hope – Page 4 – The Words Of David C. Frampton

Days of Preparation

DSCN3437 2 Chronicles 14:6-8

Asa’s early reign was a time of preparation. If we are wise, we prepare for the future. Early preparation is the best for we have time to adjust, to correct, or to repent of our plans entirely. For example, it’s better to buy a car when you are not pressured to make a purchase because the “old clunker” is in its last useful days. As I learned in years gone by, the time to get your wood cut, split, and stacked is in the summer and early fall, before you need it when cool days arrive.

Consider Asa’s sound ideas. He reasoned that they needed to protect and preserve what the Lord had given to them (14:7a). He saw their country, not as an item to be consumed, but as a trust to be guarded. This is forward thinking that is rarely considered in our time. There is more to human life than our brief time here and how many precious resources we can consume. If we are self-centered, we will only think about pursuing pleasure for ourselves, rather than considering how to build a strong future for others. While the world squanders its resources, the church has to think about generations still to come. Now assuredly we should be looking for the return of Jesus Christ. And many question, “Can things get any worse than they are now?” I’ve been in the ministry for over forty years and was a pastor for thirty-five years. I’ve heard that question for more than that time, back to the days of my childhood. Many back in the sixties and seventies were sure that things couldn’t get worse. But they have. Yes, look for the Lord’s return, but don’t waste your life idly looking into the sky (cf. Acts 1:8-11). We must use days of peace to make preparations for the future of God’s spiritual family. We must seek to build a godly heritage for those who will follow us, if the Lord does not return in our time.

Asa understood the principles of life for his old covenant nation. The old covenant was given with an “if” (Exodus 19:3-6). Israel’s life before God depended upon them seeking the Lord and walking in his ways. He pointed back to the reformation in worship that the Lord enabled him to accomplish (“because we have sought the Lord our God”, 14:7 NIV). Now they needed to improve the opportunities provided by that reformation.

Asa demonstrated wise leadership to protect his kingdom.

He built fortifications. For most of human history, forts and strong defensive points dominated military strategy. If you were unable to take such positions, you were unable to conquer a land, because they enabled the defenders to be safe and to launch an attack. So Asa had a comprehensive plan for a strong future.
He trained a military force. Fortifications are useless, unless one has trained troops to man them. So Asa developed a form of universal military training, so that in a time of need, he had capable soldiers to call up to defend against any attack.
By taking these steps, Asa led his people into a situation of prosperity. We prosper when we are strong.

Think of the early church in Acts. How did so few people become ready, strong and able by God’s grace to change the world? The Lord Jesus had built a strong core, and that small core group in turn strengthened others who became followers of Christ (Acts 2:42, 46). They were full of faith, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3, 5). Then they followed Christ’s plan, even when life got tough (Acts 8:4). All we need to do in our time is to prepare and live continually according to their example record in God’s word and invest time in prayer for the Spirit of the living God to act powerfully, very powerfully, through the Lord’s people.

The key to Asa’s actions is recorded in 15:7. And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered (ESV). He pointed them to the source of their security. Yes, they needed to do what was wise, but they realized that their greater hope was in the Lord God. He gave his people peace.

Grace and peace, David

Confidence in God

DSCN2717 Psalm 4

In Psalm 3, we saw how David the king turned to the Lord during a painful time of his life, which was the rebellion of his son Absalom against his kingly authority. Psalm 4 doesn’t give us any information about when David wrote these words. Most Psalms lack this information. We do not need to panic that we don’t have it. The Holy Spirit led the Psalm writers to record their experience with God and life, and so we are able to profit in whatever situation we might be in. As we read, let us remember that this is a song, intended for the benefit of God’s people as they sing together. Notice that the superscription tells us that it was written for the director of music, and that David intended that stringed instruments be used when it was sung. God loves artistic expression, and he desires that we use such abilities as we possess in worship and instruction of one another.

