Hope For Today
Hebrews 6:19
Hi everybody, it’s Pastor Dave. It is January 20, 2021, and it is a crucial day for our nation. Today Joe Biden is being inaugurated as President of the United States of America. I think this is the beginning of a new era in our country and it is obviously anti-conservative and an anti-Christian movement, leading (most likely) towards a socialism that will play into the hands of a one-world government. That’s my take on what’s happening today.
Let’s move on to what we are called to do in the face of it all. Here’s what we’ve got to do – the same thing we’ve always done. We’ve got to hope in God. We’ve got to trust in God, we’ve got to follow hard after Jesus. Nothing changes for us. We’re Christ-followers. We love this country, our heart breaks to see it being dismantled from within, and seeing potentially the death of the greatest democracy in the world. But you just never know. You don’t know if God is going to turn it around, or if God is allowing it to usher in the end times (which is probably more likely).
We came here to hear from God, to meet with God and it’s a long introduction – but it’s to say, “we need hope.” We need hope. We need to know where our hope comes from. And even though we love America and we love the Judeo-Christian values of America, our hope comes from God. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. He is the solid rock on which we stand, and all other ground (including even the previously Christian nation), if that’s the foundation of our life, if that’s the rock, it’s sinking sand.
So, what I’d like to do, is I’d like to just read through some hope scriptures. We use these topical scripture guides, and you can find them at Wordbymail.com under “resources” or ask me to send them to you.
So, grab a Bible, and turn to the scriptures. (I use the NLT version in these podcasts.) Really meet God in his Word today.
Psalm 42:5-6 says, Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and 6 my God! And Lord, we say today, that we may be discouraged as Americans, as Patriots, even though that’s become a bad word. Even though our hearts are sad to see this incredible defeat of democracy apparently, Lord we say, “We will put our hope in you, God. We’ll praise you again, we’ll choose to praise you.” You are our Savior; you are our God.
Ephesians 3:14-17, Paul the Apostle says, When I think of all this… (Maybe we would say when I think of all this stuff going on in our country, and what does the future hold?) Paul says, 14 When I think of all this I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Lord, that’s our prayer, is that from your glorious unlimited resources you would empower us with inner strength, through your Spirit, that you Jesus would make your home in our hearts as we trust in you – as we abide in you, you would abide in us. And then our roots would grow down into your love, God, and they will keep us strong. It’s your love, your presence, Lord your hope, your confidence that will keep us strong.
And of course, we have to give this up to God. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” And Lord we just lift up these fears, these unknown days ahead of us, and Lord we say that you are in control and your thoughts are nothing like ours. And your ways are nothing like ours. They’re ways that we can’t imagine. And just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so your ways are higher than ours and your thoughts higher than ours. And so, Lord, we trust you. We give our nation to you on this crucial day. We give it to you Lord. And we trust you. We trust you, Lord.
1 Peter 1:3-7 …we live with great expectation. And we do, Lord. We live with great expectation because we know that you’re in control. We know that you’ve got this. We know that you’re at work for good. And, verse 4 says, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for (us), The earth is not our home. Heaven is our home. And our inheritance is in heaven, and it’s kept for us there, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. Lord, that’s where our lives are. That’s where our citizenship is, and that’s where our inheritance is. You keep it there.
Verse 5 says, And through (our) faith, God is protecting (us) by his power until (we) receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed… and Lord it seems closer than ever that our salvation is ready to be revealed. This salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. And so, Lord, we thank you that our inheritance is safe with you and we’re safe by faith because you are protecting us, Lord.
And so, verse 6 says, So be truly glad. And we are, Lord. We’re truly glad. Verse 6 goes on to say, There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. We get it, God. We get it. Jesus, you promised that in this world we would have tribulation. But Lord, you’ve overcome this world, so we can be of good cheer. We can be truly glad. And Lord, we understand that prophetically doesn’t seem like our great country doesn’t seem like it has a great role in the end times, and so, Lord, what we’re seeing even today, Lord may be the beginning of what needs to take place for you to come back, Jesus. So, there is wonderful joy ahead for us.
Verse 7 says, These trials (maybe the trials that we’re in today), will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. And we might be seeing the beginning of that, as wild things happen in our country that we never thought would happen, with this takeover of this radical anti-American political forces. Lord, it may be that when our faith remains strong through all of this, it will bring us praise, and glory, and honor when you are revealed to the whole world, which may be sooner than we think.
Then back to Isaiah. This is a great promise – grab ahold of this. God says to those that are his, Israel, and we’ve been grafted into Israel spiritually – not replacing Israel but part of the Olive Tree. Isaiah 43:2-3 says, When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Lord, we know that whatever we face today, whatever our fears and anxieties are, that we’re not alone in them. That you are with us, that you are walking through this together with us, Lord. And God, you’ll protect us. You’ll care for us, you’ll protect us, you’ll save us, Lord. And God we are grateful for that. And Lord we put our hope in that.
