A Shot of Hope

    Remember having to go to the doctor for vaccinations? Was it something you looked forward to? Of course not. Then why do it? To protect our very lives.

As we scramble to make sense of the coronavirus and we get close to Easter, hope becomes a pivotal part of our spiritual lives. It is the shot that keeps us going. Contemplate for a moment a world without hope.
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Jesus did not want to die; He chose to die. Without Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, there would be no shot of hope! Jesus chose the shot, He chose death, that we might have hope.  Without hope there would only be pain, death, despair, and hopelessness.
How do we get this shot of hope? Romans 5 tells us. This shot of hope is free to us but cost the Lord Jesus Christ His very lifeblood. Why would Jesus die for any of us? That’s the amazing part. God Himself wanted to have a relationship with us. Relationships are important to all of us. Why? Because they keep us connected to each other.

Another definition of relationship has to do with the state of being connected by blood. Wow!  When we ask Jesus into our lives, and we ask Him to forgive us of our sins, He then gives us the ultimate shot of hope! A relationship with Him. We are connected to Him by His shed blood on the cross!  We are given hope, a clean heart, eternal life, and the promise of never being alone.
Romans 5:1-7 has some key words I have capitalized. Let’s focus on them.
I have been JUSTIFIED, in other words, declared righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, and therefore, I have PEACE. Anyone need some peace? BUT not only peace, but GRACE (something I don’t really deserve but have been given) and in which I stand.  Anyone need some grace? This grace then causes us to rejoice in HOPE.  But hope in what?  The GLORY OF GOD! As we are rejoicing in this hope, we are able to rejoice in our SUFFERINGS, because suffering produces ENDURANCE, and endurance produces CHARACTER. 

What then is God saying to us? If we are going to endure to the end, there will be suffering which will produce character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint, it will not put us to shame. It has been poured out, overflowing into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Take a few moments and really meditate on Romans 5 and what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.

​The things happening to us and all around us are for “His Glory and Our Good!”

The question is, are we going to accept the shot of hope Jesus Christ gives us?

God gives us everything we need because God gives us Himself.

Colossians 2:9-10
2 Peter 1:3-11 NIV
 
Love and prayers, 
Kathy