David sang about his need to receive an answer from the Lord (4:1). It is obvious that he sought a positive answer, as we all do. The Lord wants us to make our requests to him. He doesn’t not tell us to simply state the situation without making known the result we desire. Imagine saying to your wife or husband, “I’m thirsty.” Would you want to hear, “Thanks for the information”? No, usually when we make known our need, we specify what we want. In this example, “I’m going to get something to drink; would you like something, too?” I mention this because some people are of the erroneous opinion that you shouldn’t tell God what you desire. But the Lord wants you to use your mind and emotions and to ask him. With respect (“O my righteous God”), David made clear that he longed for relief from distress and mercy in the form of answered prayer.
David sang about the opposition that he endured from other people (4:2-3). The songs of our lives will have melancholy and even dark stanzas. This opposition was of a religious character. David had the task of leading Israel back to the Lord, because the reign of Saul had been a time of spiritual decline. David magnified the Lord, but others did not. His confidence in God was to them a matter of shame. We face the same kind of opposition from the ungodly today. Their attitude involved that they made the “evil exchange”. They turned from God to idols (cf. Romans 1:21-25). Notice that David openly rejected their course of action. He asserted the truth of the Lord’s covenant relationship with his people. Those who know the Lord have been set apart for him. God wants us to share our lives with him. We have become a people for his possession. This means that the Lord will hear us when we call to him. “O beloved, when you are on your knees, the fact of your being set apart as God’s own peculiar treasure, should give you courage and inspire your fervency and faith” (Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 1, p.38).
David sang about the way of life for God’s people (4:4-5). Though anger is a part of our lives, we must avoid sin in our anger, which is extremely difficult, because our thoughts, ideas, and emotions are easily twisted by sin. This requires self-examination of our ways. We need to consider what motivates our hearts and our actions. Since David wanted to lead his people back to the Lord, he pointed out the need to offer the sacrifices that God required in the law covenant. We live in the new covenant and have a perfect and finished sacrifice, the blood of Christ. So for us, the new covenant application is always and only to approach God our Father through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.
David sang about his hope or confident expectation (4:6-7). He pointed out what his people could expect as they sought the Lord. He told them there would be doubters about God’s concern for them. In response to those who questioned, David boldly restated the source of blessing. Then he gave a personal testimony of the greater joy that the Lord had given to him. His joy was greater than what the doubters experienced in their material prosperity. True, joyful humanity is experienced when we rejoice in the true and living God, our family relationship with him, and contentment with the material provisions that he has given for our joy.
David sang about the rest that the Lord had brought to him (4:8). Yes, his situation had been one of distress. But now, through believing confidence in the Lord, he was able to “sleep in peace”. This confidence does not come simply through the exercise of prayer. We must not only pray but also rely on the Lord’s goodness, wisdom, and power as we wait calmly for what he will do.

While you and I do not know the tune of Psalm 4, we still may sing it in our souls. Let its truth resonate through your heart. Meditate on it. “Sing it” with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Seek the Lord through it. Your Father in heaven does want you to have “greater joy”.

Grace and peace, David

Where Do You Run?

Psalm 3

David the king was a man of worship. He loved to communicate with his God, the true and living God. He prayed, he praised. He wept, rejoiced. He expressed anger, yet he again and again found rest in the Lord. David was glad to share his life with God, regardless of his worldly circumstances. Though he became king, he was often a fugitive from his enemies. We read of one of these times in the third psalm. The Psalms are songs, songs with many purposes. One purpose is to worship God for his glorious true story; another is to teach others about our place in God’s story.

Life hurts sometimes. David was not ashamed to write a song about the problems and pain God’s dearly loved people experience. David did not regard such happenings as a reason to doubt the Lord and to turn away from him. Instead, he wisely found that he could rely upon the God who is over all, even when it was easier to fear than to trust and worship.

David began this song by stating his situation (3:1-2). This is not to inform the all-knowing God about his problems. The Lord fully comprehends our needs before we state them. This is one way people share their lives with others. David talked to his God about what was happening. In the song, it lets others know of why he needed to turned to the all-powerful God. David had many enemies, and they assumed that they had David trapped. What made this especially painful for David was that the leader of his enemies was his own son, Absalom.

In this song David sings about his hope or confident expectation. It was that the Lord would be his shield (3:3). Since David was a warrior, he valued shields as a means of protection. We might think more about the airbags in our cars. He viewed the Lord as his protection in every direction: “you are a shield around me”. Regardless of the ways his many enemies planned to attack him, David was confident that the Lord was sufficient to guard him. God was the one who had lifted him up to be king, and so he was “safe and secure from all alarms”. Knowing God’s all-sufficiency produced four beneficial consequences in David’s heart and relationship with God. He wrote that we might sing about these benefits with him.

