By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

Hopes Raised!

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“No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame…”
Psalm 25:3a

The palms came way too late.  We had hoped for a great celebration, a grand event heralding the beginning of Holy Week, but the palms came too late.  When we finally got them, it was after Easter, and as I opened the box, I could smell the mildew.  The palms were dead and our hopes were dashed…like the first Holy Week

All the hopes of Jesus’ disciples soared as He rode into Jerusalem, fulfilling the Messianic prophecies and causing thousands of followers to proclaim Him to be the Christ. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” echoed through the courts of the temple and every heart soared as Passover approached.

And then all their hopes were dashed.  Jesus was arrested, tried, beaten, betrayed, crucified, dead, buried.   And with His burial all their hopes and dreams were also killed.  The smell of death and defeat and grief were everywhere.

And then it happened!  The Lord Jesus rose from the dead and proclaimed Himself King of Life and Lord of Lords and with His resurrection, all hopes were raised.  Hope was not gone, hope had been raised out of death itself, and all those who had hoped in the Lord Jesus were not put to shame.  Hope was fulfilled in Him and His atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Are all your hopes dead?  Are your dreams shattered and broken, your life nothing but grief and tears?  In Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection, you will find true hope, hope that never disappoints, that is never put to shame.

Trust in Jesus, and you will never be put to shame.  In Him there is true and everlasting hope forever!  Trust in Jesus Christ, our Living Hope!

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado