Tag: Hope

Thankfulness Day 10: A loving, compassionate God awaits all believers

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Our thankfulness verse today comes from 2 Chronicles 30:9. Many of the Israelites had abandoned the worship of God and had fallen away from faith. King Hezekiah sent out a decree inviting worshipers to come celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. His impassioned plea resonates with us today as God makes this same promise and claim to us if we will return to Him. “For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

Our God is compassionate and loving and graciously promises to receive me if I come back to Him. A life without God is one lived in captivity to the world, a bondage He desires to free us from. He is always waiting to receive us in faith. These words echo the words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28-30 ”  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

How do I know God will not reject me if I come back to Him in faith? Jesus repeatedly spoke of rejoicing over those that were lost being found or returned home. In Luke 11:7 Jesus gives the parable of the lost sheep, “7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Also in the parable of the woman with the lost coin, Luke 15:9-10 “And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” God is gracious and forgiving and desires us to be in relationship with Him. Remember the truth of John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” God truly loves us so much that He sent Jesus to redeem us through His death on the cross.

What part of 2 Chronicles 30:9 resonates a spirit of thanksgiving with you today? Are you thankful for a loving and compassionate God who desires that none should perish? 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Are you thankful for the freedom from sin He offers in Jesus? John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

There is much to be thankful for because of the loving, compassionate attributes of our heavenly Father. May they seep into your heart and mind today creating true thankfulness towards Him.

Linda

Thankfulness Day 9: We have a recipe for freedom from worry! Yeah!

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Matthew 6:31-34 contains our thanksgiving challenge for today!

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

I labeled this as a thanksgiving challenge because Jesus’ principles for living go against our natural tendencies and desires. Jesus is asking us to live fully committed to God to receive provision and freedom from worry. God promises relief from daily worry if we will put knowing Him and His righteousness first in our life. How wonderful a life free from the stress of worry about our circumstances and needs would be. Jesus is proclaiming the following truths about life with Him: God does not want our life consumed with worry about everyday things or the future. God is sovereign and is greater than anything I could possibly face in life. Seeking to know God and His righteousness ways leads to a life free from worry. God know each day can be a challenge and requires full focus on Him to meet these challenges with trust in Him.

Can you do this? Yes, all things are yes in Christ! Focus on Jesus, knowing Him and seeking Him. God will keep His promises and free you from worry. Let the knowledge of Him and the freedom He provides create in you a sense of true thanksgiving and praise today.

Linda

Thankfulness Day 8: He’s rejoicing over me!

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Today’s verse comes from Zephaniah 3:17. “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness;  he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Zephaniah was a prophet to the nation of Israel in approximately 700 B.C. who had a message of repentance. He warned of coming judgement if they did not turn from their worship of idols. He also focused on the coming day of the Lord and the rejoicing that would bring. He proclaims that God is in our midst, He will save and that He loves and rejoices over each of us with singing. What a wonderful message of hope and reassurance for today. We know Jesus came showing that He saves, loves, cares, protects, holds us in His hands and rejoices over us with gladness. Let His gladness and love sink into your soul, filling you with thanksgiving and hope. Knowing that God rejoices and sings over me, a sinner, gives me great hope and creates in me a thankful heart. Knowing He alone will quiet my heart gives me peace.

Be filled with thanksgiving in knowing you are loved and that your Savior, Jesus, is rejoicing over you today!

Linda

Thankfulness Day 6: God’s Word has Absolute, Eternal Truths

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1 Peter 1:23-25 has a powerful message for us today. Peter was writing in this chapter about our Living Hope, which is Jesus, and he calls us in faith to live holy lives. He concludes his message with these powerful words. “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers,  and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

God promises that my new imperishable life in Christ comes from a living, eternal savior. God also promises that His Word will never fade or fail but will stand forever, our eternal truth. We live in a world that is constantly changing in complexity and variability. Nothing is absolute in our world. But God is saying that His Word is eternal and the truths we find there are absolutely true, unchanging for all eternity. What a comfort that brings to our volatile lives. God and His Word are absolute truths we can count on now and forever. That is indeed good news!

