I am looking across the snow covered fields, this morning. It is so incredibly beautiful. For a brief moment I am living in a postcard moment. Just prior to this moment, the boys were grabbing their coats, book bags and running out the door to the bus. They awoke this morning with huge expectation that today would be their first snow day. Reality hit...not enough snow! They were bummed and their hopes were dashed.
When it comes to hope, we look to it much of the time. Hope can be confusing, if we don’t understand it. By definition, hope is our confident expectation. Our expectations are varied; and can be that something positive will happen, something will be different, our mess will get cleaned up, we will be rescued, we will be loved, we will be provided for, our relationships will be fixed and you can fill in the parts I missed. In fact what is it that you are hoping for? How long do you live in hope? Is it momentary? Is it enduring?
The truth about hope, that we miss, is that it is a powerful fuel for our lives. Hope is the place that we must live at all times. Psalm 62 tells us that hope is found in God. He is our confident expectation. No matter what is happening in the storms of life, God is our confident expectation. He is our hope. Our hope impacts our words and our actions. Hope fuels our passion to live, which is our story.
I am moved by the seasonal reminder of the greatest story ever told. I love the magic of Christmas. I love the lights…the excitement…the snow…the gifts…the love…the hope. How amazing it is, that the Christmas story so greatly impacts my story. I am moved by the great love that God has for us, in that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to be that great gift of freedom for you and for me. God’s gift is one motivated out of love. Through Jesus Christ we are given the gift of hope. He is our confident expectation.
Friends, do you live in hope? Do you live in the confident expectation that God will move, will give victory, will provide, will care, will love, will redeem, will mend, will restore, will fill, will…? Hope is yours to live. The world needs our hope. It craves it. I have been hounded by the following phrase: “Every Christian is a church planter or a missionary, every house is a church, every neighborhood is our responsibility, and every church building is a training center.” Have you ever considered the idea that your neighborhood is your responsibility? They need your hope. Will you seriously give yourself to sharing hope with your neighbors this Christmas?
I have a couple of ideas.
- Bake some cookies, deliver them next door, and ask them how you can serve them.
- Pray for your neighbors.
- When God prompts you to engage your neighbors, go for it, and share your message of hope.
Today, will you think and pray about how your story will read and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to live your life as Jesus directs us? Will you live out our hope? Join me right now, via this web cast, in Our Christmas Story!
Our Senior Pastor, Mark Savage,taught this message December 9, 2007.
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