David addressed the Lord in prayer (3:4). He cried out to the Lord and the Lord answered him from his holy hill. (This is probably a reference to Zion, where David had brought the ark of the covenant, which was important in Israel’s old covenant worship.) In our time, we night speak of the “throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). David knew the importance of prayer (James 4:2). God is willing to be brought into our battles as the shield of protection that we need.
David affirmed his faith in the Lord (3:5-6). He sang about how he was able to lie down and sleep. Are you able to do this after you pray to the Lord about your troubles? Or do you toss and turn after you pray? Faith requires us to tell our need to God and to leave the results to his wise action. He saw the Lord very close to him. I don’t think David bothered to make an exact head count of his enemies. He used hyperbole to press the point of his complete trust in his Shield.
David appealed to the Lord to act for his good (3:7). Here, David prayed like a man under the law covenant. He asked the Lord to act in vengeance against the enemies of his kingdom. (David was God’s anointed ruler.) As Jesus taught his disciples, we are not to pray like this in our new covenant age (Luke 9:55). We do better to pray like Stephen (Acts 7:60). We need to ask the Lord to enable us to share the good news boldly with those who oppose us (Acts 4:29).
David admired God’s victory, which he had to wait for (3:8). The story of David tells us that the Lord did rescue him and his kingdom, though God’s victory brought great anguish to David’s heart (2 Samuel 18:19-19:8). We suppose that when God rescues us that we will only know great joy. But we must still live in a broken world in our own brokenness. The good news is that David was able to receive the rebukes of others, break out of his grief and depression, and write this song for the benefit of others.

Where do you run in your troubles? I hope you turn to the true and living God, who is able to rescue you. Where do you run after the Lord rescues you? Do you focus on your remaining or new difficulties? Or are you ready to tell others of the comfort with which your Father in heaven has comforted you (2 Corinthians 1)?

Grace and peace, David

Hope in a Redeemer

Ruth 3:1-2

Redemption is costly. We should not be surprised, since everything in life comes at some kind of price, whether of money, work, investing time in relationships, helping to carry someone else’s burdens, etc. Many champion “unconditional love”, but they fail to see that someone pays the price, someone suffers loss of some kind to help or to forgive or to set free. It is better to talk about “sacrificial love”, because that is God’s kind of love. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NIV). I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20 NIV).

Let’s think of the meaning of redemption: To redeem is to set free by the payment of a price. The redeemer must give something to secure the release of someone. As we have said, Ruth and Naomi were in a precarious financial position, since they were widows. Ruth’s hard work of gleaning had eased their crisis temporarily, but how could they be securely free? They needed a redeemer. To gain freedom, a price must be paid. God built this idea into the old covenant law. Consider two examples:

Since God delivered Israel through the means of the plague on Egypt’s firstborn, God required Israel to redeem all its firstborn males, whether sons or animals (Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16; cf. Numbers 3:40-51).
God required his people to protect human life. This included keeping dangerous animals, like bulls, from harming people. If a person’s bull gored a man or a woman to death (what we might call involuntary manslaughter), the bull had to be destroyed, but the owner could redeem his life by paying whatever was demanded (Exodus 21:28-32).

Boaz would have to pay to redeem Ruth and Naomi, when he functioned as their kinsman redeemer.

God redeemed his people by the payment of a ransom price. In the shadows of the old covenant, God gave Egypt and other nearby nations in exchange for Israel’s freedom (Isaiah 43:3-4). In the reality of the new covenant, God gave the precious blood of Christ to redeem us from an empty way of life (1 Peter 1:18-21). For this reason, don’t live for evil human desires; live for the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-5).

Redemption provides hope for the future. At this point of the story of Ruth, we have reached the turning point. When Naomi saw how much Ruth had gleaned and learned in whose field she had gleaned, she regained hope (cf. 2:20). She returned to worship, because she thought about redemption and began to act according to it! This also set Naomi to thinking about remarriage for her daughter-in-law. Picture her making scones one day. (By the way, Sharon makes great scones!) Picture Naomi musing about her new career as a matchmaker. “Let’s see… Ruth is an eligible young woman, and Boaz is one of our kinsman redeemers. Now if I can get the two of them together in a more promising romantic situation than when Ruth is sweaty and dirty from gleaning, Mr. Boaz might notice Ruth. If we do this right, he might want to do more than give her some roasted grain. Hmm, what can I do to help this along?”

In a far greater way, God planned to give us hope and a future in Christ. We were hopelessly in debt because of sin (Romans 6:23), separated from Christ, excluded from citizenship in God’s nation and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). We were destined for wrath (John 3:36). But God decided to send his Son as a kinsman-redeemer. To make him eligible as our kinsman, he put him in the human family (Hebrews 2:10-11), in order to redeem us through Christ’s blood, so that we might have our sins forgiven (Ephesians 1:7), and receive the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). This is the story of God’s glory; it is good news for us.

My friend, have you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Redeemer? The Lord Jesus paid the very costly price necessary to set free all who believe in him from sin, guilt, condemnation, and wrath. Freedom from all these is offered to you through faith in Christ. Today is an excellent day to receive the free gift of eternal life.

Grace and peace, David

A New Home

Ruth 1:22

Sharon and I have moved much in our lives. We stayed in our previous two homes for fifteen and twenty years respectively. When we moved last December, it was a big event for us, one that included downsizing (and hopefully rightsizing) our possessions. Though getting rid of a lot of stuff was tiresome, we looked at the process with joy, since we were moving to a new home. (No, that’s not a picture of our present apartment building. But the view would be great!) We were on our way to a new place with new people to meet and new experiences to share. Though the move was over six months ago, our apartment still feels new to us, and we thank God our Father constantly for what he has given us. In saying this, we realize that some people find moving stressful and unpleasant. Naomi had decided to return to Israel, and her move brought stress to her.

However, someone else besides Naomi came home in this passage (1:22). Her name was Ruth. This verse has a difficult structure, but the word “return” is used of both Naomi and Ruth. So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest (NASV).

In Naomi’s previous words, we heard her say nothing about her daughter-in-law. Naomi had complained in the singular. However, hadn’t Ruth lost her husband, too? Wasn’t Ruth also childless? Wasn’t Ruth also facing a grim future? If Naomi had been brought back empty, then what can be said about Ruth, who was now empty in a foreign land?

Suffering can produce a self-centered outlook. Others are forgotten. What matters are my pain and my anguish and my troubles and my loneliness and my heartache! Yes, Naomi was suffering, and we reach out to others in our grief. But surely she should not have overlooked Ruth, but spoke in the plural, and talked about how Ruth needed friends and help!

However, the Holy Spirit who inspired the writer of this portion of Scripture has not forgotten Ruth! He points out that Ruth the Moabitess had returned. How can this be called a return, since Ruth had not left Bethlehem in the first place? The Spirit of God wants us to know that Ruth has returned to the living God.

By calling her a Moabitess, the Holy Spirit wants us to sense the wonder of her conversion. In this Old Testament book, he reminds of God’s greater purpose. God had said that all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham (Genesis 12:3), and he had invited the nations to rejoice with his people in the great song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:43). So then, in the Torah, the old covenant law had excluded the nations from the people, while God also revealed his purpose to include them among his people. It was very unclear to people under the law how those two truths could agree, if they even thought about them. It was a mystery whose solution could only be found in Christ (Ephesians 3:1-13). Ruth stands as one of the firstfruits of that worldwide vision. As God gave more revelation in the Old Testament Scriptures, he would affirm the purpose that would be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. So then, Ruth the Moabitess returned to God and his people! Naomi had not returned empty, because Ruth the Moabitess went home with her! To sum up the story to this point, “when God is at work, bitter hopelessness can be the beginning of some surprising good” (Hubbard).

How can you know that God is at work for your good (Romans 8:28)? You can only know it when you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and righteousness with God. Only then can you know the love of God from which nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate you.

