December 12 -- HOPE

I have been involved in an in-depth bible study of Revelation this past year and the biggest surprise for me in all that I have learned is that it has given me new strength in hope. God does have a plan and God does win. I can be even more confident in that now. We all can. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out in to our hearts...” Romans 5:5

I can look at the current state of our world, listen to the news, and lose hope or can, instead, remember how these issues make the teachings of Jesus even more relevant, more critical than ever. I do not have to have grandiose ideas on trying to change the world which only frustrate in their impossibility but I can offer compassion or forgiveness or love in any one situation. In doing this, hope replaces despair. I then prove, to myself and to others, that God does, indeed, win.

– Nancy Scott