Don't you just love Spring time?  Not everyone will agree, but I do love seeing the new green growth from the ground come to life.  I love seeing the tulips budding and hearing the birds chirping.  But, there's another side to spring that is not so pleasant.  And that's allergy season. 

I spent the last week with a multitude of allergy symptoms that just about took me out.  Among all the sneezing, sore throat, coughing episodes I endured, God was there through it all.  As a matter of fact, I learned something.  Trust God, even when things look bad.  God moved my schedule around to where I had time to rest and get well faster.  It wasn't the plans that I had made, but His ended up being much better.

You could say that I grew a little last week.  My faith had a booster shot of confidence.  Confidence that no matter what comes my way, God is faithful to provide.

You see, Christian faith is about trust.  I could have felt sorry for myself last week, and just stayed home all week, missed work and stayed depressed.  Instead, I stepped out in faith, knowing that God had something better for me than that.

Be available to God so He can grow something new in you this week!

Hebrews 11:1 – "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Certain hope or a Christian hope means our focus in on heaven while our work is on earth.

Certain, is 'knowing for sure; established beyond doubt.'

As a Christian, I am confident that my hope is in Christ.  I have anchored my soul in this, knowing for certain that there is a life after death for those who believe in Jesus, believe He died on a cross for our sins, and rose again the third day.

All other hope in this world is not guaranteed.  My guaranty is the cross.  My guaranty is a hope and a future for eternity.

Those who have forgot God, have no hope.

The Bible leaves no room for doubt.  If you read the Bible you will find over and over again all the certainties of Christ. 

Just as easily as a boat will drift if not anchored, our lives can drift here and there if not anchored in the word of God.  There's stability in the storms of life when you're anchored to God.

Be certain and have no doubt that Jesus is Lord.  He will come again some day to take His children home.

Are you certain that you're ready to meet Jesus today?

Mark 13:32 – "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."

Expectant is defined as 'having or showing an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something pleasant and interesting.'

When a woman is pregnant, she is expecting a baby to arrive in 9 months or so.  This is called an expectant hope.  Now, it's not 100% certain because she could miscarry the baby.  Expectant hope is good but can come with some uncertainty.

We can have an expectant hope with God.  God tells us in Philippians 4:6 'to not be anxious about anything.'  This means, don't worry.  Don't fret about what might happen. Stay alert and be cheerfully expectant. 

As a Christian, we can expect answered prayer.  We can expect to receive a home in heaven.  And we can expect that whatever plans God has ahead for us that they are for our good and not to harm us.

Stay expecting on God's blessings, God's promises, my friends!

Philippians 4:6 – "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Having a wishful hope is a having a false hope.  We can hope that we will get richer, or that we'll get thinner.  This type of hope is not based on reality.  It's merely a fanciful dream of a preferred future.

Wishful thinking stems from the imaginations of your evil heart.  As Christians, we know that God's word is the only truth!  The dumbest thing you could ever do is follow your own heart.  We are all sinners, and the only difference between those who follow their own heart, is those that follow Jesus.

The good news about Jesus is that He offers hope beyond this life, beyond the grave.

I'll talk about 'certain hope' in tomorrow's blog.

The bottom line is this: Don't waste your time on wishful thinking. In the Bible, hope is not wishful thinking but a confident expectation.

Proverbs 21:2 – "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord weighs the hearts."

Hope, as defined by the Webster dictionary is 'to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.' But did you know that there are different types of hope?

The first thing to remember is that hope is not the same thing as optimism. Optimism only works in things you can control. You can plant seeds in a garden in hopes of reaping flowers or vegetables in return. If you hadn't planted the seeds, then you would have no hope or wouldn't be expecting anything to bloom.

Biblical hope is knowing something is bad, or the circumstances are bad, but still believing and hoping that there is something better. Knowing that there is a better outcome than what we currently see.

I heard a pastor describe it this way. There are 3 types of hope. Wishful hope, expectant hope and certain hope.

I'll break these three types of hope down more in my next two blogs, but I wanted to leave you with this:

You can't have hope without faith and you can't have faith without Christian hope.

Hebrews 11:1 – "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Peace is something everyone wants, yet few seem to find.  There are various types of peace, typically related to the actions and attitudes of individuals.

You will find some people who do not desire peace, but as a Christian, we should make every effort to do what leads to peace.  God will give His peace to those who trust Him.  What's the alternative?  Live in fear and worry?

Most people don't understand peace as a positive concept.  They imagine peace as the absence of trouble.  Others don't understand that Biblical peace is unrelated to circumstances.  It's a confidence, a trust that no matter the circumstances, I can be in peace.

It may not seem reasonable to you that such peace could exist in the midst of problems Christians go through.  This type of peace cannot be figured out on a human level.

Receive the peace that God offers today.  It will give you serenity in danger, a calm in trouble and freedom from anxiety.  Who wouldn't want that?

Philippians 4:7 – "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Our desires in life is one of our motivational tools that gets us going in the morning.  If you act on your desires, these actions will convey to others what drives you to do what you do.

Our desires are looking for pleasure.  They're looking for something or someone that will fulfill our deepest needs.  Not all desires are good and helpful.  They may be pure and from the heart, or they could be sinfully twisted.

Which one are you?  If your desire is to please God, the creator of the universe, then you're in the same boat I'm in.  I wake up each day asking God, "what is it that you want me to do today that would please you?"  Some days that passion brings me unexpected blessings and unforeseen joys that can only come from God.

People on the outside will know that you love God based on your desires more than from any other Christian act.  We cannot fake our deepest desires.

Let God be the guiding force in your life. One of the greatest miracles of living a life for God is God giving us the desires of our heart.

Colossians 3:23 – "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,"

Our appetites often dictate the direction of our lives. If your stomach desires food, you fill it. Some desire possessions or power, they go after it. But what I’m referring to today is an appetite for for God. This hunger for God is the only thing that will bring victory in our lives. This is the only hunger that will bring complete and ultimate satisfaction.

If you’re desiring the things of the world, it will slowly eat away eat away at you. So much that there will be no room for God or anything as soul satisfying as God’s plan for your life.

Hunger is one of the basic needs of humankind. Have you ever noticed that when someone is physically ill, one of the first signs that something is wrong is that their appetite changed, or that they start losing weight dramatically.

An indicator that something is wrong spiritually is when we no longer have that hunger or thirst for God. We become complacent and stop looking to God for guidance, nourishment.

Physically, when we hunger for food, we generally fill that need pretty quickly. Hunger puts that desire to seek something to fill us up.

The next time you feel lost, depressed, unsure of how life’s going to turn out, open God’s word, the Bible, and I can assure you that your feelings will soon be replaced with joy, meaning and a purpose to seek more of God.

Matthew 5:6 - “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”