What great plans we can make for the new year, knowing that our Heavenly Father has plans for us, with the eternal Hope of His guidance through the Holy Spirit who led us to our salvation. The following verses confirm that hope that we possess which will carry us through 2015 and beyond.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the
Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future
and a hope." (NLT)
“For I know the plans I have for you” – what encouraging words to hear from a leader, a parent, a teacher, a coach, etc. yet these words are brought to us in the letter from Jeremiah to all that were exiled to Babylon, the letter that lets us know that our leader our Father in Heaven encourages us as we move ahead and believe that we can do the tasks He has given us because He will be with us all the way. God is that kind of a leader knowing our future and His plans for us that are good and full of hope. As long as we allow God, who knows our future guide our agenda and go with us as we fulfill his mission we can have boundless hope. Now this does not mean that we will be spared pain, suffering or hardships, but God will see us through to a glorious finish.
Romans 8:24-25
“Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this
freedom. For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for it. But
if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and
confidently.” (NLT)
Our Heavenly Father does not make promises that He will not
keep, sometimes His plan may take more time than what we expect. We as His children should not behave like
children as we wait for His will to unfold, we should have confidence knowing
that His timing and wisdom are perfect.
Even though we are saved we have not received all of the benefits of
salvation, when Christ’s new Kingdom is completely established that will be
when we received all of the benefits of salvation. That is our future salvation. While we are confident of our salvation, we
should still look ahead with hope and trust toward that complete change of body
and personality that lies beyond this life, when we will be like Christ per 1
John 3:2 whence he tells us that while we are God’s children we can’t even
imagine what it will be like when He comes, but that we know that we will be
like Him, for we will see Him as he really is.
Romans 8:28
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for
the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for
them.” (NLT)
God works in everything for our good. Not everything that happens to us is good,
evil is prevalent in this fallen world but God is able to turn every situation
around, with Him nothing is impossible.
God is not working to make us happy but to fulfill His promise, a promise
that is not for everybody. The promise
can be claimed only by those who love Him and are called by Him, that is those
whom the Holy Spirit has called upon and convinced to receive Christ. We then have a new perspective and a new mind
set. We trust in God, not in worldly
treasures, our security is in heaven, not on earth. Our faith in God does not waver in pain and
persecution because we know God is with us.
Romans 15:4
“Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to
teach us. They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's
promises.” (NLT)
The knowledge we gain from the Scriptures affect how we live
our lives and our attitude towards the present and the future. The more we know about what God has done in
the past, the greater the confidence we have about what He will do in the days
ahead, we need to diligently read our Bibles so we may have confidence that God’s
will is best for us.
Romans 15:13
“So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy
and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the
power of the Holy Spirit.” (NLT)
Just like Paul prayed for the Romans, we should pray knowing
not only that all our prayers are answered, but giving Him praise and thanks for
the power of the Holy Spirit and the gift of our salvation.
Ptr. David J. Barberis
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