Christian Lifestyle

Lamentations 3:24-26 KJV
24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

2017 is here and we are alive and well! Amidst all of the political uncertainty, social conflicts, national and international terrorism it is incumbent upon us to have hope. I do not suggest you place your hope in any government offices, political figures, public figures, corporations, social services divisions, church, preachers, deacons, evangelists, bishops,parents, grandparents or any other family member or friend. I hope that the foundation of your hope is rooted in your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Jeremiah is the writer of the opening scriptures that have blessed me tremendously. I hope they do the same for you. For all my ConquerorShots followers I am aware that this month’s spiritual principle is honesty but allow me to use it in conjunction with hope. You see, according to Jeremiah you have to be honest about what God has brought you through to successfully maintain the hope he proclaims in verses 24-26.

In the scriptures before, the writer declares his hopelessness. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of the Babylonians, sieges the Southern Kingdom where Jerusalem and the temple were. Prior to this the Assyrians occupied the Northern Kingdom. Jeremiah was lamenting over the lose of all the land and blessings God gave to the Israelites. It is interesting to note that the suggested location of Jeremiah’s public laments was at Golgotha – the future location of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jeremiah’s hopelessness waned heavily on him as he honestly remembered the blessings of God, the provisions of God and the POWER OF GOD.

His honesty about what God had done in the history of the Israelite’s existence gave him significant evidence about God’s POWER. Upon his honest reflection of the facts, Jeremiah’s hope was produced. LISTEN, people all around the world are desperate for hope to relieve them of their hopelessness. Their reflections are confused by all sorts of worldly, fleshly, anti-Christian rhetoric. It distracts, dissuades and denounces EVERYTHING true about the Sovereignty of God. We can’t arrive at the benefits of hope like Jeremiah if we fail to appreciate the salvation of the Lord today.

We, like Jeremiah, must be CERTAIN of our Spiritual portion or inheritance we are entitled to as children of God in 2017. This is a Christian blog and I exclusively write from a platform of Christianity. If you don NOT have faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ he has NOT become your Lord and Savior, UNFORTUNATELY these Heavenly benefits do not apply to you. The central point of the benefits of hope rely on this personal experience: No man can save you like Jesus Christ can and will if you believe that His death (shedding of His blood), burial and resurrection gives you access to the LORD God Almighty Himself.

Faith in Christ Jesus as a risen Savior, who now sits on the right hand of the Father making intercessions for us, establishes the following spiritual benefits of hope:

• Freedom to live life as “more than conquerors through Him that loved us”
• Truth that transforms us from death to life, darkness to light, hopelessness to hopefulness
• Justification
• Sanctification
• Glorification
• Power to stand in adversity, evil days, months, years, decades
• Confidence in the forgiveness of sin
• Confidence in the production of the fruit of the Spirit overriding the works of the flesh
• Confidence in the peace with God and the peace of God
• Victory over the Enemy in life and throughout Eternity
• Heavenly blessings including crowns, homes and riches untold
• The Promise that wherever Jesus Christ is eternally I will forever be with Him
• NO MORE UNCERTAINTY, POLITICAL CONCERNS AND CONFUSIONS, HUMAN TERRORISM AND SOCIAL INJUSTICES

It is good to have the willingness to “wait on the Lord and be of good courage.” God’s goodness gets sweeter and sweeter as you learn to trust in Him who will NEVER leave you or forsake you. Therefore, like Jeremiah said, EVERY man “should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”  Our hope keeps us connected to the benefits of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Live the #ConquerorLifestyle in 2017!