HOPE CITY

We are able to handle our day to day life because we can see ahead of each day. We can put up with circumstances that grind down our spirit if we have a hope for the future. When any outside influence, be it another person, a family, a company, an organization, or a government takes away our hope for the future then we are truly diminished.

In a circumstance where an outside influence diminishes our hope, we must battle to retain it. Our ability to hold in our heart and mind a vision of tomorrow is the ingredient that keeps us going today. Men will battle against incredible odds of success on nothing more than a vision of tomorrow. Some men have a vision of wealth or fame. Other men have smaller visions. Some men have no vision at all. When our vision of tomorrow is cut off we must construct a new vision or turn to a source that turns our present darkness into Light.

Acts 26:6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. (NIV)

We must not languish in the darkness without a light of hope. What would be ideal would be to have within us a hope that is indestructible.

We need to find a person that defeated death. We need to find a person that was a martyr. We need to find a person full of life and wisdom, both before and after their martyrdom, yet came back from death. If we could find such a person we would have a person to believe in.

Mark 16:6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. (KJV)

Even when we found find this person who came back from death, we would still need a daily hope or a daily power to give us meaning and purpose in our life.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (KJV)

Eternity in heaven could start for any of us in the next few seconds or it may be years away. However, we cannot just live for eternity. We must have a consuming, believable, achievable passion for the next day. That consuming, believable, achievable passion must come from a consuming, believable, achievable mission. A mission is bigger than a goal or an objective. A mission is a consuming passion and vision you take with you to the grave. Some goals are only momentary. Some are daily. Some are weekly, monthly, or yearly. However, a mission transcends all of these.

A mission is a charge or purpose. A goal is an aim, an object, a purpose, an intent, or an objective.

When we cannot believe or see the future, we become a lost creature. In nearly every religion, there is, embedded in the belief, a portrayal of a future.

When a man or a woman loses hope then he or she essentially loses his or her future and his or her life. Some persons lose hope because they have made mistakes and they must carry the consequences rest of their lives. Some persons lose hope because they have acquired habits that have made them a veritable prisoner. Some persons lose hope because they believe they are not worthy or are failures and these persons have given up trying to succeed.

Our ability to see a believable and achievable tomorrow is what makes us get out of bed in the morning. When the ultimate adversity comes into our life like losing a loved one or losing our health, we absolutely must find a believable and achievable tomorrow. For some people this idea of tomorrow needs to be nothing more than looking forward to a TV re-run. For others, their idea of a believable and achievable tomorrow must contain a vision of heaven.

1 Timothy 4:9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10 (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. (NIV)