Hope. We use that word in kind of a funny way. I hope we have pizza tonight. I hope the Bengals win this year. I really hope Grandma’s house doesn’t flood again. When we use hope like this, it is more like a wish, something we want but can’t really count on. You are probably tired of the disappointment that “hope” brings. Maybe even leery of it. You have hoped – and been disappointed – so many times, and you do not want to be hurt again.

But you are here looking for hope, not because you are stupid and gullible but because we all need hope to keep living. You want to know things will get better, that relationships can be healed, and the pain will stop. You need to know that someone loves you and cares for you – unconditionally. We are made for that real, definite, and certain hope. But hope that is more than wishful thinking can only be found in someone who never disappoints, who never fails to come through for us.

We here at Hope 100.7 are just regular people like you. Mothers, fathers, singles, older people, and some just starting out. We are all in different stages of life, but we all have a confident, unshakeable hope, and we want nothing more than for you to have the same thing. Our music is helpful and uplifting, but it is not our hope. We try to make a difference in our communities, but our good deeds do not bring us hope. Everything on this earth eventually ends or fails us.

And that is why our hope is found in Jesus. God, who created us and loved us from the very beginning, knows our pain and our disappointment, and He knows that even if we really try, we cannot fix anything on our own. So He gave us His Son, Jesus, to come live a perfect life and then die, taking the punishment we deserve because we have done wrong things, what the Bible calls sin. Our sin, whether it seems big or small, is our biggest problem. It is what keeps us from God, who is the only one who can give us real peace, forgiveness, complete and unconditional love – and hope.

Because Jesus didn’t just die. God raised Him from the dead, defeating our greatest enemies, sin and death. If you acknowledge what Jesus did for you, then God, who cannot lie, who cannot fail, who cannot disappoint, promises to be with you always, to comfort you, to give you everything you need in this life, and then to bring you to live with Him forever. That is hope. Knowing, confidently knowing, that you will never be alone again, that your guilt is gone, that your fear of death is taken away, and that you never again have to depend on broken people or things for your hope.

If you want that hope, if you want to know the real hope of the love of God that will never disappoint, there is no magic formula. The Bible says all you need to do is just, wherever you are, quietly or out loud, talk to God. Admit you are a sinner, that your sin is keeping you from God, believe that Jesus died so that you don’t have to, and that He rose from the dead, so that you can live forever with Him. The Bible also says that when one sinner comes to God, the angels in heaven rejoice. We here at Hope 100.7 do not need to know if you prayed this today and are now forgiven and free, but we would love to rejoice with you if you do want to tell us or would like more information! You can reach us at (937) 424-1640 or send us a message here.