A New Year of Hope

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

What better way to start the New Year than to proclaim our hope promised to us in Jeremiah 29:11.  Hope in the promises of Our Savior will never fail us.  Hope in Our Savior will never disappoint us.  Hope in Our Savior will result in nothing short of us spending eternity in bliss under the glory of Almighty God in the company of the gathering of saints.

We should know that our hope and our future is not limited just to us as individuals.  We should claim this hope for our nation as well.  If we return to being a nation that puts its trust in God, as our currency declares for all to see, we will see our nation rise up once again to claim its seat as the most powerful nation on earth.  

But it all depends on where we place our hope.  Society would lead us to believe that our hope is rested in the men and women who are our elected officials.  They certainly play a role.  But as the promise of Jeremiah teaches, our hope is in the Lord who declares His good plans for us.  Yet in our society today, we find it often regarded as shameful to proclaim hope in Jesus Christ.  In Paul’s writings to the Romans, he prepares us for these times as he establishes that there is to be no shame in following and putting our eternal hope in Jesus Christ.  Who could have ever imagined that there would be a time when this teaching would be relevant here in the United States of America.  Yet here we are.

Christians are mocked daily on talk shows, news shows and entertainment shows.  To publicly stand for the very truths given to us by Our Heavenly Father makes us bigots, haters, etc.  Now more than ever, we are called to share our good news with the world around us.  The hope that we have in Christ is the only hope left for our beloved nation.  Let us wait not a minute longer to proclaim our personal and national hope in Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for this new year that You have given us.  We thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom we need to see through false teaching and the strength that we need to stand against the folly that this world is trying to get us to accept.  We pray also, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will give us the courage we need to boldly present the “way, the truth and the life” that is in your Son, Jesus.  We ask this in His precious, holy and mighty name.