hope for tomorrow.

Have you ever felt so defeated and so deep in despair, that simply getting out of bed in the morning was a task that seemed too big to tackle? Have you ever felt nothing, and I mean NOTHING was going right for you? Have you ever felt, that even despite your best efforts to move forward, that the only way you seem to be going is backwards? You seem to be in a downward spiral and all around you, all you see is hopelessness? Well, take heart, weary one... When all our fleshly eyes can see is darkness and despair, and all our saddened hearts can feel is hopelessness and hurt... This is NOT the end of the story! 

Let me take you to a day, a very dark day... Over 2000 years ago, to a place called Calvary - the very place where Jesus was crucified! Yes, Jesus, the perfect Son of God, nailed to a tree, left to die like a criminal...by the very ones He came to save. This day is now reflected upon and set aside, year in, year out, every Friday before Easter Sunday... and the name of this very dark day is GOOD FRIDAY! Good?! Good?! How so? The perfect Son of God being hung on a tree... how, oh how can this be deemed a GOOD day? Dear friend, it is indeed a GOOD day, a very good day! For on this day, when the devil thought his plan had won, when all around darkness seemed to have claimed the victory, when all hope seemed lost, and despair seemed so great, that our eyes could see NOTHING ELSE... Yes, on THIS VERY DAY, the curtain was torn in two... the payment for your sin and mine was paid in full, and the perfect Son of God was nailed to that tree to pay a debt He did now owe, but one that you and I could never ever pay... and it was OUR SIN that put Him there, and HIS LOVE for YOU, even you, even ME, that perfect love KEPT HIM THERE! Oh, what a glorious day! Love so amazing, so divine... Love was shown to you and me! And though darkness is all our eyes could see, the plan is greater BY FAR than what our fleshly eyes can see! God's plan was not finished! Look out Friday, Sunday's a comin'...

​Sunday! Sunday! A glorious day, the day which showed Friday, to truly be GOOD FRIDAY... "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came  down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ... The angel said to the woman, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.'" (Matthew 28:1-7) ... See that, dear reader, Jesus was not there, even though they were looking for Him. So, even now, when you are looking for Him, the author and giver of ALL TRUE HOPE, though your fleshly eyes cannot see Him, He is RISEN, working out His perfect plan! He is RISEN, having conquered the eternal death penalty that you and I owed! He is RISEN, defeating forever the powers of darkness! He is RISEN, making open the way by which you and I and all of mankind can come to the Father and live eternally with Him! He is RISEN, and now hope is alive, hope is real, hope is HERE! Because HE LIVES, we can now face forever... Yes, even in those darkest days, because the Bible tells us in Romans 8:28, that ALL THINGS are working together for the good of those who love HIM! 

Those who love HIM... that right there, friend... that is the pivotal hinge by which the door of ALL HOPE swings! Do you, yes YOU... Do YOU love HIM? Is He YOUR Savior? Your Friend? Darkness oftentimes takes over this earth, darkness often impedes our eyesight, yet there is a greater and grander plan at work... God's plan! Your biggest problem is not your earthly issues or anything your eyes or my eyes can see... Mankind's biggest problem is the SIN problem which we could not pay, cannot pay, and never will be able to pay! But, alas, HOPE IS HERE! Jesus paid your debt! He paid my debt! Come to Him, call on Him...to save you! And at that pivotal moment of history, you are forever grafted into HIS STORY! You are engraved on the Palm of His Hand and nothing in this world - NO, NOTHING, not ANYTHING - can take that away! This is the beginning point - "Seek first HIS Kingdom, and HIS Righteousness, and ALL these things will be given to you." (Matthew 6:33) ... When we seek HIM first, and use eyes of FAITH to see beyond dark circumstances here on earth, He guides us, helps us, works all things out for our good! I can tell you by experience, you WILL INDEED look back on the darkest of days and even THANK HIM, for He was working out a more perfect plan than you or me or anyone here on earth could have EVER devised! He is Risen, you can face tomorrow! He is RISEN! RISEN, INDEED! Happy Resurrection Sunday! ​