I have hope because of:
Who God Is
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)
Who Jesus Is
He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
The Gift and Work of the Holy Spirit in My Life
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
God’s Way of Bringing Me to Himself
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and his will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace which he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ … to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
(Ephesians 1:3-10)
God’s Assurance That Despite Being Gay, I am Fully Accepted by Him in Jesus
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)
How God Manifests His Love to me Each Day
His banner over me is love. (Song of Songs 2:4)
His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
The Lord
- forgives all your sins
- heals all your diseases
- redeems your life from the pit
- crowns you with love and compassion
- satisfies your desire with good things
- does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities
- has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west
- has compassion on those who fear him, as a father has compassion on his children
(Psalm 103)
God’s Assurance Concerning my Future
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
The Inheritance That is Mine in Jesus in the Next Life
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
And to summarize why I am full of hope:
Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
A translator by profession, Dave Reid lives in a rural town in a wine-producing area of the Western Cape, South Africa, where he retired with his partner in 2003 after living in Cape Town. A lifelong amateur church musician and organist, he spent most of his corporate career in leadership development and change management consulting.