Dear Sister,
Are you enjoying the festivities of this wonderful Christmas season? Christmas is my favorite time of year and it is my heartfelt expectation that you would be joyful as we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Redeemer, Savior, King and our only HOPE.
Amazingly enough, the sound of HOPE permeates the air through the ringing of Salvation Army volunteers, children’s lists for Santa Claus, and the resolutions for the New Year. There is hope for the store retailers that their shelves will be emptied by December 24, and that there will be no returned items on December 26. There is hope for a father to keep his job. There is hope for a family to be reunited with their loved one serving in the military.
Every moment in our life there is hope—that the car will last another month, or that the bills could be paid, or that the marriage will get better, or that the cancer will go away. We hope for an early spring, for a job promotion, for a winning season, for a good report card. We have hope…that longing, sometimes, aching of the heart, which appears as a light at the end of the tunnel, the silver lining of a cloud, the smile that follows a sigh.
Have you felt sometimes that your hope is dwindling dear one? Perhaps I can encourage you.
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” Are you familiar with this hymn? Remember the refrain? “On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
This old hymn is eternally relevant and reminds us that we may enjoy the beauty of God’s creation, the loveliness of seasons, the coziness of home and family, the security of a job, and safety in our country—but we must not make these things our hope. Alongside all these blessings, we might, also, suffer poverty, illness, tragedy, confrontation, heartache—and we must not bear these afflictions with hopelessness.
With the God-given gift of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are able to enjoy and endure, knowing that our eternal home is not in this world, but in heaven with Him. Jesus Christ, our solid ROCK, is our hope! “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.
Stand on the ROCK with me, my friend, and be encouraged. There is no one better than Jesus Christ to know all about life in this world. He created this world, lived in this world and sustains this world. What glory He receives when a person’s heart is touched by the Holy Spirit and that person trusts in Christ alone for his eternal joy!
Mild he lays his glory by;
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing;
“Glory to the newborn King.”
Have a Blessed Christmas, full of joy and hope!
Mimi