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 1:3
I’m hoping for an early Spring this year. Ready to be done with winter. Ready for the sun to shine and flowers to start popping out of the ground. I’m holding on to this hope even though on February 2 Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog, woke up and saw his shadow. And according to folklore, that means there will be six more weeks of winter.
Here’s the deal. We hope for a lot of things in life. Some happen, and some don’t. But when we hope in Jesus Christ it’s a different story … the Bible tells us Jesus is our living hope! And I’m ready for some new life right now. How about you?
What does that phrase, “living hope,” mean? It means that Jesus is alive! When we put our trust in Him, He’s active in our lives, and we can put our hope in who He is and what He’s promised us. Some of those promises (and this list is only four of hundreds) include:
- We will live forever. (Jesus said … “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;” John 11:25)
- He’s saved and is praying for us. (Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25)
- We’ll never be alone again. (God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5)
- We belong. (See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1)
Hoping in these promises, and more importantly, in the one who made them, gives us life. In all that we experience—all the good and not so good—the Lord not only helps us make it through, He gives us what we need to thrive.
Tasha Layton sings about God healing every part of us in her song, “Look What You’ve Done.” The Lord wants to heal you like this. Let Him be your living hope today!
Look what you’ve done
How could you fall so far
You should be ashamed of yourself
So I was ashamed of myself
The lies I believed
They got some roots that run deep
I let em take a hold of my life
I let em take control of my life
Standing in Your presence Lord
I can feel You diggin’ all the roots up
I can feel Ya healin’ all my wounds up
All I can say is hallelujah
Look what You’ve done
Look what You’ve done in me
You spoke Your truth into the lies
I let my heart believe
Look at me now
Look how You made me new
The enemy did everything that he could do
Oh but look what You’ve done
Suddenly all the shame is gone
I thought I was too broken, now I see
You were breaking new ground inside of me
Standing in Your presence Lord
I can feel You diggin’ all the roots up
I can feel Ya healin’ all my wounds up
All I can say is hallelujah
Look what You’ve done
Look what You’ve done in me
You spoke Your truth into the lies
I let my heart believe
Look at me now
Look how You made me new
The enemy did everything that he could do
Oh but look what You’ve done
On the cross, in a grave
With a stone, rolled away
All my debt, it was paid
Look what you’ve done
If you have been encouraged to hope while listening to PRAISE 106.5 and want to share that hope with others, please give today to our Time for Hope fundraiser.
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