Holy Hope

…that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you…  Ephesians 1:18

Dear saints,

Would you please personalize then slowly read that short phrase – multiple times – emphasizing different words?

…that I may KNOW what is the hope to which He has called me… 

…that I may know what is the HOPE to which He has called me… 

…that I may know what is the hope to which HE has called me… 

…that I may know what is the hope to which He has CALLED me… 

…that I may know what is the hope to which He has called ME… 

Oh saints, lost hope is Satan’s glory.  He dances when we dive into despair; celebrates when we surrender.

And be honest, have you abandoned hope of ever being healthy?  Vibrancy and verve never share the same sentence with your name?  Well let’s reflect on Brother Paul’s words that clearly confirm the Holy Spirit resides inside you.  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  (I Cor 6:19)  Brother Paul was known for being straightforward.  Now come clean, how many of you hear those words and immediately begin to cower in shame?  “Oh Jesus, I have not cared for the Holy Spirit’s home.  I have been lazy… gluttonous… weak…”

STOP IT!!

Stop the pitiful prayin’.  Yes, it’s true.  You are weak.  You have been lazy.  You do succumb to your passion for pastries.

But God…

Did you forget that part?  Do you need reminding why Jesus came to our planet to die?  Because we all are sinful, spiteful and self-absorbed.  But are you going to stay stuck in the middle of the story?  Are you going to keep wallowin’ in your weakness?  Have you not heard?  He rose from the grave! So let’s go back and reconsider Paul’s passage to the church in Corinth.  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  And consider his words to the Ephesians:  13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.  (Eph 1:13-14)  To the praise of His glory, saints!  Stand up and celebrate!  The Spirit of God is inside you!  You are no longer ruled by your destructive DNA, tossed and tumbled by the wind.  The same Spirit that lifted Jesus from the grave can lift you off your comfy couch and get you out walkin’!  So don’t be sullen and shameful when you’re reminded of the Spirit’s residence.  Embrace the hope to which He has called you.  Stand up and swat Satan away, claiming your truth, “He who is in me is greater than my fleshly desires!”

Oh glory, church.  Call someone you know who’s feelin’ defeated and lift them up with the Word of Truth.

Live Well,

Grace