A Kingdom of Everlasting Hope

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Hebrews 12:22-24

Have you ever thought of putting hope in a judge?

I think most of us get a bit of a nervous feeling when we think about going before a judge. We know that, while they hold our justice in their hands, there are plenty of failures for which they could nail us.

How much more scary is it, then, to think of going before Jesus as our Judge? Well, actu-

ally, that idea doesn't make me nervous at all. Here's why: I know Jesus, and not only is He my Judge, but He's also my Mediator.

In other words, the judge and the defense counsel are the same person, which I think is a great deal for us. But there's one super important detail in this that we need to catch, because Jesus isn't going to mediate on everyone's behalf, but only on behalf of certain people.

Those people are not determined randomly, but by whether or not we know Jesus, by whether or not we have received His covenant that He offered to us when He died on our behalf. If we have said, Yes, Jesus, I know that I have sinned, but I receive Your death on my behalf, then we have entered into the covenant that He offers to us. This covenant is a promise of relationship that doesn't depend on what we've done, but what He did, and we can only enter into it by faith.

Once we have entered this covenant with Jesus, our hope goes to a whole new level. See, our hope might be at one level if our judge is different than the one who came to save us. But when we realize that our Judge is also the one who did come to save us, our hope rises off the charts.

We can say, I know Him. And I hope that you can say that today, because if you can't say that you know Jesus today, then you don't have hope. But the good news is that you can, even right now. Simply receive what Jesus did for you when He died in your place. Ask Him to come live inside of you and lead you from this day forward. Then simply follow Him as He leads and directs you.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I know that everyone will one day know You as their Judge, but I want to know You as my Savior, too, so that I can have hope on that day. I choose to receive Your death in my place and I ask You to live in me and lead my life from this day forward!

Amen

One Way

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 10:16

Have you ever been confused by Communion? We eat some flat bread-a cracker, or a wafer, or whatever it is-and then we drink some juice. Why? What does it really mean? It is important for us to answer these questions, for communion is one of the most im-

portant things Jesus left to us before He returned to Heaven. As we look at eight key elements to what communion represents, all this will become clear to you.

First, communion is clarifying. It is our community identity, taking precedence over our background, socioeconomic status, wealth, color, gender, or anything else that might define us. Second, communion is purifying, so that we would no longer live for the things of the world, but for Christ and Christ alone.

Third, communion is sacrificing. It reminds us of all that Jesus sacrificed and provokes us to question what we are sacrificing for Him.

Fourth, communion is saying, Thanks. It is being thankful for all that God has done for us, and being thankful all the time for all things, whether we are in the church building or away from it.

Fifth, communion is examining our motives, actions, behaviors, and beliefs. We need to be sure that we're living for Christ before we partake of communion and repent of any ways in which we are falling short.

Sixth, communion is remembering all the horror that Jesus Christ endured in the beatings, the cross, the grave, and the sin, sickness, and shame that He took from us upon Himself. It is remembering the freedom and new life that He bought for us and the defeat He dealt to Satan on that day.

Seventh, communion is proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes again. This is us crying out to the world that there is hope, and His name is Jesus Christ.

Eighth, communion is anticipating what is to come and what is still to take place. Communion now is only a precursor to when we will sit down with the Lord Himself and partake of this meal together.

By now you can see why communion is so important, but right now you need to know that it is more than just a powerless ceremony. It is actually the picture of a reality that each of us should live. If you believe these eight points, are you living them?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for all that You did for me! I believe and receive everything that communion represents. Now please help me to live out my beliefs and proclaim the hope You bring until the day You return!

Amen

All In

Thus says your Lord, the LORD and your God, who pleads the cause of His people: See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it.' Isaiah 51:22

Here's one bait and switch you want to be a part of. Yeah, I know it's not usually a good thing, but trust me on this one.

See, God has two cups-a cup of wrath, anger, and judgment, and a cup of blessing. I know, this sounds like a really hard choice, right? But here's the deal, every single person on the face of this planet throughout the entire history of the world was born with the first of these cups glued to their hands. Every day they lived only brought that cup of wrath and judgment closer to their lips, at which point they would be forced to drink it down to the dregs.

