HOPE

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Cor. 13:13

To lose hope is to lose love.


Hope exists between faith and love.  Without hope the ecosystem of divine love ceases to function.

The Apostle Paul affirms in I Cor. 13 that three realities function together so that love can continue to exist among us.  These three are faith, hope and love.  Love is clearly the goal.

Faith is the human capacity to receive love directly from God in Christ.  Faith allows us to receive the love we need to be truly human.  We are truly dependent beings and all things begin in us by receiving or by faith.  It is only by faith that love is born in humans.

Hope is like a bridge over which we walk in order to deliver love to others.  Faith alone cannot deliver love.  Someone filled with hope must cross the bridge each day.

The enemy of our soul attacks our hope.  He attempts to destroy our hope and destroy the bridge over which love must pass.  It is no accident that so many disciples of Jesus are depressed.  The enemy of love is at work to destroy our hope.

To lose hope is not just painful for us.  It is also painful for those who wait for love on the other side of the bridge.  To lose hope always means some love goes undelivered.

Hope abides in every disciple because Jesus is the source of divine hope.  We must cultivate deep and lasting hope in Christ if we would guarantee the delivery of love.  To hope in Jesus is to prepare ourselves to cross the bridge of hope each day.

Cultivate a deep hope in Jesus.  Stay focused on Him moment by moment.  He is the source of hope.  To lose hope is to lose love as well and love must not be lost.
 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Never Underestimate Jesus

"Christ is all…"   Col. 3:11

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own[d] did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."

John 1:10-12

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,

the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:14

When we underestimate Jesus we lose something of our own humanity and our future. When we do not see Jesus as “all “ we let someone or something else occupy the space reserved for only Him.

When the church underestimates Jesus the church’s love grows weak and sick. The church where Jesus is not all is living in lack and not in abundance.

When I underestimate Jesus my love grows anemic and I live in lack and not in abundance.

Look again at the worlds “Jesus is all”. If we underestimate Jesus in our evaluation of reality the consequences can be much more profound than we imagine.

Losing the right to become “children of God” is no small thing. It is all. When we underestimate Jesus we always lose something and we can end up with nothing.

 

Bud McCord

Abide International

Connection

 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Col.1:16-17

Sometimes we do not let the Bible say to us everything it was inspired to say. Sometimes without meaning to we diminish the impact of what the Bible says. Sometimes on purpose we refuse to hear what the Bible says because what it says does not fit our preconceived ideas.

Read again the words from Col. 1:16-17 and let the Bible reveal Jesus to you. The Bible’s main goal is to get you face to face with all Jesus is in every area of your life because He is the way, the truth and life.  Let the Bible do in you what it was written to do by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.  Let the Bible take you to Jesus.

According to these two verses there exists a connection right now between Jesus and all things.  Do we see this connection each day as we interact with all things around us?  Do we really understand that Jesus’ existence is connected to all things right now?

If we really did see Jesus connected as Creator and Sustainer of all things would it change anything about our day to day behaviour?  Does this Jesus connection matter?

Think about the way we humans mistreat nature each day.  If we could see Jesus connected to all the manifestations of nature around us, would we still throw trash in a river?  If we could see Jesus still connected to nature would we treat many animals as only a means to an end?

If we could still see the connection between Jesus and every one of the 7 billion people on this planet would we be so quick to call someone an idiot?  If we saw each person as still connected to Jesus as Creator and Sustainer would we support racism or abort a baby?

We run a great risk when we do not let the Bible fully reveal all it says about reality and especially what it says about Jesus as the source of reality.

Jesus is still connected to all things as Creator and  Sustainer. I need to see and respect this connection in all things.  I need to appreciate the connection that everything has to Jesus. I need to do all I can to bless this connection to Jesus in all things so all can see and appreciate Jesus’ connection for them and to them as Creator and Sustainer.

It is not a big step from appreciating Jesus as the Creator and Sustainer to accepting Jesus as the Saviour.  And what a different and intimate connection that is to Jesus!

Bud McCord

Abide International