April Thoughts

Spring is here - April is here - Easter is here. What a wonderful time of the year!

We have entered a season that is full of newness. The days are thankfully longer and warmer. Sunshine and blue skies replace the dark and cloudy skies of winter. Trees that were empty now fill with new leaves, grass that has been  brown now changes to green, and plants that haven’t been seen for months now burst forth out of the ground. Newness surrounds us — hope springs anew!

In 1 Timothy 1:1 we read this statement - “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” Paul declares that his calling as an apostle (literally, “one sent on a mission”) was by the command of God and because of Jesus Christ being our hope!

This hope is evident in three ways: 1) in the past - our hope for salvation was purchased through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2) which we celebrate during the Easter season; 2) in the present - our hope to be daily changed by the indwelling work of the Spirit of Christ (Colossians 1:27); and 3) in the future - our hope to see Jesus when He comes again (Titus 2:13).

Through this past year where things have been so challenging we need to be reminded that our hope is not in this world but is in Jesus alone. Hope springs anew! Let’s not get distracted by all that is going on around us, but rather let’s keep our eyes looking up and looking ahead. We are not defeated, we are not hopeless, OUR HOPE REMAINS IN JESUS!