  MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013 LIVING HOPE Where do you find hope?
When we surrender our old pattern of desiring life apart from God into the hands of the Restorer, we receive living hope: an inheritance of abundant life now and eternal life in the future.
We see this in Peter's first letter to those on Restoration Road: "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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:3-5).
"Resurrection," "inheritance," and "future salvation" are all terms that the Jews used to refer to the last days, or the end times. But Peter told them that the Messiah had already come. Jesus was God in the flesh. He lived a perfect life and died on a cross, bearing the penalty of the old unrestored life for all who believe. He gave restoration: new life and new hope for all.
In Peter's time, pagan religions preached a much different version of a restored life. Their message for new hope and new life depended upon self-restoration. How true this is for us today. Often, we rely on the words of self-help evangelists and wonder how much has really changed over the last two thousand years. Peter tells us that living hope is not based on our works or the works of others, but solely on the hope that we have in the Restorer.
Living Hope is only found in Christ. We deserve justice. However, God unleashes mercy so that we do not get what we deserve because of our sins. He offers us the opportunity to surrender our old life into the hands of the Restorer and receive what we do not deserve: grace.
Blessings!  |
For more, watch:
 | | Episode 13: Restoring Living Hope...Restoring New Life |
|
