HOPE AGAIN!
Terry R. Baughman

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV).

Peace is a valued commodity in society. Among the Jewish people a greeting of peace was often employed. “Shalom, shalom,” they said, expressing wishes for well-being and the absence of conflict. However, it was also a wish for wholeness, health, and prosperity. Our hope for peace may also include such desires in our prayers and expectation. 

Jesus indicated that peace could also be the absence of anxiety and fear. Jesus told His followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27 NIV). This anticipation of joy to come and the confidence that Jesus has gone on before us to prepare room for us fills us with hope!

We can have peace in God’s promises and hope in His provisions. His plan brings peace presently and the promise of greater fulfillment in things to come. Paul called it a, “blessed hope.” In his letter to Titus he wrote, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13 NIV).


Theme passage:
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJ).

HOPE AGAIN!
Terry R. Baughman

“Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8 NKJ).

Faith is that ability to see the invisible and experience the intangible. Faith gives us the ability to love a God we cannot see and believe in promises without guarantees. Faith is the primary ingredient to a full and satisfying life pursuing a relationship with God. 

As a result of believing, we find that our faith becomes the source of incredible joy. God has granted us the ability to believe, and then fills our future with hope. No wonder we have so much joy in the experience of salvation. His Spirit gives us hope! 

Peter described this joy as inexpressible and full of glory. It surpasses our ability to explain, to describe, or to fully share to others. The Passion Translation said, “You love him passionately although you have not seen him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory” (1 Peter 1:8 TPT).

Paul said the Kingdom of God is not defined by natural things such as eating and drinking, but is revealed in the, “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NKJ). Later in this epistle he wrote, “Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope!” (Romans 15:13 TPT).

This hope is not wistful thinking and vainly worrying that everything will work out, rather it is the confident conviction that God IS working all things for our good, that He has a plan for our lives and He is actively working in us to perform His purpose. This faith is our hope, secure and convincing, and this is the hope that fills us with joy in the process. While we do not see the outcome, we know He is working all things for our good. (See Romans 8:28, Philippians 2:13, and Hebrews 13:20-21.)

Rejoice in hope and allow the joy of the Lord to be renewed in us as we grow in our faith. We will hope again!


Theme passage:
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJ).

HOPE AGAIN!
Terry R. Baughman

“And again, Isaiah says: ‘There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope’” (Romans 15:12 NKJ).

Embedded in the Prophets and consistent throughout Scripture there were promises that all nations would benefit from provision of God. Paul drew from the writings of Isaiah to reveal God’s intention to expand the reach of salvation beyond the borders of Israel to impact the Gentiles. The lineage of David would bring salvation to the world. The intent of Scripture revealed that the Son of David, Jesus the Messiah, would be the King of all people and “In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”

The Law was given to the people of Israel, and throughout the Old Testament they were the people of the covenant and the focus of God’s communication. Non-Jews (or Gentiles) were seen as outsiders, unclean, pagans who served other gods. Matthew wrote that, “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John” (Matthew 11:13 NKJ). Something happened when John came on the scene, in the spirit of Elijah, to declare the coming of the Lord. 

John came preaching a new message and preparing the way for a New Covenant. He declared God’s revealed purpose. The Apostle John wrote, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12 NKJ). Those of Jewish decent had the first opportunity to receive the good news that Jesus came to proclaim, but the door was opened in this New Covenant to all “who believe in His name.” 

Jesus came, “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10 NKJ). He came as the Lamb of God to provide a sacrifice for sin, “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 NKJ). Most importantly, the reach of the good news of salvation extended to every nation (Matthew 28:19; Mark 13:10), to all who believe (John 3:16, Acts 10:43; Romans 3:22), and whoever desires can come (Revelation 22:17).  

Jesus is hope, hope for the world, and all are included in His invitation. He said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in ….” (Revelation 3:20 NIV).

