DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- NO HOPE

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – NO HOPE

"Remember that you, once Gentiles I the flesh – who are called Uncircumcision by what is call the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands – that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:11-13).

Ephesians chapter 1 describes the spiritual blessings that we enjoy as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, and have an inheritance that has our name on it. What a wonderful thing to be a part of God's family. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

But Paul calls us to remember what it was like before we came to faith. Do you remember what it was like before you received Christ as your Savior? In the Scripture focus for today, Paul zeros in on our condition when we were far off from God. As aliens from the kingdom of God, we were without God with no hope.

One of the big problems in American culture is the lack of hope. The suicide rate is growing among both young and old people because people see no hope for the future. Without hope, there is no reason for living. So people opt for ending it all, thinking that death is better than what they are going through.  How wrong they are!

There is no hope apart from God. Only He can give a vision for the future that transcends what we are experiencing in this life. As the old saying goes, "No God, no hope. Know God, know hope."

Without God, there is no hope. With God, there is every reason to hope in the future, both in this life and in the life to come.

Love, Dad