Saturday
December 11 Hope Hebrews 6:17-20
In
the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the
promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath,
so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God
would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to
seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of
the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus,
a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.
.****
With two weeks left until
Christmas day, the hope of children grows – hopes for particular gifts, for
vacation, snow, time spent with family and the like. They look to the tangible hopes of the season
that mark it for a short time.
What are your hopes?
Other hopes find us praying for
health and employment, for relationships and worldly concerns. These are just as tangible but not relegated
to one season. These are about our lives
and those around us. They are the hopes that
join us each morning and that we often wrestle with as we lay down to sleep.
Yet, we sometimes find that these
hopes turn into worries and concerns, losing that sense of anticipation and
expectation associated more with hope.
Hope begins to feel more like wishful thinking. They seem as if they are like requests to “Santa
Claus”.
Hope is not wishful thinking. Hope, for us as people of faith, finds its
substance in God’s promises. When I rely
upon myself or someone else to fulfill my hopes, they quickly turn to worries
and uncertainty. We are called to place
our hope and our trust in the only One who brings the fullness of life.
God promised from the moment of
creation that we will not be abandoned, that God always loves and claims
us. Even when we fail or fall short,
God’s promises are as steadfast as his love.
God desires only the best for us and for our world.
And for this reason, we can fully
hope in the promise of love and grace that was born in Bethlehem.
Prayer: My hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus’ righteousness. We
humbly place all our hopes before the Christ child in the manger. We offer them to God as the only One in whom
we live and move and have our being.
Amen.
Pastor
Jen Boyd
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