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Hope for Today’s World

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These days, we use the word “hope” all the time. “I hope this year will be better than last year and I hope the market goes up and I hope my stocks do better.” Lets “hope so.” But, real hope isnt about hoping things will go better. The hope Im talking about is reality – a living expectation – squarely based on Gods revealed promises.

When you open your heart to Christ, God actually comes into your life. Thats real! Suddenly, you know God for yourself. And it isnt a religious thing. It isnt just doing the proper thing on Sunday or Christmas or Easter. Now its a deep, personal relationship with the Living God. You become a child of God. Suddenly you have peace with God. You know youre loved. You have the Holy Spirit. Youre a new person.

The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” And your hope keeps on growing as you get to know God more and more each day.

The miracle of Christmas is hope. Christ came to earth as a baby to bring us this hope. He died and rose again so we might have real hope, not just “hope so.” Who has God placed in your path who needs to hear of this hope? Pray, and ask the Lord for the opportunity to lovingly, respectfully, share His hope with your friends and family.

How to Find Real Hope

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Sometimes our world tries to cover up the real reason we celebrate Christmas. We get too concerned about being politically correct and we say things like, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Were worried well offend somebody or even get sued. But, we really cant take the “Christ” out of “Christmas.” Hes the only reason we can celebrate anything in the first place. Hope is found only in Him.

Whether were from a Catholic or Protestant background or perhaps Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu, in our heart of hearts we know that we all need hope. Real hope, a living expectation, comes when we know that Jesus Christ is truly alive because He rose from the dead. Death couldnt hold Him because he is God the Son. He is Almighty. The key to finding hope is confessing to God that we are sinners and we need Him to forgive and purify us. And the great thing is: Hell never turn us down.

Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The virgin birth of Jesus set the stage for Gods rescue plan.

Pray for your friends of various religious persuasions and ask the Lord for boldness to actually, yet carefully, share the hope of Jesus Christ with them. He is, after all, the only way they can truly have a merry Christmas.

A Blue Christmas

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Have you ever heard of the song, “Blue Christmas?” Elvis Presley used to sing it. Its about a man who is feeling down because his loved one is not with him on Christmas. Hes pretty depressed, really, and thats how a lot of people feel during the holidays. They feel alone, afraid and uncared for.

Maybe you or someone you know is going through a “Blue Christmas.” Perhaps you have had a disappointment this year. A tornado… a flood? Maybe youve lost a job. Maybe a family member died or theres something else that just didnt turn out the way you had planned.

The truth is: We live in a sinful, fallen world. Things dont always happen the way we expect. But the miracle of Christmas is hope because when Jesus Christ comes into our lives, hope comes alive. We have hope because God is with us. He is good and He will never leave us. Jesus comes to live in our hearts and transform us, giving us strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

If your friend is depressed, this Christmas invite her or him over for some hot cider. Encourage them with the promise found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”

So Many People

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When I ask you to picture a billion people, what do you see? A bunch of nameless, faceless people crammed together? Perhaps the number is just too big; you simply cannot comprehend it. But, there are literally billions of people right now who do not know Jesus Christ!

Statistics can be overwhelming. We can dismiss the “one billion” number because its just too big. It makes us feel helpless. But, pause for a moment. Perhaps you cant reach each of the billion of people who do not know the Lord, but what about the handful of people you do know? You dont know every single person who needs to know Jesus, but I bet you know some of them.

The Bible says that when Jesus saw the crowds, “He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” We need to ask God to move our hearts with the same compassion that moves His heart.

Thousands of people dont know Jesus Christ today. But your ONE neighbor, your ONE coworker, your one son or daughter – these are the people YOU can reach. You cant reach them all, but you can reach the ones God has put in your path.

Nothing is Impossible

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A while ago my team led an evangelistic campaign in the Soviet Union. One evening a Baptist pastor brought a friend with him. This man was a professor at the university and a leading scientist. He listened as I preached the Gospel. Then, to the pastors joy, this scientist prayed out loud to receive Jesus Christ. With tears, he came forward to publicly confess Christ. The Russian pastor was astonished at his friends open response to the Gospel. Do you know someone like that? Someone you think will never accept Jesus Christ? Over the years I have learned that some of the people I thought would be the most closed to the Good News are often the most receptive. Although they may act like they dont want to hear the Good News, their hearts really do. The Bible says that God is patient, “not wanting anyone to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance.” God is working even in the person you think will never come to Jesus. We must never give up telling them about Jesus. For, as the Bible says, “nothing is impossible with God.”