The Hope we profess in

So what is this hope that we profess in?

• Yes, we know that the most Holy Place is now accessible to us by the blood of Jesus. (Heb 10:19-20)
• Yes, we also know that Christ was the propitiation for our sins, that we're now saved from the judgement of God. (Rom 2:2-5; 3:21-26)
• And yes, we know that Christ will come again. (2 Pet 3:10)
  

But what is the hope that YOU profess in? I'm not saying that our view of the Bible takes precedence over what the Bible has to teach us. What I am asking is that we might consider the hope that sees our heart aflame for the gospel. The hope that spurs us on in this life. What is the hope that sees us compelled to love, rather than doing so obligingly. Unfortunately, I veered away from this direction during Sat's cell cos of time, but I hope we do consider this important question:

So, What is the hope that you profess in?

For me, my hope lies in God who's ALWAYS there. He's there when I sin. He's there when I do good. He's there when I'm at the foot of the bed, broken and lost. When I'm emotionally drained and at wit's end. He's there when I'm bone dry and feel like life's a desert. He'll never go soft on me. He'll chide me when I need it, He'll wipe away that tear when I'm just too tired, distracted and distraught to continue. My hope lies in a God who knows me inside out. He knows the problems that I'm facing, the physical struggles of school, relationships, of growing up. He knows the wretchedness inside me and the battle that wages between the flesh and my inner being (Rom 7:15-24). But yet...

He doesn't condemn me. (Rom 8:1) In fact, I am clean, washed in His sight being able to draw near to Him with a true heart, in faith (Heb 10:22)

My hope lies in a God who is MY God. For God doesn't want to be the God of our parents. Nor is He there to be the God of a bible. He wants to be OUR God. The living Word written on our hearts. "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jer 31:33)

So brothers and sister, let us run this race together. As we've learnt in Hebrews, let us continue to stir one another to love and good deeds. For from the hope we have in Christ, we seek to lift each other up. Our hope in Christ is seen through the lives, the testimonies and the love of each other too. Earth ain't no utopia (and that is why our ultimate hope lies in Christ coming again, to claim us totally as his in the new Kingdom), but in us dwells the Holy Spirit, the testimony of the gospel. And from this power of God do we share our hope to others.

Let's press on for the Lord, supporting each other in the good times and bad, tough as it might be... "and all the more as you see the Day approaching"

For "our source of strength, our source of hope, is Christ Alone"

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus' name

On Christ the solid rock I stand
all other ground is sinking sand
all other ground is sinking sand