A New Hope - Part I

Five Iron Frenzy is one of my husband's all time favorite bands. He started listening to the ska band back in his school days and still hasn't been able to shake the influence they had on his life. FIF's song "New Hope" sums up the band's inspiration for their fun loving music. They simply wrote songs because they were consumed with joy and passion for the new hope they found in Jesus Christ.

I've been thinking about hope a lot lately as I prepare for the holiday season that is approaching. Conversations and decisions at work and in my spare time seem to be more centered around Christ than at any other time during the year. As winter prepares to pounce upon the last remaining traces of green and life, I am reminded of God's faithfulness and the new hope He has given us.

The seasons are a great reminder of the story we are living in. This story is not your average bed time story. God has set the stage for a story of adventure and suspense that is taking place in real time and real places and you and I are a part of it. A beautiful climax occurred in our story when Jesus Christ was born, fully God, in the form of a mere human baby 2,000 years ago.  He came to set us free from ourselves- our sin and shame - and draw us into a loving relationship with God, the Father. Jesus lived only into His 30's and performed many miracles and raised the dead to life. He said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no man could come to the Father except through Him. He predicted His death and resurrection. Jesus was crucified, died, and buried in a borrowed tomb.

To his followers, all seemed lost and hopeless. On the third day following his burial, Mary and later Peter and John went to the tomb where Jesus had been laid but instead of the usual soldiers guarding the entrance, angels appeared before the tomb where the stone closure had been rolled away! Christ had risen from the dead. Over the next 40 days, He appeared to people all over the region and ascended into Heaven above a crowd of people watching. Now Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding on behalf of all who believe and choose daily to follow Him with their lives.

Talk about a new hope!  Without Christ, I was stuck in the same old ugliness of heart from which I just couldn't break free. My thoughts, my actions, and attitudes centered on me and I couldn't escape my selfishness and pride.  I was empty and needed to be filled with a new hope. Jesus Christ freed me from the sin and darkness that entangled me and promised me eternal life after death and a genuine relationship with God leading to a life of abundance here and now.  I hope that this post finds you believing in Christ and encouraged by the hope He brings us. Trust in Him for He will yet free you. He is the Savior. He is our Hope!