Sunday, November 29, 2009

Advent - Week 1 : Hope

‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A Branch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. -- Jeremiah 33:14-16

A good definition of “hope” is to look forward to something with desire and have a reasonable confidence that it will happen.

The hope we have is something that the world does not understand. Where the world sees only death, poverty, war and disease, we can see the promise of God. We know that one day He will return and restore all things.

As Christians we know that what God has promised He will fulfill. We have God’s Word that states “that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.” The Bible is filled with promises that God has fulfilled, and this one is no different. It has not been fulfilled yet, but we have the desire and reasonable confidence that it will happen. We have the hope of God’s promise, the promise that we will live and reign with Him forever, that all things will be restored, that there will be no sickness or death, and the entire world will be at peace.

As we travel this Advent journey together, let us remember that our hope is based on nothing less than the Word of God.

The following are promises of our hope from God’s Word. Read each day’s promise and take time to meditate on it, thanking God for the hope you have in Him.

Monday - Isaiah 2:1-5
Tuesday - Matthew 24:36-44
Wednesday - Micah 4:1-4
Thursday - James 5:7-10
Friday - Isaiah 35:1-10
Saturday - 1 John 5:1-12