Grace and peace, David

Ruth’s Surprising Conversion

Ruth 1:16-18

Last time we saw that Naomi’s words forced Ruth and Orpah to face the real consequences that their intended return to Israel could lead to. Naomi painted her situation in bleak terms; there was no hope of her providing husbands for them, which was very important in the ancient world. In addition, Naomi said that God was strongly against her. As Orpah heard all this, she made the sensible, but ungodly choice of returning to Moab and forfeited the spiritual blessings that could have been hers. Ruth, however, made the godly and kind choice by deciding to stay with Naomi. But Naomi did not seem pleased with Ruth’s choice. Now what will Ruth do?

In this section, we hear Ruth speak for the first time, and her words are majestic and poetic. Naomi had been telling Ruth to return to Moab. Ruth responded with a command of her own. She told Naomi to stop pressuring her to leave her. Ruth had become a believer in the true and living God, and she wanted Naomi to realize that great change.

What were the basic parts of Ruth’s conversion?

First, Yahweh (the Lord), the true and living God, became her God. Ruth words referred back to God’s promise that forms the basis of his covenant with his people (Genesis 17:7-8; Exodus 6:6-7; Leviticus 26:12; cf. Jeremiah 11:4). When God is your God, he is your boss, your rescuer, your provider, and your confident expectation. You trust and depend on God alone. You acknowledge God’s right to direct the world and your life in conformity with his goals and purposes (Job 2:10). Ruth’s confession showed that she had the same spirit of faith that Abraham had, and in some ways, hers was more remarkable. She left her native land for the Promised Land, but without any promise of land or assurance of God’s blessing that led Abraham out. She went to Israel without spouse or possessions or servants (which Abraham had) toward an unclear future as a widow in a foreign land with another widow. What was the core of Ruth’s faith? She had tasted and seen that the Lord is good; she knew that a person is blessed if he or she takes refuge in him (Psalm 34:8). She delighted in the Lord, not in his gifts.

Second, Yahweh’s people became her people. Ruth changed her “people group” from Moabite to Israelite. When you trust God, you become part of his people. It’s a package deal (cf. 1 John 4:7-8). In Ruth’s day, God’s people were Israel; in our day, it’s the church, Christ’s new assembly, his body and his bride. So Ruth threw in her lot with people whom her native people had formerly opposed. This has happened throughout history when anyone puts his or her faith in the true God. That might turn your former people against you. Depending on the time period, you could be called such hated names as Christian, Anabaptist, Reformed, fanatic, schismatic, Holy Roller, Bible thumper, fundamentalist, born again, etc. You see, people hate real change—a change of worldview and way of life—and so they despise anyone who stands for real change. Ruth had to “count the cost”. She faced an uncertain future as a widow with no apparent way of support among a people that she did not know. She is an example of the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 8:21; 10:37; 19:29).

Too often, God’s people prove to be a disappointment. Some witty Christian put it this way. “To live above, with saints in love, that will indeed by glory! But to live below, with some saints I know—well, that’s a different story!” Or as another wrote more seriously, “So too we may often find the Lord’s people to be a disappointing bunch, exhibiting fewer of the fruits of the Spirit than we would like… Yet flawed as the people of God are, if the Lord is to be our God then his people must be our people, too” (Duguid). When you hang around any true Christian long enough, you are going to see the sad, disgusting work of remaining sin (the flesh), as well as the better fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Third, Yahweh’s promises became her hope. It is easy to pass over Ruth’s reference to burial, until we remember burial customs of that time. (Consider the burial customs of the patriarchs in Genesis.) People were buried with their people, in whatever hope they had of an afterlife. “Given the intimate connection between land and deity in the ancient Near East, and the importance of proper burial for a restful afterlife, this was the ultimate commitment in the ancient world” (Duguid). So then, Ruth cut all ties with her past, including death and burial. She illustrates the kind of commitment Christ requires of his followers (Luke 9:57-62).

In summary, Ruth’s conversion touched all the dimensions of her life: in regard to geography, all locations; in chronology, from the present to the future; in theology, from idols to the living God; and in genealogy, from the Moabites to the Israelites. She committed herself to a new way of life. Though Ruth did not know it, her conversion would result in her becoming part of the line of David and of Jesus Christ. Her conversion was part of a much bigger story than her own.