And Lord we have to take hold of the famous Romans 8:28. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Lord, the NIV says that you are at work in all things for the good of those that love you. And Lord, we take hold of that. You’re at work in all things for the good of those that love you and are called according to your purpose. We rest in that. We trust that.
In Hebrews 6:18-19 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Into God’s very presence. Lord, you’ve given us both your promise and your oath. It’s impossible for you to lie. And so, Lord, we who have come to you for refuge have this great confidence, this hope that is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. And Lord, it leads us through the curtain into your very presence – through the veil into your presence, Lord. We have confidence for today where our hope is put in you, where we trust you.
We have to end with some praise verses. This is what our response should be. Not because of what is happening politically in our country, but because of who our God is! This is what our response should be. Psalm 100:1-5 says, Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! (We’ve got to acknowledge that. Our God is God of all, he is the sovereign God of all things.) He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (And he is a good, good Shepherd.) 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. (This is the answer to where we’re at right now. Get on with some thanksgiving and praise.) 5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Guys, our God is a good God! And he is at work, and his hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls and his unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness to each generation. God is not abandoning his people, though this country is abandoning him, and has been for many years. God is not going to abandon us as his adopted sons and daughters.
Psalm 103:1-5 says, Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 5 He fills my life with good things… This is what we’ve got to get. Lord, our hope is not in a nation, though a previously, phenomenally Christian nation. Our hope is in you.
Romans 15:13 says, I pray that God, the source of hope, (Lord, you are our source of hope) will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord that’s what we need. We need to overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we need today, Lord.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 says, Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, 17 comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. Lord may we be comforted by you, by the entirety of the Godhead. May we be comforted and may we be strengthened in every good thing we say and do. And may that be our goal – to say and do good things through this.
Father, God in Heaven, may you fill us with confident hope. Not because of our circumstances, but in spite of them. Lord not even seeing our circumstances, but seeing you through our circumstances. God, we trust you, alone. Our hope is in you alone. Our hope is in you. And it is a strong, trustworthy anchor for our souls. We thank you for it, in your great and awesome name, Jesus, amen.
I know it’s a long devotion, but I just wanted to pour out some hope on you and say – listen, God is in control no matter what you see, no matter what lies are poured out to you, all the manipulation and propaganda, God is good. And God is aware. God knows, and God is at work for our good and for his glory. He has not abandoned us – though we have abandoned him, he has not abandoned his people. Cling to God. Take this hope in and stand strong today on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
You can send a message at MyDailyChurch.com
Let’s move on to what we are called to do in the face of it all. Here’s what we’ve got to do – the same thing we’ve always done. We’ve got to hope in God. We’ve got to trust in God, we’ve got to follow hard after Jesus. Nothing changes for us. We’re Christ-followers. We love this country, our heart breaks to see it being dismantled from within, and seeing potentially the death of the greatest democracy in the world. But you just never know. You don’t know if God is going to turn it around, or if God is allowing it to usher in the end times (which is probably more likely).
We came here to hear from God, to meet with God and it’s a long introduction – but it’s to say, “we need hope.” We need hope. We need to know where our hope comes from. And even though we love America and we love the Judeo-Christian values of America, our hope comes from God. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. He is the solid rock on which we stand, and all other ground (including even the previously Christian nation), if that’s the foundation of our life, if that’s the rock, it’s sinking sand.
So, what I’d like to do, is I’d like to just read through some hope scriptures. We use these topical scripture guides, and you can find them at Wordbymail.com under “resources” or ask me to send them to you.
So, grab a Bible, and turn to the scriptures. (I use the NLT version in these podcasts.) Really meet God in his Word today.
Psalm 42:5-6 says, Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and 6 my God! And Lord, we say today, that we may be discouraged as Americans, as Patriots, even though that’s become a bad word. Even though our hearts are sad to see this incredible defeat of democracy apparently, Lord we say, “We will put our hope in you, God. We’ll praise you again, we’ll choose to praise you.” You are our Savior; you are our God.
Ephesians 3:14-17, Paul the Apostle says, When I think of all this… (Maybe we would say when I think of all this stuff going on in our country, and what does the future hold?) Paul says, 14 When I think of all this I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Lord, that’s our prayer, is that from your glorious unlimited resources you would empower us with inner strength, through your Spirit, that you Jesus would make your home in our hearts as we trust in you – as we abide in you, you would abide in us. And then our roots would grow down into your love, God, and they will keep us strong. It’s your love, your presence, Lord your hope, your confidence that will keep us strong.
