HOPE ACROSTIC

You may have noticed a new verse on the inside of your bulletins last week. It was Paul’s prayer for the church of Rome and it’s my prayer for you for 2011:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)

We all need hope! Thankfully, God has provided it in the promises of Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ. As I was considering and praying about what to write, an acrostic for the word, “hope,” came to mind. What is an acrostic? Webster defines an acrostic as “a poem or other arrangement of words in which certain letters in each line, as the first or last, spell out a word, motto, etc.” I’m sure there have been others, but here’s what came to me:

Heart-level / Heart-felt
Optimism
Persevering
Experiences

Over the next four weeks, I’d like to take a look at each of these. Just to give you a taste, here’s an idea of what each of the terms means to me. By “heart-level”, I mean something life-altering, that changes how we see the world. By optimism, I’m not merely referring to thinking “happy thoughts,” but a positive outlook on life that is based in eternal life … it’s that “confident expectation” of what is to come. Persevering refers to the aspect of hope that helps us work through our trials and tribulations. “Experiences” refers to our temporal experiences - past, present and future, and the recognition that true hope overcomes anything we might face.

So, for this week, keep your eyes on Christ and your heart set on the hope that He has given us!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker