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By Rev Don Rivers
Hope is a word that indicates anticipation, we hope for things, the things to come. Hope begins the season of advent, the preparation that leads up to the celebration of the birth of Christ, I wonder what is on your Christmas List? What do you hope for? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I was thinking the other day that hope is universal, we all have hope in something. I have never met someone who desired to be hopeless. Being hopeless leads to many places that are not beneficial to us. I think we would be safe in saying that having hope is necessary to living life.
So, what does a race team hope for? What do they need to take the next step? The needs, wants and desires of each team are different. Some know exactly what they need, others are still searching for the answer. Some hope for the answer.
Take a browse through social media and you’ll get an idea what teams hope for. New motors, new chassis, new pit box, shocks, setup seminars, and the list goes on. There are many creative ways to acquire that hope, waffles come to mind, but we’ll leave that for another day. How do we get the stuff we need to improve our racecar? That demonstrates hope.
What do we hope for? What do we value more than anything? Sometimes we don’t understand the value of something until we lose it. Talk to those who have lost a loved one. Or someone who has endured hard times. Many of us have learned the value of just living in freedom as we did before this time of quarantine and pandemic. We hope for things to return, back to the way they were. We may not have realized how good we had it until it was gone.
Peter, one of the Apostles, knew what it was to have hope, hope in Christ. Peter had a relationship with Christ, but he sacrificed that to please men. He denied knowing Christ. He experienced both extremes, being a close companion of Jesus, an apostle, a friend. He then made a choice that totally separated from Jesus.
At the time he was concerned for his very life, as we might be. He soon came to realize, after a night out on the boat fishing. He caught no fish. He couldn’t even go back to his life before he met Christ. He thought it was hopeless.
Peter then understood the difference that having Christ in your life makes. He walked with Christ; he witnessed the miracles. He felt the love of Christ firsthand. He was with him in the garden as Jesus prayed on the night he was betrayed. He had one of the closest relationships with Christ as anyone on earth.
He came to realize after his denial that without Christ life was not worth living. Without Christ the blessing of God’s presence would not be in his life. Without Christ he had no hope. The same is true for us. Christ is our hope.
Peter learned a valuable lesson, without Christ there is no hope. As he sailed to shore after a night with no fish there was Christ, waiting to restore his hope. Christ provided refreshment, restoration, and renewed hope.
Peter took the time to encourage us to tell people of the hope we have in Christ. He knew that it was important for everyone to know that life is different when we have hope in Christ. For those of us who have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior Peter gave us some instructions on how we should share that hope.
1Peter 3:8-10; Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
Having hope in Christ will change the way we live. We possess humility and compassion. Hope in Christ means we value what God values. Our focus will be on the things of God. How has our life changed because you have hope in Christ?
Each of our lives has a story, we have a history. When we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our lives change direction. We do an about face and head down the road that leads to God instead of running away from him. When we put our hope in Christ, we have a story to tell.
Our lives tell the story of hope. We have the person we were, when we lived by our own rules, when we directed our own path, when we determined what was best for us.
The next step along the journey is our encounter with Christ; someone, some place, somehow, we are introduced to Jesus. We come to understand the hope, forgiveness and the life he offers. Our heart is led to accept the gift of His grace and we become a child of God.
Life begins anew, we are born-again. The life that God has for us begins and now we let God direct our path and determine what is best for us. We grow to understand that this is a life worth living; this is a life full of hope.
The preparation for the coming Savior begins with hope, hope that comes with a fresh start. The world only has hope when we bring Christ to them. We need to share that hope with others. We can help them find freedom in Christ. We can help them find hope in Christ, forgiveness of their sins.
In this season of hope the hearts of men are tuned to receive the gift of life that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Take this opportunity to proclaim the Good News of Great Joy! Take this time and be prepared to give an answer to everyone the reason for the hope that we have.
1Peter 3:15; But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
