These first few weeks of 2020 I have been looking into HOPE as it is my chosen word for the year. I saw survival hope in Psalm 71:14 “But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.”, Hope in God’s Word, Psalm 119:114 “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.”, Hope in God’s steadfast Love, Psalm 33:18 “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,”, Hope in the future, Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” and daily Hope for living, Lamentations 3:21-23 ” But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Today’s verse helps me to see that God is my Total Hope, Psalm 62:5-7 
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.”
I love the truth of these words written by the psalmist David so long ago. They are truths confirmed throughout scripture. My hope comes from God alone. He is the one who stands by me and holds me in times of distress and trouble Psalm 107:13 “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” God is so strong and mighty, so sure and complete that He cannot be shaken, Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe. He gave me salvation through faith in Jesus, Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”. God alone is working in my life to mold and shape me into the person He desires me to be and shares His glorious attributes with me, Romans 5:3-5 “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” He is the holder of my salvation and sent the Holy Spirit as my guarantee, 2 Corinthians 1:22 “and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
Do these truths about God alone give you Hope for surviving, loving, learning and leaning on the truth of His Word, for looking into the future and for daily living? God is my total Hope and that Hope is in Him alone. He is and has all the hope I need. 
“Thank you Jesus for bringing God’s Hope to me.”
May you grab hold of His Hope today and be uplifted and strengthened.
Linda
These verses inspire, refresh, assure, and lead me to God. He alone is the one I can depend upon because I know He is faithful, merciful, keeps His promises and delights when I seek Him. He loves me with an eternal love that is steadfast and true and therefore I can place my hope in Him.
Join me as we begin this New Year by placing your Hope in God and walk expecting good from God as He is good to those who wait upon Him and place their hope in Him.
Today let’s look at the Hope we have in Scripture. Psalm 119:114 “
Delve into God’s Word in 2020 and discover HOPE for living.
How do you pray for others believers when you hear they are struggling, being persecuted, or have the desire to live and walk with Jesus each day? Paul gives us some guidelines for these prayers in Ephesians 1:15-19.
Today as you pray for others, let Paul’s guidelines of prayer for his fellow believers in Ephesus be on your mind. Give thanks for them, then ask God to give them wisdom, discernment, growth in truth and and understanding of who God is. Remember the words from James 5:16b ” The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Pray earnestly for your fellow believers and watch God work in their lives and in yours.
Your giving causes needs to be met and the receiver to be thankful = glorifies God.
Psalm 107:1-2 “Oh give thanks to the 
Make today one of proclamation and tell others about your good and loving God. He will hear you and be pleased by your faith and glorified in your testimony.
own praises. Do I give God thanks with my whole heart? Do I remind myself and others of how God has worked in my life?
But the 
His glory. Remember Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the 
This name of God is referred to in Psalm 3:3. “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” The name O Lord is YHWH and my glory is Jehovah-Kabodhi in Hebrew. David describes God as Lord, the one of glory and the lifter of his head. Have you ever thought about what God’s glory is? The Old Testament describes the glory cloud that led them in the wilderness and the ‘Sheikinah’ glory that filled the tabernacle and later the temple as the presence of God on earth. Moses asked to see God’s glory while on Mt Sinai but God told him he could not see His face and live. But, God said hide in the cleft of the rock and I will pass by. Exodus 33:20-22 
catch a glimpse of His glory. Ezekiel, the prophet, saw a vision of the throne room of God in heaven. Ezekiel 1:28 “
of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” Here is the first part of this verse in the Amplified, “
Jesus made this I AM statement during His upper room discourse with the disciples. He was giving important teaching to guide and give them hope as He knew the cross was upon Him. He states this message twice in John 15:1 and 5 with a slightly different emphasis each time. “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. ” Knowing that Israel was often referred to in the Old Testament as the vine, Jesus is saying that He is the true vine, the Messiah, and God is the ‘gardener’ in life. As the gardener God has a responsibility to keep us healthy and growing strong and that only happens if you are carefully pruned. The goal of God has for us is to produce fruit in our lives and pruning will enable us to be more fruitful. Remaining with Jesus, walking with Him daily is the way to stay connected to Him. If we lose touch, we will not and cannot be fruitful.
In verse 5, Jesus reconfirms that He is the vine. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus identifies us as branches off Him. We are connected and grow strong through that connection. He adds that being with Him, walking with Him daily, remaining in Him will cause us to be fruitful. That fruit in our lives is not possible without Him.
This transformation is know as sanctification and is a life long process as we walk with Jesus. Galatians 5:22-23 describes some of this ‘fruit’ that God desires in our life that is made possible only through knowing Jesus. ” But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! These are always good in our life and give glory to God.
shape your character so that you grow more and more like Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus each day and walk with Him. “For nothing will be impossible for God.” Luke 1:3 Watch how He will transform you day by day.
One of the images presented in scripture is of God as our eternal King. This seems like an earthly title but when we consider His kingdom and what it is like, we realize that His reign is way beyond any earthly kingdom. Jesus tell us in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” 
David knew God was and is king forever. Psalm 145:1 “
Through salvation in Jesus, we are citizens of heaven, praise the Lord! Take heart in Philippians 3:20, “ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
Fearless Living 