email : Webview : Duane Brooks - Every Day with Jesus

October 19, 2018

Lamentations 3:24-26

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.

New International Version (NIV)

                 Tomorrow I get to go back to New Hope Baptist Church where we served from 1991-1998. The church turns 150 this month. Three years after the Civil War ended, settlers northwest of Austin decided to start a church. Why did they name it “New Hope”? Perhaps they hoped for better things in the wake of the war which had decimated our country.

                New Hope is a popular name for churches in our country.   Come to think of it I have never seen a church called, “Old Hope.”   Hope has no expiration date. As Jeremiah lamented the loss of the city of Jerusalem, he held on to hope and invited others to join him. On what basis could the ancient Israelites hope? Even in exile the Lord was their portion. So they hoped in God knowing that he is good to those who wait for him and seek him.

                Peter understood this when he praised God for new birth into a “living hope” through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-5). The Lord of life gives us every reason to hope even in the worst moments of life. I called my friend Jerry Watson when I found out his dad and my deacon had died at a family reunion in Lubbock. Jerry, a worship leader in his own church said to me, “I just keep hearing these words, ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.’” Someday, we will all expire. Thankfully, hope will not. Peter was right: this hope can never “perish, spoil or fade.” It is good to wait quietly putting our whole hope in the Lord. He will not disappoint us!

Pray with me:

Father, because you are our portion, we place all of our hope in you. Out of the depths of our despair, we lift our eyes in delight: you who came the first time will surely come again. We wait on our tiptoes. Come quickly and abide with us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

This year we focus our Every Day with Jesus readings on Jesus’ story. With references to Tallowood's Read Through the Bible in 2018 daily reading plan, let's focus our undivided attention on Jesus and follow where he lead. He will not fail. Neither will we!
Joyfully,
Duane

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