Take heart from these words and their truths. Let the absolute truth of God’s Word and His eternal promises create in you a spirit of true thanksgiving today. Good news brings smiles, hope and thanksgiving that come from knowing God and trusting in His Word.

Linda

Thankfulness Day 3: I’m His for sure!

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Do you know your friend’s favorite verse? It would be one they mention often. One of the verses in today’s passage is my friend’s favorite and I can’t hear it without thinking of her and the truth contained in the verse. Just as the verses say all believers were given to Jesus by God the Father, her love of this verse is a gift to me.

John 10:27-30 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” There are so many truths in this passage about Jesus that bring hope and assurance to all who follow Him. I have underlined my friend’s favorite verses. The truth contained in them is amazing. Once we belong to Jesus no one or nothing can take us away from Him. God the Father will not allow it. We are His eternally and can live with that assurance each day of our life. That creates in me a sense of thankfulness, peace, hope and reassurance that God in sovereign, all powerful and is greater than anything or anyone or any circumstance I can ever face.

Let the hope and peace of this truth fill you with thankfulness today. God is worthy of all our praise and thanksgiving.

Linda

Thankfulness Day 2: Forgiveness brings Hope

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Knowing that God hears me when I call out to Him gives me great assurance in this troubled world, but knowing I’m forgiven gives me peace and hope. Today’s verse is Isaiah 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,  and I will not remember your sins.” Scripture tells us that when God forgives He does it completely and puts it out of His sight (Micah 7:19 into the depths of the sea, Isaiah 38:17 behind His back) and will not remember or hold them against us ever again (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17)

Why is this important? God is holy and cannot look upon, tolerate or live with sin. Man is born with a sin nature and the only remedy for cleaning us up is to be covered in Christ’s righteous blood through faith in His atoning work on the cross and resurrection. As this verse states, God provided Jesus to atone for our sin for His sake so He could look upon us, and we could have restored fellowship with Holy God. Knowing that God completely forgives me when I seek His forgiveness is so reassuring. Knowing that He forgives and will not hold my sins against me ever again gives me peace of mind. To experience that assurance and peace, I need to regularly confess my sins and seek communion with God through His Word and in prayer. He desires that I know and love Him just as He knows and loves me.

Let the truth of Isaiah 43:25 speak to you today. Let God’s promise of forgiveness give you hope and create in you a greater thankfulness towards your loving, merciful God.

Stand on His promise of forgiveness with thanksgiving in your heart.

Linda

November, Reasons for Thankfulness, Day 1

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This month I will be endeavoring to focus on verses that give us spiritual truths about God that lead us toward a greater sense of thankfulness. It is my prayer that through greater thankfulness we will see how God meets our every need, even or especially during this time of pandemic and social unrest. God has brought to my mind new verses I discovered last year in a study of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 33:2-3 in the Amplified translation 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name, 3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’

This is a truth from God’s Word that I can cling to as I seek to live for Him. God promises to reveal things to me from His Word, through my experiences, through prayer and through other believers. He wants me to understand who He is so I can hold onto His promises and truths more tightly. He wants me to trust and rely upon Him to guide me each day. This truth about God and how He desires for me to know Him, creates in me a great sense of Thankfulness. Who am I that the God of the universe would desire to know me? What a privilege it is to know God, even the little bit I know and feel. Through His indwelling Spirit, I can see God more clearly and understand better what He has for me to do as I walk with Him.

May this truth from Jeremiah 33:3 cause you to call upon Him in prayer and open His Word so He can speak to you personally. Let this create in you a spirit of thanksgiving, assurance, hope and love for God as you open your heart to Him.

Linda

Facing the World through Thankfulness

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As this pandemic has endured longer than I ever imagined possible back in late February and March, I have been in need of words of encouragement. I focused on the book of Philippians as Paul focused on joy in that letter. Other areas where I am in need of encouragement are hope, assurance, fellowship, diligence in prayer, strength from the Word and peace. As I reflect upon each of these, I am stuck by how each will come to me more readily if I develop and mature my attitude towards thankfulness. In future blogs I will delve into these topics as they relate to thankfulness and see what encouragement God has for me and hopefully you from His Word.

