May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

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

Prayer Points

Pray for yourself that you will become more of a person of hope. Ask God to show you areas of your life that hinder this: attitudes, the way you speak, the way you think etc.

Pray for your church that its whole ethos will exhibit the hope of the gospel.

Countless people are facing illness, financial pressure, breakdown in relationships, suffering from depression, etc. Pray that they will find hope. If you know of anyone in particular, ask God what you can do to help.

     DAY 34 : HOPE

At a funeral service a signer was present to help some

deaf people understand. As the meeting went on the speaker

was frequently using the word ‘hope’. The sign was crossed

fingers. However the speaker began to talk about Christian

hope – the certainty of life beyond the grave. And as he did so a different sign was being introduced: hands clasped together in rock-like certainty.

In the New Testament the word for hope means something that

is in the future which is certain. It is not, as in normal English usage, something that might happen if we are fortunate. The rock-like certainty of the New Testament use of the word is what the signer was communicating at the service.

Peter, who saw the death and resurrection of Jesus, writes with certainty about our hope. ‘Praise’ is his word, because we have been born again into a living hope. Unlike virtually everything in this life, what we have been given in Christ is something that can never perish, spoil or fade. Our hope is guaranteed on the basis of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

God is a God of hope. So it is possible to ‘overflow with hope’ says Paul in Romans 15. He gives hope. Christians need not wallow in gloom or despair. The power of the Holy Spirit within us is what enables us to exhibit hope. Death is the most despairing of life’s events. Yet even here, or especially here, it is possible to have hope for the future. Christians are people who have a certain and a living hope.

That’s the difference.

Pray

*    Pray for your ‘big issue’

*    Pray for your ‘three friends’

*    Pray for a new wave of revival.