PRISONERS OF HOPE

“Turn you to the strong hold,
ye prisoners of hope”
Zechariah 9:12

A living HOPE produces a life of strength and stability. It is a power within the life of the individual who has been captivated by its beauty. In the book of Hebrews it is described as “an anchor for the soul”. It is more than a theoretical concept; it is an ANCHOR that holds us in the storms of life. It is a light that shines in our darkness and gives us the ability to stand in this day of obscurity. Without Faith, Hope is dead. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of the thing for which we hope. Faith has within itself the evidence of all that we hope for. This living Hope will not leave us destitute in some poverty stricken state for we are confident that…

“HOPE MAKETH NOT ASHAMED…”

Hope also has the power to produce a righteous life and a purified heart.

“And every man that hath this hope IN him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure”
1 JOHN 3:3

We are to be people whose lives are captivated by the beauty of our Risen Christ. The HOPE we have in HIM, whereby we know that HE is able to subdue all things under His Feet, takes us from the corruption of the Old Adam into the perfections of the New. This HOPE is to be ours to such a degree that we are purified “even as HE is pure”! The reality of our HOPE is revealed in a life where our motives are freed from selfish gain; we do things because they are right and not for the sake of being seen by others. Our actions are scrutinized by the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Truth MUST produce true expressions within the lives of those who are exercised by it.

Let us HOLD FAST to the power of that living HOPE that we may stand in this evil day, unashamed, undeterred in our pursuit of HIS KINGDOM and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. For our hope is based on the RESURRECTION LIFE of JESUS.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope BY the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”
1 PETER 1:3

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“Great hopes make great men.”
Thomas Fuller

Brian Troxel