Hello my name is Casey Hasselkus and Christ is in me - the HOPE of glory.
As you could see from my previous post on here, I've been rather consumed lately with the concept of HOPE. I would risk the thought that HOPE is in fact life changing. Once there's been a taste, there's no turning around or walking away.
HOPE in general, just as a concept is pretty powerful as is, but I'd also argue that there is a limit - somewhere it caps off. It leaves you hanging... pondering the question, What or Who is my hope in? And Why?
I've also been thinking about Where hope is fueled, or the lack of it. Where is it that I most often recognize hope? Where is it that hopelessness seems so overwhelming?
My mind; thought-life. It's a pretty active place most of the time.
Hopelessness has made its home there many a time. The lack of confident expectation of good. Best friends with society and kept alive within the Church - accompanied by expectation. I once thought it even used to speak my language, but I was mistaken. I've discovered a better way. Full of life.
Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and [that] we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Un-biblical thought patterns (also known as negative self-talk) create strongholds, fueling this hope void spoken of. Think of it this way: I can't always stop a bird from pooping on my head, but I can keep it from building its nest there. It's not about what thought has popped up in us today, but what we have dwelt upon that carries significance. We don't have to fall prey to Deceiver or listen to the King of Lies any longer. As one of my pastor's recently shared, "Let's make a decision here and today to not encourage the devil. I don't wanna feed him. I don't wanna have him over for dinner. I don't wanna motivate or entertain him either." The list goes on.
Hope means confident expectation of good. God's nature is Good. That's who He is. HE is HOPE. We carry that. We carry Him and release His goodness that He may be glorified. If Christ is IN me... the HOPE of GLORY (Col. 1:27) and I make my every thought obedient TO Christ, I am making my every thought obedient to the hope of glory! Christ in me is the confident expectation of God being glorified. And what does God being glorified look like? Think of that one for a while, and it's pretty mind-blowing that we're a part of that picture.
Hope is very intentional. On purpose. Check out 1 Peter 3:15. As Christ is sanctified or made holy as Lord in our hearts, there is instruction to be prepared with a response or answer "to everyone who asks [us] to give an account for the hope that is in [us]." The why behind the what. Jesus never wanted us to be blind.
Hope makes peace possible. Extraordinary peace. The Truth is that we don't have to live in intense conflict every day of your life (B. Johnson). The Christian life is an incredible mystery.
Hope makes it possible for our external world to bow to our internal world, and not the other way around.
Hope makes the renewal of the mind attainable. 2 Cor. 10:5 as mentioned above. Discouraging thoughts are just a waste of time. They are illegal and actually are place of habitation for the demonic. Wrong thinking fuels it and increases its habitation. So stop it. It's interesting to note that the pulling down of strongholds actually requires an act of violence, and the truth is that we actually can because Jesus gave us full authority to conquer and reign. He has set us up for success! He is with us and remember, IN us!
Hope heals too. And it's not limited to looking one certain way. Placing our HOPE in CHRIST heals our hearts, which takes us by the hand and leads our whole person (spirit, soul, body) through transformation.
Hope gives us reason to smile. And laugh. This is good. Perhaps a large part of His nature. I bet He smiles a lot. And laughing is one of His favorite hobbies. After all, I don't know about you, but I can be pretty entertaining. And I know He loves it.
Peace as it should be. Justice as it should be. Right standing with God. Not just Christ; it's the righteousness of Christ = as it should be. At some point we must cease to strive. Make a choice. Life or death. Blessing or curse. It beckons us all day long. We get to choose. Must. Trying does not exist. Either we do or we don't. We either step out or we stand still. God does not see my sin. It's in the sea of forgetfulness - as far as the East is from the West. I have Christ in me and I choose to move.
Amen? Amen. Let's live our lives. Seasoned with grace, full of HOPE.
PS this is Lovely. Enjoy! yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqFU4sMYqdA&list=UUzDpQU8kdsr_jwRbHHmUmMQ