The outpouring of God’s Spirit was seen on the Day of Pentecost. Peter explained the phenomena as being the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people” (Acts 2:17 NIV). Later Peter had to defend his preaching the same message to Gentiles when he said, “God has chosen me from the beginning to preach the wonderful news of the gospel to the non-Jewish nations. God, who knows the hearts of every person, confirmed this when he gave them the Holy Spirit, just like he has given the Spirit to us. So now, not one thing separates us as Jews and gentiles, for when they believe he makes their hearts pure” (Acts 15:7-9 TPT).
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Wherever we go, to everyone we reach, we have the same good news message, the Gentiles shall Hope!


Theme passage:
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJ).

BEGIN AGAIN!
Terry R. Baughman

“Honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem” (Romans 12:3b TPT).

While we guard against pride, we are also taught to have a healthy self-image. That is the biblical balance we can seek. In the text verse we are instructed to honestly assess our worth. This is very difficult due to the fact that we tend either to think of ourselves too highly, or wallow in abject despair over our feelings of worthlessness. 

Paul instructed believers to use the measure of faith, which we have all been given, to guide us to the perfect balance between pride and self-loathing. God has given every individual great value and has a wonderful purpose in our existence and our future destiny. By using the faith we have received from Him we may have great confidence in His leading. His opinion of our worth is the only perspective that matters! 

Faith is our confidence in God’s Word, our belief in His limitless ability, and our conviction of His eternal existence. The greatness of God and the vast imagination of His creation gives credence to the validity of our design. The Psalmist recognized this when he wrote that we were, “fearfully and wonderfully made,” or as The Passion Translation reads, “I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord. You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place; carefully, skillfully you shaped me from nothing to something. You saw who you created me to be before I became me!” (Psalms 139:14-16 TPT). 

Recognizing that we are a creation of God and that He is intimately involved in our lives assures us of our great value. However, it is possible to feel overwhelmed by His infinite greatness and tempted to feel our own insignificance in view of His immensity. David questioned, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4 NIV).

Love is the only explanation for this contrast of extremes. One so great took notice of the slightest detail of creation for our benefit. God so loved the world that He gave Himself to the salvation of all humanity. He gave us, the least of all, the greatest sacrifice because of our worth to Him. 

Faith in God provides this standard with which to measure our worth. The reality of our insignificance creates humble amazement in His grace towards us. Let us adopt the attitude of the Apostle Paul, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” (2 Corinthians 10:17 NIV). The measure of faith reaffirms our relationship with Him, and keeps us in awe of His grace. 

Theme passage:
“Be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think” (Romans 12:2 TPT).

BEGIN AGAIN!
Terry R. Baughman

“God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance” (Romans 12:3a TPT).

How do you speak against pride without being prideful? To condemn sin in someone else assumes that we have overcome its grip in our lives. Perhaps this is why Paul recognized that it was through God’s grace that he could warn others against the temptation of pride. Only by grace can we condemn sin and only in humility can we teach others to avoid its snare. 

Pride is a destructive force. An ancient proverb warned that, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV). Most of us have experienced the humiliation that always comes after we have given in to prideful thoughts or actions. It’s better to learn the lessons of humility than to suffer the consequences of arrogance and pride. 

The Passion Translation stated, “Your boast becomes a prophecy of a future failure. The higher you lift yourself up in pride, the harder you’ll fall in disgrace” (Proverbs 16:18 TPT). An attitude of overconfidence will surely result in the reality of humiliation, if allowed to advance unchecked. Paul’s warning was that we should avoid self-promotion and be aware of our own faults thus avoiding an overinflated perception of our importance. It is noteworthy that this warning comes immediately after the call for transformation by the Spirit of God working in our lives. 

Pride is indiscriminate and will subtly sneak in when we least expect it. In the aftermath of God’s spiritual work in our lives and the wonderful wholeness He produces, we may be tempted to think that somehow we achieved this spiritual status on our own merit. That is the temptation of pride. Paul warned that we should not think of ourselves more highly than we should. The reality is that we were nothing without God and totally, hopelessly lost. Without God, we would fall right back into the pit we were dug out of, and we are constantly in need of His grace. 

Let us heed the warning and share that grace with others. Resist the temptation of pride and embrace with humility the work of the Savior in our lives! 

Theme passage:
“Be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think” (Romans 12:2 TPT).