May 16, 2007
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
--1 Peter 1:3
Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman once wrote a song entitled “Heaven in the Real World,” in which one of the repeated lines is, “Where is the hope? Where is the peace?” Those are great questions because I think those are the questions many people are asking every day.
How I praise God that we have the answer! There is hope and there is peace for this world. But that hope and peace is found only in Jesus Christ.
You see, when you and I accepted Christ, we were born again to what the Bible in the verse above calls a “living hope,”…a hope that is not wishful thinking, but a hope that is based on the reality of God Himself evidenced in the power of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
This living hope means we can persevere through trials, rough spots, and even pain. This living hope means we may stumble and fall, but we will not falter completely because we are in Jesus Christ. And this living hope means we have a future that is sure and that we aren’t alone today.
The peace God gives us when we accept Jesus is a peace that the world could never know. It means that we can enjoy serenity of heart no matter what happens to us. Why? Well, Jesus said it best in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
Where is the hope? Where is the peace? In Christ! My prayer is that you will experience that hope and peace in your heart today…and every day.
IN CHRIST, YOU HAVE THE HOPE AND PEACE THAT CAN ENDURE ANY STORM.