Speaking for a wonderful group of women from the Delta Community Presbyterian Church, I noticed the transformation of every face when I shared about Biblical hope.
Biblical hope is a certain expectation for a matter or promise to be fulfilled. If you have thoughts of doubt or fear concerning what you’re hoping for, then you have no reason to believe you will receive what you desire. Scriptures are clear that the person who prays with doubt, should not expect to receive anything, (James 1:6-8)
For hope to be confident, it must be backed with faith. For faith to be certain, it must be based on truth. To turn your wishful thinking into a confident hope, and receive what you desire, you need to examine your faith and renew your hope, which just happen to the be focus of the first two books in my Faith to Live By series.
A confident hope begins with certain faith—faith that is based on absolute truth. If you are among those who think that truth is relative, you can never have certain faith, which means neither can you have confident hope. People who claim that truth is relative have not sufficiently examined their claim. Lack of knowledge or relying on faulty knowledge is a very dangerous place to live.
- Faith is being convinced by sufficient evidence to believe.
- Hope is a confident expectation for a reality yet to be received.
There has been an unfortunate teaching within Christianity that has greatly wounded many. It’s become known as the Word Faith Movement. The premise is that if you decree and declare a thing, and you have enough faith then you can expect to receive. It’s also been called the “Name It, Claim It movement.” Sadly, this teaching has distorted a proper understanding of faith and hope, and is a gross misappropriation of Scriptures.
We cannot decree or declare anything we want and then muster up enough “faith” to bring a matter to pass. This is not what Scriptures teach. We can however, decree and declare anything that God has promised is available to us, and by faith, in God’s timing, receive it. The way I say it is, “If God has named it, we’re foolish not to claim it.”
- Examine your faith to make certain the object of your faith is trustworthy.
- Renew your hope to make certain it is focused on God’s promises for you.
What are you wishing for? What breakthroughs do you need in life? If you can find a Scriptural promise from God that addresses the matter, you can begin to establish your faith on the truth of God’s Word. Then, you can look forward with a confident expectation for your hope to become a reality in the future.
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Pam’s award-winning Faith to Live By book series, is proving to help countless people discover and live in life-giving truth that produces hope and joy in abundance. Read the reviews some of her readers have posted here. If you want to fortify your faith and renew your hope, consider getting Pam’s books using the Promo Code provided with the recent ENewsletter. Not a subscriber to Pam’s ENewsletter? Just click the Subscribe button on the side bar to join, and receive your choice of a free gift in appreciation. Subscribers are uniquely eligible for special promotions.
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