The Reason For The Hope That I Have

Tomorrow night in Bible study, we're going to look at 1 Peter 3:8-22 and talk about the reason for the hope that we have (since the Bible tells us to be prepared on the topic). I did some thinking on the topic and decided to write my thoughts down which I then thought would make for a good post on this blog. So here ya go.

1 Peter 3:15 - "But in your hearts set apart 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."

If someone were to walk up to me today and ask me to give them the reason for the hope that I have in Christ, what would I say? Would I stare blankly at them and make something up, or would I be prepared as the Scriptures command? Well, it hasn't happened to me yet, but it could someday, so perhaps I should prepare my mind. I must keep in mind that the Scriptures also command me to do so with gentleness and respect while keeping a clear conscience which means that I need to tell the truth.

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God..." That, my friend, is a verse found in the third chapter of the book of 1 Peter, and it is the greatest news that you or I will ever hear. Regardless of what you may think about me, the truth about me is clear to me and clear to God. I am an unrighteous wretch of a man. I have thought things too wicked to speak about; I have fits of rage and seasons of laziness. I've caught myself lying, cheating, stealing, and can usually find ways to justify it all. There are days when I think the world revolves around me. I find satisfaction when sexual predators get caught on TV with minors but find myself taking second glances at girls not much older. I'm so competitive sometimes that I stop having fun. I've had days when I forget that God exists. I've had days when I forget that my wife exists. I'm not very sensitive or compassionate. My speech is often crude and vulgar. There are times when I'm careless with money and times when I hoard money. I can be a glutton and still neglect to be thankful for the food. People's best efforts often aren't good enough for me. There are days when I think way too highly of myself and days when I think way too lowly of myself. I often feel as though I'm one failed temptation away from snapping out of control. Frankly, when it comes down to it, there is nothing good in
me at all. And I have nothing of worth to offer to a holy God.

So, what then, is the reason for the hope that I have? Christianity is the only religion that can save me from myself. In every other religion, one must rely on his own strength and power and righteous actions to be saved. I wouldn't have any hope if I believed in those religions because I know that even my best works sometimes come from selfish motives. But Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring me to God, and that is why I have hope. I don't have to rely on myself for righteousness for Christ is my righteousness, and my many sins -- past, present, and future -- are now forgiven. And several years ago, Christ brought me and all of my sin to God but I was as white as snow. Christ not only saved me from myself, but he also saved me in spite of myself. And that is the reason of my hope.

But my hope doesn't stop there. Through the power of God, I have days when I simply marvel at being alive. I have days when I put myself last and others first. I have days when I love my wife unconditionally. I have days when I fight off the urge to take the second glance. I have days when I'm thankful for even the breath I have and acknowledge the provision of God in everything. I am convinced that nothing inside of me alone is capable of days like this, so I have hope... and trust that God has changed me into a new person. God doesn't break his promises. The grace he has given in the past is still here in the present and will be there tomorrow and will be there at the end. The Bible tells me that absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of God and that no one can snatch me out of my Father's hand. The Bible also tells me that I am righteous and a child of God and an heir to his kingdom. And I know deep down that I didn't deserve any of it. If I'm going to believe is something, I want it to be real. And nothing is more real that watching your own life and desires change before your own eyes. But don't let anyone tell you that Christianity is a religion for "good" people. The sick don't need a doctor, and the righteous don't need Christ. But there are none who are righteous, not even one, so we all are just a bunch of unrighteous wretches in need of the righteousness of Christ. What is the reason for the hope that I have? Quite simply, my reason is Christ. Sure, I could put hope in my own good works or my own righteousness or in my bank account or in my friends or my family or perhaps a hope that things will turn out right or that good things will happen to good people...but those wouldn't be convincing enough, and I would eventually need to find hope in something else. I assure you that out of all the things that I could possibly put my hope in -- Jesus is fairer and Jesus is purer. He was and is and will always be.


And now for a hymn ("Fairest Lord Jesus")...

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.

Keep It Simple Stupid

As a very wise fictional character by the name of Dwight Schrute once said, "Michael says KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Hurts my feelings every time." That'll be the theme of my blog tonight.

I apologize to my millions of readers for my lack of blogging once again. I'm not sure what's going on, but for the last three weeks, when I come home, I pretty much crash. I'm having a hard time staying awake. But today I felt a little better...I got out and mowed part of the yard after dark (which was quite difficult). So after a fresh shower, I'm ready to do some blogging.

So what's new with me? Well, for the last few weeks, I've been on a simplicity kick with my spiritual walk. Suppose for a moment that I didn't think about deep theological issues and didn't concern myself with how many minutes a day I was spending in the Word, in prayer, with my wife, not spending watching TV, etc. So I pulled out my audio Bible for my drive to and from work. Awesome idea. (I do recommend the dramatized version by the way.) In about two and a half weeks, I listened to the books of Matthew and Mark twice each and part of Luke. I'm getting a lot out of it. I decided to do each CD twice because I'm sure there are times when instead of listening to the Bible, I'm giving the finger to the guy next to me (exaggeration). Anyway, I want to focus on two verses tonight-- very simple in nature -- that have been running through my head for a few weeks now.

John 9:24-25 --A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

I admire the blind man here in this passage. Instead of concerning himself with what everyone else wanted to know (whether Christ was a 'sinner' or not, etc.), he keeps it simple. He was blind, but now he sees! If you read the entire passage, you'll notice that the Pharisees are concerned with many things such as how Christ healed him, whether or not Christ was a sinner, why the man was born blind, and on and on...but the only thing that really mattered to the blind man was that he could see - and when he saw Jesus, he believed. This is a fantastic story that we all should be able to relate to...when Christ opens our eyes for the first time after a life of living in darkness, we may finally behold him in his true beauty and believe. And the other things that can distract sometime don't really matter all that much. So one thing I've tried to focus on lately is simply Christ, the fact that I'm a blind man who can see, and what a wonderful gift it is. Now for the second passage...

Mark 1:40-41 -- A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"

No, I haven't come down with leprosy, but I made this into a prayer that I must have prayed 50 to 100 times this week. "Lord, if you are willing, make me clean." I believe that he is willing. It's obvious to me that I am not clean way too often, and now, in the spirit of keeping it simple, instead of trying to find the root of the sin or trying to identify the temptation that causes the sinful behavior (though I still recommend doing these things), I've decided to just believe that the Lord is willing, and I need to ask him to make me clean whenever I find myself rotten. Jesus probably had more compassion for this one leper than I've had on all the people I've ever encountered in my entire life. I would think that he could find a part in his heart to have compassion on a dirty and leprous sinner like me. Sometimes, all we have to do is ask.