Grace and peace, David

A God-initiated Relationship

Exodus 5:22-6:12

God knows what happens in our world. He knows the joy and the sorrow of every person. God also remembers the promises he has made to people. God had made a covenant with the Patriarchs of the Hebrew people to give them the land of Canaan (6:4). He had also told Abraham that they would not gain the land for four hundred years, during which time the people would be enslaved and mistreated (Genesis 15:13-14). God told Moses that the time had arrived for the Lord to remember his covenant promise. We can only understand God’s plan when we take the position of learners and confess that his way is best because he is God. It’s not about us, but about him. When faced with hardship, this can be a very troubling truth, until we grasp that the Lord also works through our adversity for our greater good. This good purpose involves a God-initiated relationship. Here is the way that the Lord would act to make the descendants of the Patriarchs his people.

The Lord promised to bring them “out from under the yoke of the Egyptians” (6:6). The Egyptians were using the people of Israel like yoked oxen. God would end that oppression that had brought much suffering to them. In our time we see many of the people of God under tyrannical regimes. God will rescue them at his appointed hour, as he rescued Israel.
The Lord presented the method of deliverance (6:6). The method was to set them free from “being slaves to them” and to redeem them “with an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment.” To redeem means “to set free by the payment of a ransom”. In this case the focus is on the idea of setting the people free from slavery in Egypt. God used this act to set up a pattern that would teach us about our redemption from sin. Notice how the redemption would be accomplished. God would act with power and judgment against those who had oppressed his people. Here is the justice of God, bringing judgment on those who had done evil. God will judge all evildoers with justice at the last day (Matthew 25:31-36; Revelation 20:11-15).
The Lord procured the suffering slaves as his people (6:7). Though very great and majestic, God is “gentle and humble in heart”, as Jesus made known God’s character (John 14:7; Matthew 11:29). So the infinite God was willing to take the weak and lowly and the despised (1 Corinthians 1:27-28) as his own people. He did not need great people to validate him as a great God; instead, he sought out those who were assumed to be nothing, slaves, to transform them into his free people. In this way he would demonstrate his greatness, and in this way they people would “know that I am the Lord your God”.
The Lord pointed out the goal, which was to bring them to the land he had sworn by covenant oath to the Patriarchs (6:8). Observe how the Lord says twice that he would give them the land. It would be their gift from him. This was his grace to the old covenant people, and it is clearly shown to be by grace and not works, because of their constant rebellion against them before they went into the land.

So then, God took the initiative to make them his people and to provide for them. And Moses told them the message that the Lord had told him to tell them (6:6, 9). However, they failed to listen to God’s words, because of their discouragement and experience of cruel bondage. An assessment of Moses’ situation from a worldly perspective was bleak, as he well understood. This made the whole conversation rather dissatisfying to Moses. If a message with great promises could not convince Israel that God was soon to help them, how could a bare command to a cruel monarch persuade him to let Israel go?

This is the reason we need to have faith in God and his words, especially when everything seems to be against us. How is your faith in God? Does it fill you with hope? Or can you see no further than your present dissatisfaction with what God is doing now? Trust in God.

Grace and peace, David

God’s Faithfulness Is Sufficient to Launch Hope

Hebrews 10:23

God’s faithfulness has been revealed to us in the Scriptures so that we might live in hope (confident expectation). If God made eyes and colors and yet did not make light to see with, then we might properly ask, “Why did he make eyes and colors?” However, God has given us eternal encouragement and good hope (2 Thessalonians 2:16), and he has revealed that he is faithful in order that our faith would have an object to rely on and that our hope would have sufficient reason to confidently anticipate eternal glory in and with Christ.

God’s faithfulness is the ground of hope. All the expectations of good are built on “this is what the Lord says….” Therefore, we need to know the Bible. This does not mean to know the Bible as a collection of facts, but as a way of life. We interpret all events according to the story of God’s glory in Christ and God’s explanation of his story. We make holy choices in the same way. For example, in God’s story he reveals his great patience with his people (Israel in the wilderness). He then expects us to display his patience to people, although we might feel very impatient. To return to the point, if a person could confidently anticipate as firmly and build as strongly on God’s promises as he should, they might do great things. Some years ago, someone invented a new pole to use in the pole vault, instead of the standard wooden pole that was used for years. One man quickly set increasingly higher records because of his strong confidence in what the new pole could do.

