12-26-2024

Good Morning All,

    Proverbs 10:28; “The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.”

     When I was in college, we had a psychology class where the instructor asked everyone to think of what they would do if you knew you had exactly 24 hours to live.  If you knew that you only have 24 hours to live, you still have all your current abilities and faculties, but you only have 24 hours to live; how would you spend them?  There were only about 10-12 in the class, so we had a pretty interesting discussion.  Most said that they would spend the time calling and talking to friends, especially those who were far away or those who they felt estranged from.  A couple of guys answered that they would get drunk and not even be sober or awake when they died.  One guy said that he would get in his car and drive.  No place in particular just drive and see what he could see 24 hours.  Some answered that they would go home and read the Bible and pray. It was an interesting mixture of answers. 

    This is a question that Jesus asked many people while he was here on earth, and he asks us that today as well.  Deep down, where do you place your hope and your confidence?  Do you trust yourself?  Do you trust your parents or your spouse to solve everything?  Do you plan on hiding or running away when trials and troubles hit?  Where is your hope, your ultimate security; where is your faith placed?  Is it in the true God or is it somewhere else?

     This is part of the reason that God will allow or even send tests and trials into our lives.  It isn’t so God can see what we are made of.  It is so you and I can see what we are made of.  When I have trouble, where do I go?  Whom do I seek out?  Do I turn to God or something else which is the false gods of my life?

    Our verse gives us a clue as to the right answer.  The hope of the righteous brings joy.  Who are the righteous?  They are those who God has forgiven and declared holy.  They are the redeemed in Christ for whom a place in heaven has been waiting since the foundation of time.  They are God’s chosen children who, by faith, cling tightly to God’s promises of hope and salvation.  When they die and are called to account, they will enter into the kingdom of glory with joy and celebration.

   Yet the wicked will perish.  The wicked aren’t necessary mean or bad people; they are people who have placed their faith in some other god.  They see this god as money or fame or drugs or greed or whatever. So where do you place your ultimate security?  Is it in the saving grace of Jesus and his gift of redemption?  Or do you place it somewhere else?  Grab hold of the faith that God gives you and you will see joy.

Father of grace and mercy, your blessings are new to us every day and they roll over us like a river.  Keep us secure in the knowledge of our salvation.  Keep us secure in the certainty of our hope.  Strengthen us with your Spirit of wisdom and hold us in your hands.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret