Greetings brothers and sisters. Let's start off with a definition. "Hope", is to desire something, with expectation of receiving it. Remember when you were a kid and you heard the ice cream man's truck? Man, I do. "Desire" would kick itself in gear in my little 6 year old brain.(An' It still kicks my 44 yr old brain into gear too, when I hear the tunes from the truck today). And, because I had seen the ice cream truck come down my street before, when I heard that music playing over on Bellevue street in my little hometown of Clinton, Ms., I had a reasonable "expectation" that he would drive down Berkshire street, on which I lived, within a few short minutes. Now all I had to do was run find Mama or Daddy before the ice cream truck drove by. This is where I also learned about "disappointment", when I couldn't find one of them fast enough to give me a quarter.
Okay, if we can quit thinkin' about ice-cream now, I think we're all on the same page about the worldly definition of "Hope." But, the hope I want to talk about is the hope we have, or can have, with and through Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter called it a "Living Hope." He said, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3 . So, what do you think that means? A "Living Hope." Well, Jesus brought us what I call "True Life." It isn't a life of this world. This world is full of hate, hypocrisy, and evil. It's full of backstabbing, gossip, and idolatry of all kinds. This physical world is bein' run by the devil himself. 1 John 5:19 "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." Hmmm. How can there be hope for us then? That first part of that verse; " We know that we are children of God." Let me back up and tell you how "it", that is, "Hope", came to me....
I spent most of my life believing that, in order for me to accept myself, I had to be accepted by others. I had to have someone to love, and who would love me back. Honestly, I didn't have much self esteem back then. Now, I could put on a good show of self confidence(or arrogance, dependin' on who ya asked.) and that carried me for a number of years. But, all that time, I was constantly "self medicating" to drown out that inferiority complex that was building up inside. I drank. A lot. I called it "partying" back then. I smoked enough marijuana that Willie Nelson or Bob Marley would've been impressed. That's A lot. I called it "winding down". Occasionally, when I got depressed, I'd go find some coke, (an' I don't mean cola.) I did all of that, just to try to cope with a very low opinion of myself. I had no hope. Let me stop and ask you.... Does this sound like anyone you know?
Now, this doesn't mean I didn't know God. I went to church. I started going, by myself, shortly after I turned 10 years old. I was a part of an amazing youth group at FUMC in Clinton, Ms, that had an awesome Youth Director, Tommy Artmann. Tommy worked so hard with us to help us come to know Jesus. But, MY problem was that I just didn't think I was worthy. Is anybody recognizing someone you know or knew, yet? Well, stick with me, here. I'm gettin' there...
I left high school mid-way through my senior year and joined the corps. the Marine Corps. Among other things, I learned how to drink like a "professional", at 17 years old, stumbling down the bar-lined streets of Japan and South Korea for a year. That was also where I learned to drink to escape "reality", and it got to be a daily habit that I used whenever I had a tough day, which was most every day, for the next 20 years...
I know you're looking for a point to all this. I'm tryin' to get there. I spent most of my life trying to fit into a world that I didn't belong in. None of us belong there either. It's that world of Satan that I'm talking about. It destroys Hope! In Satan's world, we are constantly trying to keep up. We try to keep up with trends. we try to keep up the latest music, or styles, or the neighbor who drives a cool car, motorcycle, or , perhaps it's a boat. We try to take extravagant vacations and cruises. Then we work overtime and weekends to pay for it all. Where's the "Hope" in all that? What exactly is the desire and expectation? To outshine someone else? To have the most toys, or money, when we die? This kind of hope leads one place, and one place only. That's death. Probably an early death, at that. This is how so many of us "lose" hope. So, how can we find it again? The answer is Jesus. Read on....
Five years ago, in August 2008, I was sitting in an inpatient rehab small-group, two weeks into my 36 day stay. I don't recall what was being discussed, but I suddenly burst into tears. It was that moment that Jesus touched my heart and told me He loved me. Me. he loved ME? A washed up alcoholic? and over the course of the next few years, He led me on a journey of self discovery. He even led me to a "family" biker group, who showed me love and acceptance like I had never seen, or maybe just never had recognized before. Yep. Jesus brought me back into being a child of God through a bunch of hard ridin', mildly wild family of bikers, who truly loved me, emotional scars and all. As our bonds developed, some of them also became deeply determined to keep me sober. And from that experience I began to see that, with these guys and girls, and with Jesus, it didn't matter what I had, or what kind of job I did, or how much money I had, or even what kind of bike I rode. It was all about a love of riding and hanging out with like-minded folks who shared the passion of the wind on 2 wheels. With Jesus, it's all about love. Remember the two most important commandments Jesus taught? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love! Put away all these worldly cares, and just love! Now, of course we have to pay our bills, put food on the table, raise our children and put them through school. But, if you really believe in Love, this Agape love, Christian love for brother and sister, that Jesus loves you as a child of our Father in Heaven, that horrible word "worry" will leave your vocabulary. Why? Well, think about the person you've loved or love more than anything or anybody else on this earth. It's awesome, isn't it? You're not worried about whether they will love you tomorrow, or next week. It's solid, right? Well, guess what? Jesus loves you 10,000 times more than that. Incredible. Don't you think that someone who loves you that much more than anything you've ever seen or felt will take care of you? Don't you think He knows what you need? He even knows what you and I need more than we do, ourselves! And that's where this "Hope" comes in. It, Hope, walks hand in hand with something else, called "Faith." We develop faith, that Jesus will guide and provide us, with all we need.