Do you know what dregs are? The dregs are the particles and sediment at the very bottom of the glass. That means that those who down that cup drink, not just a sip, but the whole thing. Down the hatch. Lick out the bottom. Leave nothing left. Just go and swallow and ingest God's entire wrath, anger, and judgment for your sin.

Happy thought? I don't think so. There's a reason this cup is also called the cup of trembling.

But it's not the only cup, remember? The other cup is a cup of blessing, and I mean, there is no cup that is more opposite the cup of God's wrath and judgment than the cup of His blessing. As much as His cup of wrath brings pain, destruction, punishment, and rejection forever, His cup of blessing brings healing, restoration, wholeness, and acceptance forever.

The only problem is that the cup of wrath is glued to our hands, right? And the cup of God's blessing is out of reach.

But God, in His incredible love and mercy, chose to switch cups with us. I know, who would do that, right? But God did. Jesus came to Earth to take the cup of wrath from our hands, drink it all Himself right down to the dregs, suffer and die in our place, bearing our sins and shame-and then He gave us the cup of blessing instead.

If you have Jesus in your heart, then you have the cup of blessing, thanksgiving, and love in your hands. His desire in exchanging cups with us wasn't just to take ours on Himself, but to give us His. Thank the Lord today and drink deeply to the dregs of His cup of blessing.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I can't believe that You would make such an incredible exchange with me. Thank You for taking the cup of wrath and giving me Your cup of blessing instead! Please help me to remember the blessings You have given me and see the blessings that You still have in store for me!

Amen

Going All the Way

But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be without care... - I Corinthians 7:29-32

What do you care about most in all the world? Think about it. Do you have your answer? Now hold on to it while we look deeper at this question.

If you say that you care about something, you are saying that that something has a hold on you.

Consider these other phrases: Without a care in the world, by which we mean that a person feels no burden or stress; they are carefree. If you take care of something, then you make pains to preserve and maintain it. To be careful means to watch closely so as to not cause harm to the thing for which you are full of care.

In other words, if you care about something, then you will sacrifice for it. You will push through pain, stress, and worry to keep it in your life. You will relegate other things in your life to the backseat so that the object of your care can take first priority.

Paul says he wants us to be without care, even to such a degree that he says, Those who have wives should be as though they had none.

What does Paul mean by saying this? He means that nothing should take the place of Christ in our lives, not even our spouses. He means that our first and only care should be to please the Lord.

So let me ask you again, what do you care about most in all the world? I hope the genuine answer from your heart is Jesus. Our spouses and families are important, but we should care only about pleasing Jesus Christ.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You care for me. I ask You to forgive me for the times when I have cared more about other things than about pleasing You. Change my heart, Lord, and help me to please you in everything I do.

Amen

The Crowd at the Crossroads

Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!' And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? Matthew 21:9-10

Do you know the difference between going to church and being a Christian? I hope you know, because your eternal destination depends on your answer.

See, there are a lot of people in America who call themselves Christians, but really have no idea what that means. They even go to church. I mean, they're really involved! They bring their kids, they go to Bible studies, they engage wholeheartedly in the worship times, but somehow they never really found Jesus in all the learning and participating and activities.

That's why Paul wrote, Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you are disqualified (2 Corinthians 13:5). And there's the bottom line, isn't it? Is Jesus Christ in you? Because if He's not in you, then you're not saved.

Take a look at our verses today for a great picture of some people who should have examined themselves. Those multitudes were the ones praising God as Jesus rode into town on Palm Sunday, just five days before He would be crucified. And the whole crowd gets caught up in the stir of what's going on, so that they all cry out together in praise to God-but then what happens?

Jesus gets into Jerusalem, finding that the whole city-the WHOLE city, not just someis stirred up about this parade that just came to town. But they don't even know what they're stirred up about. They're all asking, Who is this?

It's like, Praise God! Hallelujah! Oh wait, who is this all about again? They got caught up in the emotions of the moment and had some kind of incredible experience that they probably thought was pretty significant, but it had no connection to truth or reality. They sang the song, but they had no idea who they were singing for. They danced the dance, but couldn't tell anyone the reason for their joy.

