Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 4 of 7: “Use the Right Currency!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
(1 Peter 1:21) Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
We don’t want slogans. We want reality.
We are in the middle of a presidential campaign. It’s easy to put slogans on signs and stickers on a bumper. It’s harder to actually turn a slogan into reality. Phrases become cliché. Slogans overused. Promises are empty when nothing happens.
However, when the slogan becomes reality and the promises which are made are the promises that are kept, it can and does bring hope to a people.
We all want to believe in someone. We want to have hope in something. We don’t like to be let down. We don’t want to be disappointed.
We’ve all heard the phrases, “You just have to believe!” or “Don’t lose hope!” Believe in who? Hope in what?
Like with our politicians, we look at their record. What have they done? What is their vision for tomorrow? However, even the best of leaders, the best of presidents are still imperfect people. Not all the promises they make will be kept. Not all the hope for the future will be realized.
So we need one with a perfect track record. We need one who gives a certain hope. Who is that?
God, our heavenly Father.
His track record is impeccable. EVERY promise…kept. Every hope given…based in reality. How do we know? Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
God promised a Savior from sin…he sent his Son Jesus. Our sin led him to be punished for us…God raised him from the dead. Jesus’ work on earth completed…God welcomed him back in heaven with all glory.
Our faith isn’t in a campaign and its promises. Our faith is in the one who created the world, promised a Savior from sin, sent his Son, paid for our sin on the cross, raised him to life again, and welcomed him back into heaven. Our faith isn’t in fantasy…it’s in the objective facts of Jesus Christ and the promises God has attached to them.
Our hope isn’t in a utopia we wish for…it is in the one who is in heaven and provided THE way for us to be with him. Heaven isn’t a vague dream, it is a future reality.
Which comes back to a key thought of the week. The most important STATUS you can have is “Child of God.” As a child of God, “…you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
The world looks for faith and hope in people…Strangers find faith and hope in God, their heavenly Father.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being a God in whom I can trust and a God who gives a hope that will not disappoint me. While I pray for leaders who will be trustworthy and cast a vision of hope, I know none will ever do it as consistently and as well as you do. AMEN.