Folks, sometimes, many times, these things, relationships don't happen all at once. First, you've got to make some effort. An' yes, you have to keep at it. God inspired the prophets and the apostles with a whole big book of information to help us make it through this evil world. We must read it. Daily. Sometimes it can be quite confusing. That's why we must find a small-group, a bible study, or a Sunday School class. I spent 16 years studying theology on my own, but I (obviously) never found the key to understanding and living a Godly life. But, when I started going to a bible study, or holding family bible studies, things that didn't make sense to me, made sense to someone else, so we learned from each other. It's part of another necessary thing, called Fellowship. During that 16 yrs of studying, I read it repeatedly, that we need fellowship, but I wanted to do it my way. I went to church sometimes. I even played in a praise band and helped out the youth group sometimes. But, I wanted God to walk on MY life's path with ME. MY way. How'd that work for me? Not too good... But, when I finally decided to follow God on HIS road, on HIS terms, my life changed. I found Love. I felt loved. I found Faith. and I found H.O.P.E.
I gave in, and then I gave it all to God to direct me in my life. When money was low, I prayed,"God, please see me through it." When my health got bad 2 years ago, I prayed,"God, please see me through it." When my 52 year old sister died in 2010, I prayed, "God, please see me through it." It was my way of saying," Lord, I trust you. I know that you know what I need. And I know you know that some things I think I need, I really don't. But, I have faith that you will answer my needs, as long as I continue to walk in your light, to do your will, to keep learning how to love, and to keep studying and applying your Word to my life."
It's that simple. I promise. I've seen this work many, many times. And it finally happened for me when I went beyond beliving in God, and I started to believe God's Word!(Remember, even the devil believes in God. Anyone can do that. But it takes a relationship to believe someone, and to trust and follow them. ) Now, I have hope. I have hope, because I have faith. I have faith, because I have love for Jesus. That love has put a desire into my heart. Remember that word from the definition? "Desire." Because I read and study the Bible, God's Word, I know what He is offering us. Therefore I have an "expectation", because of His promise to us. I truly, deeply desire HIS love and have an expectation that he will provide for my needs. He says He will. Folks, he has never failed me. I've never heard of God failing anybody. So, ultimately, I found faith in Him.
Faith. Hope. And Love. Paul writes about love in 1 Corinthians 13 1-13. The last line says this; "And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is love."
So, what is the key to hope? It's love. It ie the love of and from our Father in Heaven, the love of and from our lord, savior, and King, Jesus Christ, and it is the soft loving comfort and counsel of the Holy Spirit that Jesus brought us, that dwells inside our hearts, our souls, our minds, our spirit, and our words. But, we have to make time EVERY day to be still, and listen for the Spirit, and listen for that calm and gentle, loving and guiding voice that is the Lord speaking to our heart. Some days I have to have 20 or 30 "still" moments. But, He always gets me through those rough days. Always.
Folks, We have GOT to stop trying to get God to come into our lives on our paths, on our terms. We have to get into HIS life, and ON HIS TERMS. And, more than just hearing and obeying His Word, we have to develop a relationship with God.
Finally, understand this one very important truth. God loves you. I've done some pretty horrible things over the course of my life. God accepted me. A Big sinner. Someone reminded me that God accepted David, an adulterer, to lead His people. He called Moses, a murderer, to lead His people. He called Peter, who denied Jesus three times, then ran away and went back to fishing when Jesus was captured. Peter led the Lord's people. And then we have Paul, formerly known as Saul, who was a Pharisee, who had Christians stoned and beaten. Saul was present during the trial of Stephen, the first Christian Martyr, and had a hand in his death. Yet, Saul became Paul after Jesus appeared in spirit form to him, and Paul then wrote most of the books of the New Testament, and founded churches all over the middle east. Paul, a sinner, led the Lord's children. I've known many people throughout my life that have told me horrid stories about who they once were before God filled them and changed their lives. Some are now ministers. Some are wonderful mothers or fathers. Some are teachers. And some of them are bikers who ride for Jesus and spread His message of faith, hope, and love far and wide across the countryside. Listen to this. Hear this. Jesus loves you. YOU. No matter what you've done. No matter what you haven't done. You're here. you're alive. It is not too late to pick up your cross. Lay down your burden of guilt or shame. Confess your sins and pray for forgiveness. Learn who He IS, and follow Him.
I hope I made some kind of sense today. In my excitement to begin carrying out this task that God has laid before me, to share His Word through this blog while He prepares me to pastor and to preach, I'm sure I've made a few rookie mistakes. It may take a little while for me to be more concise and stay on point with each message of the week, which I will attempt to write each Sunday evening and publish by Monday evening. There may be times that I post every day of a week. Sometimes maybe only once or twice. Feel free to contact me with suggestions or with questions about anything I write. If you see something you believe to be wrong, by all means, bring it to my attention, too.
Let's close with a prayer. A prayer of Hope. Take a moment and pray it with me...
" Dear Lord, My gratitude to you is more than words can express. I thank you for forgiving my sins. I pray Lord, guide me with your Word, speak to my heart and soul, fill me with your Holy spirit so that I may learn to turn away from those things that bring sin upon my life. Deliver me Lord from my chains that keep me from you. Strengthen my faith, Lord. Light your path for me to follow. Teach me to love, so that with faith in you, with love from and for you, with love for my brothers and sisters who teach me to strive to help each other, I will know hope. Your living Hope. I pray that it dwell in me and bind up the evil that tries to pull me away from you. I give thanks to You, Lord, and I ask these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."
May God's love and peace guide y'all through this week.
I love you, my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
In His Service,
Brother Jay
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