How about you today? Are you just singing the songs, or are you really worshiping Jesus? Are you dancing because that's what everyone else is doing, or do you have joy because you know Jesus saved you?

Are you following the crowd, or are you following Jesus?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I want to make sure that I am following You today and every day of my life! Whenever I get into crowds, please help me to live for You in truth, no matter what the crowd is doing.

Amen

How Do You Do Life?

Yet indeed I also count all things loss...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. Philippians 3:8,10

Have you seen the news lately? We know that we shouldn't expect good news on the news, but some historically terrible things have been happening.

We've seen riots spread throughout the Middle East; war in many nations; earthquakes in Indonesia, Iraq, China, Haiti, and Japan; tsunamis in India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan; volcanoes in Europe; the threat of nuclear meltdown; and economic crises all over the world.

What disaster are you facing? Maybe it is not as dramatic as these international issues, but for your life as an individual, a smaller disaster can wreak just as much havoc. Whether it is brokenness in your family, financial and career issues, or the death of a loved one, these things are difficult. They make us ask, How am I supposed to make it through life when such terrible things happen?

The answer is hope. As a Christian, you can always have hope!

Imagine this-Jesus was so far past hope that He was dead. Think of that. Are you dead in your circumstances? Jesus was dead. There was no hope. He had raised dead people back to life, but how could He raise Himself? It was impossible. No chance, no way, no hope.

But wait. Something shook the ground, and then an angel appeared in blinding light and struck the soldiers like dead men. The stone rolled away and-it can't be!-Jesus walked out alive!

The power of the resurrection in Him overcame even death. Hope was restored!

If you are a Christian, then this Jesus is alive in you. You always have hope! No matter what you are facing today, ask Jesus to help you. Ask Him to resurrect your circumstances and bring life to you again.

Then, as you go throughout your days, give this hope to others around you who need it. Everyone is shaken at one time or another, but we can bring them what they need-hope.

Let your hope be strong, for Jesus is alive!

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You are alive, and that You are alive in me! I repent for losing hope in You because of my circumstances. Please restore my hope and bring life to what seems dead around me.

Amen

The Essential Elements of Redemption

Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. Exodus 12:40

Have you ever gotten lost? Now, I know none of the men reading this have ever been lost, but let's just pretend for a second, okay, that all of us have been lost at one point or another in our lives.

What do you do when you're lost? Or let's make it even worse. You're in another country and you don't speak the language. No one can give you directions. You don't have a map. And somehow, you got lost in a maze of streets and find yourself in who-knows-where.

This is essentially what happened to Israel. They went to a foreign nation and got stuck there. It's like they were lost, trapped in a country that was not their home. Only, for Israel, they were lost for 430 years!

Now, if you ask me, after 430 years, the place where my great-great-great-great grand pappy got lost would probably feel a whole lot like home. But that's not God's perspective on this. God says that Israel was sojourning in Egypt for that whole time. It never became their home, not once, not ever, not even in 430 years.

Let's make this personal for us. Our great-great-great-great grand pappy, Adam, got lost. He stepped into a world of sin that was separated from God and he settled there. Ever since then, all of his descendents were born into a place that was not their home, no matter how at home we have felt there. We-you and I-were born into a world that is not our home. It's like we're living in Egypt, waiting for God to set us free into the Promised Land.

To set Israel free, God told them to sacrifice a lamb and put its blood on the lintel and posts of their door. Covered, so to speak, by this lamb's blood, the angel of death passed over them and Egypt kicked them out. They were on their way home after sojourning for 430 years.

To set us free, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die as the fulfillment of the picture we see in the Passover Lamb. Now, covered by His blood, we are redeemed out of sin, slavery, sojourning, and death, set free to return to the place where we were created to live-a place with perfect fellowship with Him.

You don't have to be lost anymore. Your Passover Lamb already gave His life and His blood for you so that you could be free. But here's your choice: As Israel had to take the lamb's blood and put it on their doors, we have to receive Jesus' shed blood on our behalf and let it cover us.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for dying for me so that I can be free! Please cover me today. Show me how to live for You as You lead me all the way home.

Amen