My Dad's Hope (and Mine)!

My hope is in the Lord
Who gave Himself for me,
And paid the price of all my sin at Calvary.

For me He died,
For me He lives,
And everlasting life and light He freely gives.

No merit of my own
His anger to suppress.
My only hope is found in Jesus’ righteousness.

And now for me He stands
Before the Father’s throne.
He shows His wounded hands and names me as His own.

His grace has planned it all,
’Tis mine but to believe,
And recognize His work of love and Christ receive.


Let me first update you on a couple things I mentioned in the last post.  My dad did not have an MRI yesterday.  Due to his weakness and the fact that it would be difficult for him (and my mom) to get him out of the house for the testing, they decided, at a nurse's recommendation, not to go ahead with the MRI.  Also, my mom has now decided to take a leave from work in order to stay home with and care for my dad.  I am praying for both of them and am touched by her display of genuine love towards him.

My daddy's hope (and mine) is in the Lord, and that's a wonderful thing.  I know that if and when the Lord sees fit to bring my daddy home, he will be in a much better place.  I am encouraged by my dad's desire to pray for and encourage people and by his confidence in the Lord.

To be very honest and open, times like these make you wonder sometimes if heaven's real, if God's real, if Jesus is real, if God's word is true.  My sweet husband prayed for me last night that God would help me be aware of his "realness."  When I look back on my and my family's life and see God's hand working in all things, He reassures me that He is real.  I see how God used my little brother's special needs to bring others to himself.  I remember how God showed me that he loved me and rescued me from struggles as a teenager.  It's amazing how God brought my parents to Blizzard Land just at the right time.  He brought L and G together.  He provided care for little t.  He's brought my mom near her family for support and also enabled her to be near and care for her aging father (my grandpa).  He provided an apartment for A and K.  He used my dad to bring me and my beloved J together from two completely different states after many years of prayer on both our parts.  At the time we didn't always understand what God was doing, but He was always working.

His word also encourages me that He's real.  It just makes sense like nothing else.  My God is the God of Creation, a God of order and beauty.  He designed the beautiful, intricate works of nature we see outside.  His word makes sense of the world, of "what's wrong with it," and of the sinfulness and rebellion of mankind against Him.  His word makes sense of life.  This is not all there is.  Life here is temporary and fleeting.  Eternity is far longer and more important, and someday we will all stand before God.  It would be foolish to live life for this life alone, not considering eternity ("to gain the whole world, and forfeit [your] soul").  His word tells us that the wages of our sin is death--that our rebellion against Him (our desire to live life our way and not His) separates us from Him and that, if we die in our sins, we will spend eternity away from Him suffering His wrath, which our rebellion against Him completely deserves.

His word gives hope.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  God's word teaches that Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God and yet God Himself, took on human flesh and died as a substitute for sinners, taking the wrath of God on Himself.  It teaches that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, proving that He was indeed the Son of God (who He claimed to be) and that His work on behalf of sinners was complete.  God's word teaches us that "whoever" turns to Jesus Christ and places their trust in Him alone as their Lord and Savior will be forgiven, will not perish (will be saved from the wrath of God that they deserved), and will have a sure hope of eternal life in heaven with their Lord.

I love how God's word is so different from how the world thinks.  It just proves to me that it is true.  The world would (and does) teach a salvation based on works--on "good things" we do--as if we could possibly earn God's favor.  But God's word says,  "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."  The fact is that the work has already been done--Jesus Christ's death as a substitute for sinners on the cross.  To insist on any other way of salvation is really just continuing to demand your own way and rebelling against God.  The truth is that good works never could and never will save anyone.  In God's eyes, "all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment."  But the good news is that there is a salvation--a salvation that God freely gives to all those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and in his already finished work on the cross.

I also love how God's word changes people.  When a person comes to Christ by faith, God gives them a new heart.  "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."  Before a person trusts Christ, he is continually rebelling against God--trying to live life his own way--and cannot please God.  But afterwards, God changes that person's heart so that the person wants to please Him and gives that person the Holy Spirit to enable him to do so.  It's not that the person will be perfect.  A saved person will still struggle with sin until he/she goes to heaven.  However, a person who truly knows Christ personally and believes in Him will desire to live for Him.

Thank you, Jesus, for the hope that is in You!

Here's a video of my dad from last year talking about "his Hope."