must deal with this yet one more time, but until then we will say, go with God and He will go with you. Have a great day in Him today!