Finding Hope in Christ: A Bible Reading Plan
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The document is a reading plan designed to inspire hope in Christ, featuring a series of articles that address various life challenges and how to find strength in faith. Each of the seven days offers insight into different aspects of hope, emphasizing God's promises and the resilience of the human spirit through trials. It also includes reflections, prayers, and scriptural references to encourage believers to maintain their hope steadfastly, even in difficult times.
Finding Hope in Christ: A Bible Reading Plan
- 2. Find hope in Christ as you are reminded of His amazing promises. This reading plan comprised of articles from a variety of Bibles by Zondervan Publishers offers insights into having hope during a various aspects of life.
- 3. Table of Contents Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Day 5: Day 6: Day 7: God Is Bigger Than Your Worldly Troubles A Recipe for Hope How Can We Hope in a God Who Abandons Us? Holding Out Hope I Can Do All This Soon and Very Soon Hope Out Loud
- 4. Day 1: God Is Bigger Than Your Worldly Troubles Have you ever stopped to think how different life would be if we were still living in Eden? No broken relationships. No difficult pregnancies. No squabbles with spouses. No financial woes. No cancer. No feeling far away from God. (And this list doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface!) Instead we live in a world marred by the effects of sin. We daily face all kinds of pain, trouble, suffering, weeping, loss and despair. The temptation is to blame our woes on God, but let’s be honest: The human race did this to itself. All God ever did was love us, and — when we rebelled — implement a plan to rescue us. The promise above — a statement by Jesus to his followers — is a sobering assessment of the way things are. But it is also a hopeful reminder of the once and future Paradise for which we were created. In light of such truth, author Elisabeth Elliot counsels us: “Refuse self-pity. Refuse it absolutely. It is a deadly thing with power to destroy you. Turn your thoughts to Christ who has already carried your griefs and sorrows.” God’s Promise to Me: • Trials and sorrows are part of living in a fallen world. • I am bigger and more powerful than any worldly troubles you face. My Prayer to God: Heavenly Father, trials and sorrows are a normal part of life. I don’t like this truth, but it reminds me of my need for you, God. I can take heart in the fact that you will have the final word. I praise you because you are powerful and sovereign over my life — even the hard times. Always keep me looking to you. Taken from Once a Day Bible Promises “Ihavetoldyouthesethings,sothatinmeyoumayhavepeace.Inthisworldyouwillhavetrouble. Buttakeheart!Ihaveovercometheworld.” John16:33
- 5. Day 2: A Recipe for Hope I remember as a youngster watching my mom make homemade preserves. What that meant for me was that I would see some terrific jam or jelly on the table for dinner. God will sometimes stir up ingredients in your life like suffering, struggling and pain to remind you to depend on him. Even though it may not seem like it at the time, what God has prepared for you will yield a much sweeter and more desirable person if you can endure the testing and hurt. God promises he will be with you in it and through it, and he will preserve your life. The process is not always enjoyable in any realm of thinking, but parenting will occasionally test you to preserving moments. In those moments, you must be aware that the promise of his presence on the other side is your hope Parenting Principle: Thank God for his promises as they make the best preserves. Points to Ponder: • What has God brought you through? • How have you learned from that experience? • What have been some experiences you can share with your children so they can learn in this area? Taken from Once a Day Nurturing Great Kids Mycomfortinmysufferingisthis: Yourpromisepreservesmylife. Psalm119:50
- 6. Day 3: How Can We Hope in a God Who Abandons Us? Jeremiah steadfastly recognized that the Lord had not abandoned his people, despite the pain of their situation. Rather, God’s people had abandoned him. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, is also called the prophet of hope, because he foresaw a day when the Lord would reign in the midst of a restored, renewed and reconciled people — people who had finally returned to him. Jesus knew this paradox between abandonment and hope. In the midst of his suffering and death on the cross, he cried, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mt 27:46). Yet Jesus also knew that he would be resurrected on the third day, opening the gate of eternal life to all believers. The despair of the cross has now become the gift of life to perishing sinners. Abandonment, sorrow, struggle and pain — all these are transitory. Wholeness, healing, joy and peace are permanent, for they are part of the very nature of God. That is what sustains the believer through difficult times. Although Jeremiah grieved over Jerusalem’s destruction, he knew God would prevail. Taken from NIV Quest Study Bible TheLORD isgoodtothosewhosehopeisinhim, totheonewhoseekshim; Lamentations3:25