God’s faithfulness is the source of hope. That is to say, confident expectation first rises in the soul by some revelation of God’s promises, and then it continues to flow from that same source. One may hear many sermons on the hope of salvation, but a person never hopes until by gospel light he or she sees that God is faithful in saving people through the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is there such variation in true believers from one time to another? One time we look on God’s promise as a steel I-beam and another time as an old, rotten wooden board. Isn’t this true of you? Doesn’t your hope vary? The explanation is that though at all times we have the same word of promise, we do not at all times see the same glory and faithfulness of the God who made the promises. Our hope does not function independently of our whole relationship with God. This is the reason we need the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:17-18).

Some have a problem with God’s faithfulness to his promises, because they do not now see the fullness of blessing that the Scriptures present. The wrong way is to think that God’s faithfulness can be measured by our conception of time. We measure time according to our expected lifespan on this planet, but the eternal God does not measure time that way! Consider an “adult’s” versus a “child’s” concept of time while driving on vacation. This is heard in the expression, “Are we there yet?” To a child a long trip can seem interminable. “Will the rest of my life be spent in the back seat of this car?” Now adults can smile at the limited concepts of their children—they probably don’t amid the whining—but they can understand the child’s point of view. But what if your children begin to question your truthfulness during the long trip? What if their impatience makes them a little nasty? Do we do this to God in our impatience? God’s performance does not usually come soon after the promise is made. Usually we must wait for God’s time to come (Galatians 4:4). The right method is to think about the reality of God’s faithfulness. For example, God promised the resurrection of Christ, and his promise was fulfilled, as Peter capably demonstrated on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:24-32). Now what God did for Christ, he will do for us as well. We, too, will be raised and changed to be like the Lord. The faithfulness of God is not only the sure foundation of our hope, but it also challenges us to be faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 Peter 4:19; 1 John 1:9).

Here are some points to ponder:

If you want more hope, then strive to know the faithful God better.
Failure in an unswerving confession of hope is linked to failure of comprehending the faithfulness of God.
Are you convinced of God’s faithfulness? Spiritual commands and exhortations draw their strength from spiritual motives. Don’t try to do this in your own strength. Have faith in God. Ask the Holy Spirit for help.

Grace and peace, David

Hope Builder’s Diet

Hebrews 10:23

The God who makes promises is the ground of hope (confident expectation). The writer of Hebrews presents God as “he who promised”. The emphasis at this point is not on the content of what God has promised, but it is on the God who makes promises to his people. Remember this idea: We must exalt the One who promises and not the promises in themselves. We do not worship the Bible, but the God who has spoken in the Bible. His faithfulness to his word is the crucial matter. Many people say wedding vows, but it is the character of those who repeat the vows that gives any substance to them.

Knowledge of the living God is more important than the promises, and it is the basis of our interaction with God’s promises. This is not to disparage the promises but to put them in their proper place. We will not evaluate his promises correctly unless we have a proper estimate of God and his character as God. John 3:16 is a beautiful verse, but it means nothing to the one who knows little or nothing about the God who loves the world. For this reason, seek to gain a greater knowledge of God. It is gained through daily communication with him. Therefore, to strengthen us, let us consider God as the promising God. You can review how God interacted with his people by giving promises:

Noah (Genesis 6:11-22)
Jacob (Genesis 28:11-15)
Elijah (1 Kings 17:2-6)
Abraham (Romans 4:16-25)

All this important to grasp, because hope “feeds” on the promises of God. As your body is nourished by physical food, so your hope is sustained and strengthened by God’s promises. The way to an unswerving profession of hope (confident expectation) is to lay hold of God’s promises and to “make them your own”; that is, put them into your world and life view and act accordingly. The inner person of the heart especially needs to be refreshed with God’s promises in the good news of Christ. Think of their incomparable greatness and glory. When we enjoy their fulfillment, then we will be eternally happy.

How are you feeding your hope? If you have a feeling of hopelessness, perhaps you can trace the problem back to an improper diet. Try a “hope builders” spiritual diet (a good diet helps you build strength) for a few weeks. (Yes, it might interrupt your current “Bible reading plan”. I know it’s shocking to suggest such an interruption. But isn’t hope of great value to the true Christian way of life?) Here is a sample that I suggest for people who desperately need to strengthen their confident anticipation in the Lord.

