A Living Hope (#262)

Bible version used: KJV/NIV

#262 A LIVING HOPE

Life for millions is dull. Flat. Daily routine. No problems, but no hope. No point in living.
You probably had a normal childhood. No major worries; no struggle for existence as in past generations.
And there were some high points: the first job, courtship and marriage; a new home; the first child.
But now the days pass by in monotony. So you shop aimlessly or watch TV or find hobbies. Some try divorce or alcohol. But nothing is solved.
You see the neighbors in the same rut. There’s no future except routine living. Then old age. Then death. And that’s scary!
If this is somewhat your story, let me tell you something; Becoming a Christian will change your life! I don’t mean going to church occasionally. I mean a vital relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Peter wrote to the persecuted Christians of the first century, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
A LIVING HOPE! Not a dull sitting-in-church-with-a-long-face, but an experience so electric that it is called a new birth!
Have you ever wished you could be re-born? Maybe be a movie star or a sports hero, whose lives sound so exciting? Don’t be deceived. Even their lives become dull—and often unbearable.
No, the being born anew that Peter was talking about is the experience that people have when they believe on Jesus Christ. They become renewed. They seldom found happiness when they struggled to find it, but when they live for God, they receive true joy. Serving God is not a burden, but a delight. Christians experience that deep contentment which the Bible calls blessedness.
Since Jesus Christ is Lord of everything, acknowledging Him will not only affect your religious practices and your eternal destiny, but will influence your daily work, your leisure and family life. In fact, every aspect of your life will be renewed. Only when you are right with God will you be fully human!
The problem in your life is simply sin. You may be a wonderful person, but everyone is sinful and separated from God unless his sins are forgiven in Jesus.
The words Peter wrote are found in that most unusual book, the Bible. Read this book about God’s miraculous ways with people. God comes to you and me in the person of Jesus Christ, His only Son, who lived, died, and rose again that all who believe on Him should have real life.
You need Jesus desperately. Receive Him into your heart. Then you can start living for the greatest future of all. And that future starts right now!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17
Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11
Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:19.