"gifts You Can't Buy at the Store: hope" Jeremiah 33: 14-16

Reflecting on hope.

1.  The text comes from the 33 chapter of the prophet Isaiah.  As one of the major illustrations, I am considering the scene in Jeremiah 32.  In that passage,  word comes to the prophet Jeremiah that his cousin was selling some land.  Jeremiah buys it.  Imagine the statement Jeremiah makes -- Jerusalem is on the brink of destruction, and Jeremiah buys property.  He buys because he trusts in the future that God has.

2.  Jim Wallis: “Hope is believing in spite of the evidence -- then working to change the evidence.”

3.  Steve Earle's song:  One of my favorite tunes is “Some Dreams,” which was used as the theme song for The Rookie and embodies his tenacity and determination. 

some dreams 
they never come true
they never come true
yeah, but some dreams do  http://donteatalone.com/an-earring-of-hope/   January 18, 2012 

4.  What is the differnce between a dream and hope in God?

5.  Our Christian hope is not of this world.  cynicism grows out of our hope and disappointment in what happens in our world.

6. I want to be clear that giving gifts is not a bad thing.  In fact, one of the great things about giving gifts is to see the surprise and excitement the person shows as he or she receives the gift.  But how do we compare that instant gratification (for both giver and receiver) with the hope to which God calls us.  It was clearly not instant gratification -- just ask Israel.

7. I have searched for hope on Amazon.com to see what I could buy for hope.  The list is rather diverse and fascinating, but I'm pretty sure none of them qualify as the hope to which Jeremiah refers.

8.  Perhaps we receive the gift of hope by faith?  Not just our faith, but the faith of those who have come before us.  The Israelites could believe Jeremiah because they knew the story of the exodus.

what do you think about hope?  is that long-term or short-term?  Do you need short-term results to believe in long-term hopes?