Road to Hope

It was interesting that Sunday's message reiterated that we are "overcomers" through Christ, just as I learned the last few weeks in "climbing the mountain". This series that my pastor is going through on hope, reminds us that our past is forgiven, God maps the details of our present, and He guarantees our future. Our hope is anchored by Christ's resurrection and His expected Return. Based on the passage in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10, we have hope because we know that God loves us, that He has given us the Spirit to fulfill His purposes through our lives, and we look forward to glory. Our stories in heaven won't be how easy life was on earth; but, how God enabled us to overcome. ("Before every message comes the mess") He closed the message with a variation on The Road to Success Is Not Straight poem which went something like this:

The road to hope is not straight. There is a curve called Failure A loop called confusion, speed bumps called Trials, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flats called Suffering. But, if I have a tank full of Love, a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, insurance called Faith, my GPS fixed on the Second Coming, A driver called Jesus, I will make it to a place called Heaven filled with Hope!