The future of hope
In the Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics, (1973) Hope is defined as- "the conviction that God will judge the evil of the world and create a new heaven and a new earth with righteousness. The Old Testament prophets tell us that the whole of history is divinely ordered, and interpreted even the most hopeless hours in the light of the coming victory of God. A new age will replace the present one and end all woe and sin."
- "The New Testament takes up the theme of the Old Testament idea, but elucidates, sharpens, and specifies it at the same time."
- "Jesus through his life, suffering, death, and resurrection laid the basis for that final intervention of God in history and human experience. Christian hope is concerned with the future of every human being, but it does not end there. The overarching concern encompasses the new humanity or Christ's church."
- "The theologians of hope want to rewrite theology in terms of categories of change--a total restructuring takes place where God is seen as part of the changing process."
- "As promised in the Scriptures, [hope is] demonstrated in the resurrection of God's Son, and experienced by Christians in the past and present."
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
Obama
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1 comment:
Beautiful post. In the end, hope has to be in someone or some thing.
As a Christian, our hope is in Jesus.
In Obama's case, I can only infer that he's getting everyone fired up and hoping in Obama himself. That realization makes the the wheels fall off the wagon for me. Almost zero experience in national government doesn't give me any hope that he's going to make my life better.
It seems to me that those who are crying, fainting and in general, acting like teenage girls at a Beatles concert in 1964, are basically putting their hope for a better life for themselves into Obama's hands to let him make their lives better.
It's our responsibility to work to make our lives better, and to hope in Jesus's promises for eternity, as opposed to handing over responsibility for my happiness to a politician.
When has a politician ever been the one who made a person's life much better? In the end, it's our responsibility to pursue happiness as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence.
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