1 Peter1.3-5

If you have trusted in Jesus, you have new life and a living hope because of His resurrection from the dead, and you have an inheritance reserved in heaven for you that is permanent, protected by God and beyond this present world’s reach.  

There are lots of things we “hope” for in this life….some good and some not so good. As I thought about my own life, I realized how often I set my hope on people or events that only disappoint…they can’t carry the weight of my hope. They weren’t designed for that. I’m too busy trying to create the perfect life here, refusing to admit that the world in its current state is destined for destruction. This world and the things of it are doomed to disappear…yet I sometimes find myself clinging to it as if my life depended on it. The only One who can carry the weight of my hope is Jesus. He’s the only One who will not disappoint. My hope is the resurrection…it’s the kingdom life that is available now and lasts into eternity. It’s true peace, joy and love. Not the counterfeit version that this world offers. I am a sojourner here.

Where is your hope this Christmas? Who are you hoping in? Is your hope big enough to carry you through the storms of life, the disappointments and frustrations, the trials and the suffering? Is your confidence in people or things that are destined to disappoint? Hope placed in anyone or anything other than Jesus will disappoint…it will fail. Why? Because hope based anywhere but in Him is based on things that are fleeting and subject to decay…where thieves break in and steal or moth and rust destroys… Only a hope in Jesus is a living hope…living because He is alive and gives life to those who trust in Him. So while we mourn the disappointments in life, we can also choose to worship God in the knowledge that He will never disappoint us. That’s why we never need despair.

If you have not yet trusted in Jesus, make today the day. It’s as simple as admitting that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believing that Jesus came to save you from your sin. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death on your behalf, and was raised the third day, so that you might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life…a living hope and an imperishable inheritance.

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This post is based on a sermon from our Advent series: This Christmas. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.