Here is HOPE… the Lord Jesus is in control! part 1
I ended the last chapter with 1 Peter 5:8,
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (NLT)
I’m beginning this chapter with these words from Jesus in John 16:33,
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus is our hope for the future of the United States, and it’s in Him that we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28 (NIV)
I believe that at this point in time, there isn’t anything man can do to turn things around, but God can! Ideology number one is now so deeply entrenched in our society that only God can untangle the death grip that it has on our nation. But take heart, He has overcome the world!
I am encouraged by the scriptures that tell us, God can bring good results out of bad situations. Just as He did with Joseph and his brothers:
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the
saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
Isaiah shared the same principal with us in Isaiah 61:
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of
vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the
oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will
be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
I’m going to list some additional scripture passages that give us hope in Jesus:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Psalm 108:12-13 (NIV)
12 Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
13 With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.