Daily Hope Devotional

“My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace”   (1 Peter 5:12b). The Bible tells us that God always finishes what He starts:  “God, Who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished”  (Philippians 1:6a NLT). It doesn’t say, “God might finish it.” It doesn’t say, “God hopes to finish it.” It says God  will  finish it. What does that mean? It means if you have really given your life to Jesus Christ, if you’ve opened yourself up to God and said, “Christ, be number one in my life,” you are going to make it to Heaven. There’s no doubt about it. Case closed. Done deal. You are going to make it across the finish line, because it doesn’t depend upon your performance; it depends upon God’s sustaining grace. The only question is how you finish the race. You know as...

The Bible says in John 1:17 ,  “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”   (NCV). Why through Jesus Christ? Why is Jesus Christ the only way to Heaven? Why not Buddha? Why not somebody else? Jesus Christ is the only way for you to get into Heaven because He paid the price of admission. On the cross, He paid for your sins. Grace is free, no doubt about that. But it is not cheap. It cost Jesus Christ His life. The law tells me when I do wrong. It says, “You blew it!” But Grace says, “You’re forgiven. Here’s how to get back on track. Let’s get going in the right direction.” In the Bible, the favorite description for someone who’s accepted God’s grace is the term “in Christ.” That phrase is used more than 120 times in the New Testament. It refers to somebody who has found salvation through the grace of God. Imagine a notecard that represents my life and a Bible tha...

The Bible says in Acts 20:24 ,   “The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me — to tell people the Good News about God’s grace”  (NCV). Notice it doesn’t say the most important thing in life is to get married, fund your retirement, travel a lot, become famous, or pay off the house. It says the most important thing in life is to fulfill your mission. If Jesus died on the cross for you so that you can fulfill your mission and you don’t do it, then that is a massive, eternal waste. God put you on Earth for a purpose. He has a mission that only you can fulfill. Part of that mission is to tell other people the Good News of God’s grace. You know Christ because somebody told you about Him. Now, who are you going to tell? If somebody died for you, wouldn’t you want to know about it? Jesus died for every single person in the world. This weekend, the typical American will sit at home watching TV, with a soda or beer...

“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’”   (2 Corinthians 12:8-9a NLT) What do you do when you can’t fix an unfixable problem? What do you do when you can’t solve an unsolvable riddle? What do you do when you can’t change an unchangeable circumstance? You throw yourself on the sustaining grace of God. How do you get the kind of grace to keep going in spite of temptations, trials, tension, tiredness, and troubles? You do four things: Cry out for God’s help . As long as you pretend to be self-sufficient, you short-circuit God’s power in your life. “[God]  gives grace to the humble. So give yourselves completely to God …. Come near to God, and God will come near to you”  (James 4:6b-8a NCV). Fill your mind with God’s Word . Let it comfort you, strengthen you, fill you, and give you the energy you need to keep going. David prayed,  “I lie in the dus...

If you were to ask 50 random people walking along the sidewalk, “How do you get to Heaven?” you’d get a lot of different answers. But basically they would all be summarized by the idea that you’ve got to earn your way to Heaven. You’d hear things like, “Try to be good, and do your best” or “Do more good things than bad things in life.” It’s all based on works, not grace. But Romans 3:24 says, “All need to be made right with God by His grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ” (NCV). God says that salvation is absolutely free! You don’t work for a gift, and you can’t earn it or buy it. This is the fundamental difference between Christianity and every other religion. Every other belief system can be summarized by one word: “do.” You do certain things in order to gain bliss, gain Heaven, gain God’s approval. It’s full of rules, regulations, and rituals. On the other hand, if you were to summarize Christianity in one word,...

Every person who reads this will face tragedy at some point in your life. You’ll have loss — major loss — in your life. None of us can escape tragedy. Jesus, God’s Son, sure didn’t. And Jesus didn't just give us a model in His life. He gave us a model for handling pain in His death. He modeled what you should do during the worst day of your life. The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:21 ,  “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps”  (NIV). Two years ago — five days after Easter of 2013 — my youngest son took his life. It was the worst day of my life. I’ve been asked many times how I’ve made it through the past two years. I looked to the model of Jesus. That answer is Easter. So what did Jesus do during the worst, most painful day of His life on Earth? He reached out to friends.   On the night that Jesus knew He was going to be arrested, tortured, and executed, the last thing He...

It’s hard to imagine how the disciples felt on the Saturday before Jesus’ Resurrection and the day after His Resurrection. They had watched their Messiah, the Son of God, crucified by the Romans. They had seen Him raise the dead and heal the blind. They knew Jesus could have come down off the cross. But He didn’t. Imagine the grief, fear, and regret that went through their minds that Saturday. We’ve all been there. Confusion often follows days of terrible tragedy. So how do you deal with days of confusion? You remember the promises of God.  Never doubt in the dark what God shows you in the light. When you go through difficult times, the natural response is to throw everything up in the air and let all your plans go down the toilet. But that’s the last thing you should do. Right before His crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples an important promise to focus on during the difficult days to follow. He said,  “Now is your time of grief, but I will see...