Psalm 37:9 Hope in the Lord

The apostle Peter wrote to the church in Rome at a time of hopelessness. A realistic analysis of the likelihood for the survival of the Church in the heart of the Roman Empire would have concluded there was little or no chance.

And yet Peter talks to them about hope. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. I Peter 1:3-5

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. I Peter 1:13

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.I Peter 1:21

For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Peter 3:5-6

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. I Peter 3:15-16

The kind of hope that changes lives, that can be seen in the daily actions of people - that version of hope is our best tool for drawing people to faith in Christ. A daily life that turns hope into real world action is what will prepare you to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that you have.

They won't ask if they don't see hope not only in the words you speak but in the places you go, the people you help, the sacrifices you make for others, and your refusal to compromise your priorities.

Why has China been ground zero for the growth of the church in the past few decades? By all logic, the church should have died under the oppression of the totalitarian, communist, atheist government. Instead the believers who expressed their hope actively ain hundreds of house churches.

How will the church in America survive or thrive in the face of a nearly overwhelming secular cultural that trivializes and marginalizes Christianity? 

It won't because we put our hope in rallies and protests. It won't because we put our hope in the memes and shared posts or tweets that hammer home a version of righteousness in unrighteous ways.

It won't be because we put our hope in candidates or in politicians, those people who know how to manipulate us because they can see clearly that our hope is not in God, but in causes and laws. Rather than asking us the reason for the hope they see in us, they callously manipulate our misplaced hopes. And we willingly sell our inheritance of righteous to any unrighteous huckster who promises to vote the right way.

And the world observes our actions and rightly pinpoints the empty promises and soul-less politicians in whom we've placed our every hope.

We've let ourselves believe that our best hope for reclaiming America as a Christian nation is by putting our hope in a certain brand of politics. But this hope will fail us. This path will destroy us. 

For those who are evil will be destroyed, 

but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

Psalm 37:9