As you pray for God to strengthen your hope, read and think about and then pray based on the following passages:

Read one section from one of the following each day:

The Life of Abraham (Genesis 12-22)
The Life of Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-50)
The Life of David (1 Samuel 16-31; 2 Samuel 1-24)

Read one or two sections from one of the following each day:

The Gospel of Mark
Romans

Read one of the following each day: [Repeat as necessary]

Psalm 6; Psalm 13; Psalm 23; Psalm 27; Psalm 37; Psalms 42-43; Psalm 73; Psalm 107; 1 Corinthians 15; Hebrews 11; Revelation 1:12-18; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 19; Revelation 21:1-22:6

Conclude by thanking God for his word that builds your hope by the power of the Spirit.

We need to arrive at the full confidence that we can depend upon God, the faithful God. We can trust him with our lives now and forever. The Christian life is a walk of active faith. We dare to trust the invisible God in the all too visible challenges that we face. The life of a follower of Jesus is not intended to be a pleasant stroll in the park while you sip on free lemonade. For this reason, we must have confidence in the faithful, promise-making and promise-keeping God.

Grace and peace, David

Something to Hold Tightly

Hebrews 10:23

The writer gives a command in regard to our confession—“let us hold it unswervingly”. First of all, consider the importance of hope (firm anticipation). Hope in the Biblical sense is not uncertain or a mere wish, but a confident expectation of what will be ours. Some examples are:

We look forward to seeing Christ return in glory (Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7).
We eagerly wait to be with Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
We anticipate that we will be changed to be like Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-55).

We are to hold our profession of hope firmly; that is, to hold it firmly and not let it go. Perhaps you’ve taken a young child to a zoo or an amusement park. What do you do? You hold their hand tightly. You don’t want them to wander away.

In an age where the prevailing trend is constant change, we need to be reminded of what is absolute and unchanging. Human thought varies like the wind, but God and his truth remains the same forever! Or to change the illustration, it can shift like the tide. May God give you grace to keep you from the numerous deadly riptides that can destroy you. The gospel of grace that gave people good hope when first preached still gives that same hope by God’s controlling grace. How we need to pray that God would raise men up to preach the good news of grace in Jesus Christ. “You can be right with God by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!” And let us pray that God would bless his truth for the salvation of souls. And pray for the young men that are already in the gospel ministry. Preach God’s word, not human opinion.

This confession must be steady. We live in a day in which Christianity has been reduced to merely claiming to be a Christian. Someone says a prayer or “makes a decision” and he or she is counted as a follower of Christ. However, saying a prayer or making a decision does not save you. You are saved when you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You then start to follow Christ, and to make other followers of Christ. And a true saving faith in Christ is one that continues or perseveres (Hebrews 10:39; Colossians 1:23; John 10:27; 1 John 2:19).

As we take care to keep our love for the Lord constant (Revelation 2:4f), so we must keep our hope unvarying. Do not waver like the incessantly changing Philadelphia weather forecasts. We may not allow our hope to lessen because of the pressures that seek to consume it.

However, too often, something like the following happens. “It was a day of great trembling, but of great joy, when first we avowed our faith in Jesus! What we said we meant. We salted our words with our tears; but oh! we felt it such an honor to be numbered with the people of God! If we had been promised a seat on the floor, or had been allowed only to hear the gospel in the draughtiest corner of the building, we should then have been fully content. We sang and meant it: ‘Might I enjoy the meanest place, Within thy house, O God of grace! Not tents of ease, nor thrones of power, Should tempt my feet to leave thy door.’ We want soft cushions now; we cannot stand to hear a sermon now, nor yet travel very far, especially in damp weather. It is very strange that we should have become so delicate; but it is so. How many miles we could walk when first we knew the Lord: the miles have grown much longer lately, or else our love has grown much shorter! Those were blessed days—changeful, showery, with little more that the dusk of dawn about them; but still there was a morning freshness about them upon which we look back with supreme delight, and somewhat of regret. Then was it a time of love, a season of buds and flowers, and song-birds and overflowing life and hope. [Spurgeon, “Holding Fast our Profession”, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 32, p. 233]

So then we ask, How unswerving is your hold? Do you change like the phases of the moon? Do you truly have a hope to hold fast? You can’t hold something that you do not have!

Grace and peace, David