Each day during November, I will seek to leave you with a verse or verses about thankfulness and how it brings us all the things we need. Today I will leave you with the verse from 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. This is my go to verse this year as I face the difficulties of isolation, fear, helplessness, and even regret. Knowing that whatever may come, God has my back and has enough grace to cover me. That gives me hope and I am thankful for His wonderful care and love. Knowing that God has this and that in my weakness, He can be made strong helps me to develop an attitude of thankfulness for His complete control and sovereignty!

May you be lifted up today and let’s look forward to a November filled with Thankfulness and power, through the name of Jesus.

Linda

Sanctified? Called? What about you?

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As a church we have completed reading Deuteronomy and are beginning 1 Corinthians. I am looking forward to our selections as we wade into the streams God has for us in His Word.

1 Corinthians begins with a typical greeting from the writer, the Apostle Paul, to the believers in Corinth. This was a busy city that bustled with commerce of goods, services and ideas. Many of ideas were in direct conflict with the new doctrines presented in the gospel and Paul uses this letter format to instruct, lead and encourage this early church.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul begins by reminding them of his commission and call to preach the truth about Jesus. He reminds the believers that they are all sanctified in Jesus and also have a calling. As I meditated upon these facts this week, I thought about my own sanctification and call to faith in Jesus. Do I feel sanctified? The dictionary defines sanctification as being made holy, consecrated and set apart by God. That means that God has set me apart and made me holy through the blood of Jesus. Am I acting like one that is set apart in holiness? Do I take time to realize that God has a plan and a purpose for me as a believer? Through my faith in Jesus, I am to be a light for Him in this world, just as the Corinthians were to be lights of hope and truth in their pagan society. Do I feel called? By virtue of the fact that I profess belief in Jesus, I have made the decision to follow Him- that is my calling. Following Jesus can lead in many different ways and each is unique to us. I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God knows just how He will use each one of us. We just need to be open and willing to follow Him wherever and whenever He leads. Are you willing?

Lastly, Paul sincerely wanted the believers to know that he wanted them blessed with grace and peace from God. Do we seek the grace and peace of Jesus towards our fellow believers? Unity of believers was important in Paul’s day and is as essentially important today. We need to stand together for truth, showing grace and peace towards others.

Blessings as we delve into Corinthians together. I have attached some photos of ancient Corinth which was an amazing site to visit.

Linda

Is there a blessing for me?

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The Stream of Water for this week is all of Deuteronomy 33. In this chapter Moses delivers a blessing for each of the tribes of Israel by name. As I read through them, I marveled at the complete knowledge God has of tribe. He knew their past, present and future. He knew where their weaknesses and strengths were. We can take comfort in the fact that God knows all those things about us too. It brought to mind Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God has plans for each of us just like He did for the Israelites.

The portion of this passage that is most meaningful to me is verses 26-29. “There is no one like the God of Israel.
    He rides across the heavens to help you,
    across the skies in majestic splendor.
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
    and his everlasting arms are under you.
He drives out the enemy before you;
    he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’
28 So Israel will live in safety,
    prosperous Jacob in security,
in a land of grain and new wine,
    while the heavens drop down dew.
29 How blessed you are, O Israel!
    Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord?
He is your protecting shield
    and your triumphant sword!
Your enemies will cringe before you,
    and you will stomp on their backs!”

I love His message to me: 26- God is my helper no matter where I am He is with me. 27- God is eternal and always supports and protects me. 28- God has my safety in mind and has new provisions for me. 29- God is my protector, defender and always has my back! These same promises can be found elsewhere in the Bible as God desires us to know that He is for us and wants us to live full, productive lives grounded and protected by in His love.

May the God of Israel show Himself to you today as He comes alongside you to love, protect, defend and support you. Trust Him as Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” God keeps His promises. Live today like you really believe it!

Linda