And of course, we have to give this up to God. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” And Lord we just lift up these fears, these unknown days ahead of us, and Lord we say that you are in control and your thoughts are nothing like ours. And your ways are nothing like ours. They’re ways that we can’t imagine. And just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so your ways are higher than ours and your thoughts higher than ours. And so, Lord, we trust you. We give our nation to you on this crucial day. We give it to you Lord. And we trust you. We trust you, Lord.
1 Peter 1:3-7 …we live with great expectation. And we do, Lord. We live with great expectation because we know that you’re in control. We know that you’ve got this. We know that you’re at work for good. And, verse 4 says, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for (us), The earth is not our home. Heaven is our home. And our inheritance is in heaven, and it’s kept for us there, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. Lord, that’s where our lives are. That’s where our citizenship is, and that’s where our inheritance is. You keep it there.
Verse 5 says, And through (our) faith, God is protecting (us) by his power until (we) receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed… and Lord it seems closer than ever that our salvation is ready to be revealed. This salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. And so, Lord, we thank you that our inheritance is safe with you and we’re safe by faith because you are protecting us, Lord.
And so, verse 6 says, So be truly glad. And we are, Lord. We’re truly glad. Verse 6 goes on to say, There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. We get it, God. We get it. Jesus, you promised that in this world we would have tribulation. But Lord, you’ve overcome this world, so we can be of good cheer. We can be truly glad. And Lord, we understand that prophetically doesn’t seem like our great country doesn’t seem like it has a great role in the end times, and so, Lord, what we’re seeing even today, Lord may be the beginning of what needs to take place for you to come back, Jesus. So, there is wonderful joy ahead for us.
Verse 7 says, These trials (maybe the trials that we’re in today), will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. And we might be seeing the beginning of that, as wild things happen in our country that we never thought would happen, with this takeover of this radical anti-American political forces. Lord, it may be that when our faith remains strong through all of this, it will bring us praise, and glory, and honor when you are revealed to the whole world, which may be sooner than we think.
Then back to Isaiah. This is a great promise – grab ahold of this. God says to those that are his, Israel, and we’ve been grafted into Israel spiritually – not replacing Israel but part of the Olive Tree. Isaiah 43:2-3 says, When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Lord, we know that whatever we face today, whatever our fears and anxieties are, that we’re not alone in them. That you are with us, that you are walking through this together with us, Lord. And God, you’ll protect us. You’ll care for us, you’ll protect us, you’ll save us, Lord. And God we are grateful for that. And Lord we put our hope in that.
And Lord we have to take hold of the famous Romans 8:28. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Lord, the NIV says that you are at work in all things for the good of those that love you. And Lord, we take hold of that. You’re at work in all things for the good of those that love you and are called according to your purpose. We rest in that. We trust that.
In Hebrews 6:18-19 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Into God’s very presence. Lord, you’ve given us both your promise and your oath. It’s impossible for you to lie. And so, Lord, we who have come to you for refuge have this great confidence, this hope that is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. And Lord, it leads us through the curtain into your very presence – through the veil into your presence, Lord. We have confidence for today where our hope is put in you, where we trust you.
We have to end with some praise verses. This is what our response should be. Not because of what is happening politically in our country, but because of who our God is! This is what our response should be. Psalm 100:1-5 says, Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! (We’ve got to acknowledge that. Our God is God of all, he is the sovereign God of all things.) He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (And he is a good, good Shepherd.) 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. (This is the answer to where we’re at right now. Get on with some thanksgiving and praise.) 5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Guys, our God is a good God! And he is at work, and his hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls and his unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness to each generation. God is not abandoning his people, though this country is abandoning him, and has been for many years. God is not going to abandon us as his adopted sons and daughters.
Psalm 103:1-5 says, Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 5 He fills my life with good things… This is what we’ve got to get. Lord, our hope is not in a nation, though a previously, phenomenally Christian nation. Our hope is in you.
Romans 15:13 says, I pray that God, the source of hope, (Lord, you are our source of hope) will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord that’s what we need. We need to overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we need today, Lord.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 says, Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, 17 comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. Lord may we be comforted by you, by the entirety of the Godhead. May we be comforted and may we be strengthened in every good thing we say and do. And may that be our goal – to say and do good things through this.
Father, God in Heaven, may you fill us with confident hope. Not because of our circumstances, but in spite of them. Lord not even seeing our circumstances, but seeing you through our circumstances. God, we trust you, alone. Our hope is in you alone. Our hope is in you. And it is a strong, trustworthy anchor for our souls. We thank you for it, in your great and awesome name, Jesus, amen.
I know it’s a long devotion, but I just wanted to pour out some hope on you and say – listen, God is in control no matter what you see, no matter what lies are poured out to you, all the manipulation and propaganda, God is good. And God is aware. God knows, and God is at work for our good and for his glory. He has not abandoned us – though we have abandoned him, he has not abandoned his people. Cling to God. Take this hope in and stand strong today on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
You can send a message at MyDailyChurch.com