I've been out a long time so I'm not sure if anyone is even checking my blog now days. In any case I'm going to try to get back into the swing and put in weekly thoughts. I hope, if you are still out there that you will offer some comments along the way.
The last several months have been both enlightening and troubling. I've been a little caught up in the political and economic troubles and have seen a spiritual decline. In many ways I believe these are all connected. When the message we hear in most quarters is negative and hopeless it begins to impact our own spiritual well being. I've felt it personally and have had to really rethink a number of things.
Whether we're talking about politics, economics, education, faith or whatever if there is no hope it is hard to have much anticipation concerning the future. As I've turned back to the Scriptures I've come to see how important hope is again. Not just hope for heaven, but hope for this life. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul has a discussion about the resurrection. Again, it's not just about resurrection after we die, but about how important it is to believe in the resurrection in the here and now in order to have hope.
I'm so grateful in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Because of His resurrection I can have hope now in deliverance from sin. Because of His resurrection I can have hope that my life means something and that I can make a difference in this world. In verse 31-32 Paul notes his battle in Ephesus was not just a physical one. He was confident that the spiritual battles he had fought and won were key to having purpose in life and hope for the future.
In Jesus and through Jesus there is hope in this life. No matter what we face we know, as Paul said in Romans 8 that "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
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