Day 28 -- Hope isn't something we do, it's something we have.

1 Peter 1:1-11 (New Living Translation)

The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

Mike's Thoughts:
Hope is a great word. More often than not, it is a guaranteed thing in the bible. It's not a wish for things to come. When God gives you hope for eternal life, he isn't saying you can wish for it and it may come true. He is saying you are in. Because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we can believe and know we have a hope of salvation. However, God still calls us to live by faith. He gives us a hope that we WILL be in heaven on day. But he calls us to live out that hope. Verses 8 and 9 give us an indication of what it means to live it out: To love him and live out that love, which is to trust him. When we do that, we will have an inexpressible joy and salvation of our souls.

Prayer:
God, thanks for loving us. Thanks for not making us wonder if we can be in heaven. Thanks for making it clear that if we trust you we WILL be in heaven with you one day. Help us to trust you. Help us to connect with you, your spirit, and your people so that we can live out that life.--amen