- 7. Day 4: Holding Out Hope …We can’t be sure of the identity of Ethan the Ezrahite, the ascribed author of Psalm 89. Perhaps he wrote this psalm in response to this event in the life of Rehoboam. Or the occasion may have come more than 300 years later with the attack on Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the exile of King Jehoiachin (see 2 Kings 24:8–17). At any rate, the psalmist was depressed and mystified as he asked, “Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David?” (Psalm 89:49). The first half of the psalm reflects on God’s promises to David and his royal lineage. But beginning at verse 38, Ethan’s tone changes: “You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame” (verse 45). Ethan’s psalm resonates with some of us with regard to our marriages. Every couple that celebrates a wedding echoes the enthusiasm of the first 37 verses: “God’s love endures forever and will shine through our lives!” But too many relationships run into hard times. For example, one couple we know struggled through decades of infidelity. She partied with her friends from work, and he cozied up to other women while on business trips. When the couple finally decided to call it quits, she realized she was pregnant. Unsure of what to do, they put parting on hold. During that time, they fell in love all over again. Some years later I was part of their 25th anniversary celebration in a rented hall. When the couple stood to thank the large gathering of friends for coming, the tears flowed. They confessed sins. They told of their early hopes and wayward paths. They spoke of losing faith and questioning God’s promises. Then they revealed why all of us had been invited to the party. Each of us, they said, had kept faith in God for them even while they had lost courage and confidence. They had tried, failed, prayed and grown bitter. But we had wrestled with God on their behalf, using both praise and lament, similar to the way Ethan did in Psalm 89. That night we laughed together in the great joy of God’s promises—and we wept together over the pain of lost opportunities and faded hopes. And as we lingered over final good wishes, we recognized that life in all its shades is a faith journey. —Wayne Brouwer Taken from NIV Couples’ Devotional Bible Howlong,LORD?Willyouhideyourselfforever? Howlongwillyourwrathburnlikefire? -Psalm89:46
- 8. Day 5: I Can Do All This I can do all this. Paul uses a Gr. verb that means “to be strong” or “to have strength” (cf. Ac 19:16, 20; Jas 5:16). He had strength to withstand “all this” (vv. 11, 12), including both difficulty and prosperity in the material world. through him who gives me strength. The Gr. word for “gives strength” means “to put power in.” Because believers are in Christ (Gal 2:20), He infuses them with His strength to sustain them until they receive some provision (Eph 3:16– 20; 2Co 12:10). Taken from NIV The MacArthur Study Bible Icandoallthisthroughhimwhogivesmestrength. Philippians4:13
- 9. Day 6: Soon and Very Soon By: Andraé Crouch Soon and very soon We are going to see the King Soon and very soon We are going to see the King Soon and very soon We are going to see the King Hallelujah, hallelujah We are going to see the King No more crying there We are going to see the King Hallelujah, hallelujah We are going to see the King No more dying there We are going to see the King No more dying there Hallelujah, hallelujah We are going to see the King Hallelujah, hallelujah Should there be any rivers we must cross Should there be any mountains we must climb God will supply all the strength that we need Give us grace ’til we reach the other side We have come from every nation God knows each of us by name Jesus took his blood and he washed our sins And he washed them all away Yes, there are some of us Who have laid down our lives But we all shall live again On the other side Hallelujah. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ah Andraé Crouch is a pastor, songwriter, producer and artist who has had an immense impact on the Christian music world over the last 50 years. His unique style of songwriting and performing brought African-American and white audiences together like no artist before or since. “Soon and Very Soon” — one of his most popular congregational songs — has been beloved for so long that many people believe it is an old hymn. The song was actually written in 1976, however, and has been recorded many times since then. “Soon and Very Soon” employs the simple style of traditional spiritual, from its easy-to-learn lyrics and rhythmic patterns to its hopeful message. Spirituals often used music to deliver and to reinforce hopeful messages of future relief from the temporal suffering and bondage experienced by slaves and other oppressed people. “Soon and Very Soon” is certainly no exception. The lyric features resolute optimism about a coming deliverance from this world of tears, death and oppression. Taken from NIV Worship Together Bible Icandoallthisthroughhimwhogivesmestrength. Philippians4:13
- 10. Day 7: Hope Out Loud •What is something that you are confident about? •What does it mean to be treacherous? The Bible teaches us in many places and with many different illustrations that God will be faithful to those who faithfully hope in him. This verse tells us that God will not allow shame to come to us. Sometimes it is difficult to have hope. It can be especially difficult to hope out loud. Sometimes, others are threatened by our hope because they have none, and they work to hurt those who are hopeful. These people are being “treacherous,” which means they are faithless, deceitful and untrustworthy. That’s why this verse becomes so important to believers. We need to know that God will not forget us. He will not allow us to be shamed for our hope. When we put our hope in God, we will be victorious. This should give us tremendous confidence. Believers should not be afraid to hope. We should hope boldly — out loud — because we know that God is real, and our hope in him is real. Prayer: Dear God, thank you for giving us hope. Thank you for protecting those who hope in you. Let our hope in you give us confidence each day. Amen. Taken from Once a Day At the Table Hewhotestifiestothesethingssays,“Yes,Iamcomingsoon.” Amen.Come,LordJesus. 21ThegraceoftheLordJesusbewithGod’speople.Amen. Revelation22:20-21
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- 12. More Reading Plans Coming Soon! • NIV First Century Study Bible • NIV Discover God’s Heart • NIV Real-Life Devotional for Women • NIV Case for Christ Study Bible • NIV Streams in the Desert