“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
~ Romans 5:5
Hi James and Ellen,
What is something that you really would like have? Would you really like to have the newest toy or a different computer game or a good friend stay overnight or your grandmaa living near you or . . . ask your ma and dad what they would really like to have. Did your dad and ma say that they would really like to be earning more money or have a different and/or better job or more time together with each other or a church where the pastor’s sermons are spirit filled or . . . when you think of something that you really would like to have, you will sometimes think of some activity and/or change in your lives which will lead you to feeling better. Do you really think that activities and/or changes in your lives will make you feel better? Activities and/or changes in your lives may for a moment make you feel better but then you will go back to wanting to do and/or be involved in another activity because . . . you are never going to be happy if you are always wanting to be doing something different or are always wanting things around you changed. Do you know what the word peace means? Peace means being happy, satisfied and content. Would you like to be always happy, satisfied and content? Do you know what the word hope means? Hope means to expect something good to happen or to anticipate something good will happen or to look forward to something good to happen. Would you like to be always expecting, anticipating and looking forward to good things to happen? Peace and hope are talked about in Romans 5. You can have peace and hope in your lives. Peace and hope are given to you as gifts from God if . . . ask your ma and/or dad how you can have these two gifts from God. Peace and hope are feelings of optimism inside of you. Why would you want to have peace and hope in your lives? If you do not have peace and hope in your lives, how do you think that you will feel? You will not feel happy or satisfied or content nor will you be looking forward to the future as you will be thinking that no good things will ever happen in your lives. There will be a sense of missing something or a feeling of an emptiness in your heart. You sometimes think that the answer to fill the feeling of something missing or fill that empty feeling in your heart is by making more money, by having more things, by being someone more important or by going to church more often. When God gives the gifts of peace and hope to a guy, gal or kid who He specially chose for Himself before He created planet Earth, the guy, gal or kid will be happy, content and satisfied with everything that he or she has or the life that he or she has or . . . so, when do you think that God gives the gifts of peace and hope?
Your grandmaa and grandpaa went years ago to an evangelistic service in an Aberdeen, South Dakota church. The special speaker during the service took money out of his billfold. The speaker offered the money to a guy or gal who would come forward to get it. To get the money, a guy or gal would have to get up from the pew or from the bench where he or she was sitting, walk to the front of the church and take the money from the special speaker. One guy did this. Did the special speaker ask the guy to return the money to him? No – he did not. The guy got to keep the money. Did the guy deserve to keep the money that was given to him by the special speaker? No – he did not. The guy had not earned the money but . . . that guy did exactly what the special speaker asked all the guys and gals in the service to do if . . . the guy got up from where he was sitting, walked to the front and claimed the money. This is how hope is given to a guy, gal or kid who makes a decision of faith to believe in Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior. Jesus waits for a guy, gal or kid to make the faith decision to believe in Him. Jesus stands ready at the door – which you cannot see but which is very real which your grandpaa calls the faith/grace door, of the heart of every guy, gal and kid waiting for the guys, gals and kids who His Father chose for Him before His Father created planet Earth. Jesus accepts every guy, gal and kid who makes the faith decision to pass through the faith/grace door. It is a God implanted faith seed which gets you to the door and it is God’s grace which lets you through the door. As you pass through the faith/grace door, a number of things happen to you. You have your lives changed forever. You receive the peace and hope gifts. Verse 5 tells you “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Every guy, gal and kid who God through the Holy Spirit leads to make the faith decision to go through the faith/grace door, will receive the Holy Spirit. Do you know Who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does? Your grandpaa someday will have the opportunity to tell you Who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does. For now though, all you really need to know about the Holy Spirit is that He is your helper Who helps every guy, gal and kid who passes through the faith/grace door to live with the peace and hope gift which God gives to the guys, gals and kids who believe in His Son – Jesus.
There are guys and gals today who think that they do not deserve God’s unmerited grace. These guys and gals may have done something awful such as killing another guy or gal or have lived a very immoral life or have lived a life living off entitlements. No matter what you have done or will do, God’s grace is greater. The one thing which you need to remember is to always go to God instead of waiting for God to come to you. If the guy who went up front to get the money that had been offered to every guy and gal in the Aberdeen church had not gone up front, the guy would never have gotten the money – which he was able to keep. Peace and hope are two gifts which God is wanting to give to you; you just need to go up front to God to receive the gifts otherwise you will never have them.
Romans 5 (107)