Tag: Hope

Got Hope in 2020? Anchor it in God’s Steadfast Love.

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Hope-in-Gods-Steadfast-LoveAs we look at hope in scripture we see survival hope, hope in His Word and today I see hope in His steadfast love.  God’s love is an anchor for our soul and His love surrounds us 24/7.  Knowing God loves us- gives us Hope, knowing God is trustworthy and faithful gives us Hope that is secure in that love.  John 3:16 reminds us that God’s love is what motivated Him to come after us, free us and send Jesus to suffer and die to redeem us for all eternity.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.   This love, eternal and sacrificial is ours so that we may have Hope.

In the Psalms David captures this love hope and puts it into words we can cling to:  Psalm 33:18 “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,”    Psalm 33:22  ” May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,  even as we put our hope in you.”   Psalm 147:11 “The Lord delights in those who fear him,  who put their hope in his unfailing love.”     We see in these verses hope comes from knowing God’s unfailing love because we revere, worship and adore Him.   Hope comes when we put our trust in God, and God is pleased or delighted by our reverence and fear.  We know that God is love, and the proof of His love is His sending Jesus to save us.  “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”1 John 4:10

psalm33 22Meditate on God’s steadfast love today and consider how that love gives you HOPE:  1 Chronicles 16:34 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;  for his steadfast love endures forever!”    Psalm 13:5 “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” Psalm 33:22 “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

Begin 2020 with Hope rooted in God’s Steadfast Love,

Linda

2020 A New Year, A New Decade- How will you survive?

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2020 Happy New YearYesterday I was in the look back mode,  but today January 1, 2020 I am looking forward.  Each year I have a habit of choosing a word to guide my year.  Last year God gave me the word Trust and Wow! did I see that word week after week.  I learned to lean upon God and trust Him in new, painful, scary and exciting situations.  It was amazing how Trust kept coming up again and again, reminding me of who I am and where my Trust needs to be placed.

This year God has given me the word Hope.  I have always loved writing and talking about the hope I have in Christ, but I feel His Hope will reach into all corners of my life.   So I thought it wise to spend a few weeks looking into HOPE and seeing how hope is described in God’s Word.  The verse I found to start with is Psalm 71:14 as it seemed to capture the hope I feel right now as I begin this new year. “But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.”  Psalm 71 was written by King David in his old age.  He reflects upon God, his dependence upon Him and God’s continuing faithfulness.  David resolves to continue praising God just as he has done since his youth. “For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.”  Psalm 71:5

May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
    with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
    who seek my hurt.
14 But I will hope continually
    and will praise you yet more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for their number is past my knowledge.  Psalm 71:13-15

David knows the ‘world’ will come against him, yet he knows God will deal with them.  He has his hope placed in God and will praise Him.  No matter what as he knows God is sovereign and in control of all things, people, and places.  He vows to continue to proclaim what God has done for him.

psalm-71-14-quote-lgThis is a challenge as we face a New Year.  We know for certain that things will come against us-as they always do.  What we know, like David, is that God is faithful and will stand with us.  We need to trust in His sovereignty and mercy and cling to Him in HOPE.  That is my answer to, How will I survive in 2020?  I will cling to Him in HOPE knowing with absolute faith that God is faithful, loving and merciful.  He will be gracious to me as I place my HOPE in Him.

Looking forward to 2020 with HOPE,

Linda

Looking forward with Hope, backward with Thanks 2020 here we come!

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2020 new year I always love December 31 because it means I am on the brink of a new beginning.  Those failures I’ve experienced during the year can end,  and I can start fresh and new.  Hope springs eternally in our hearts as we walk in faith and trust with our Lord and Savior Jesus.   In Psalms 42 and 43 David questions himself repeatedly with these words:     Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation.         

David wonders, and so do I, why I fret over failures, defeats, troubling circumstances, etc?  His answer,  and mine, is in trusting God alone.  His hope, and mine, is in God and the salvation He provides for eternity.  So as I end this year, I will reflect on what I achieved for Him, what God did in and through me, and look forward to the New Year with Hope.  I will look backward with thanksgiving in my heart as God has been 100% faithful in all things just as He promised.

Isaiah encourages us in 49:29-31 that the Lord knows the way, will provide and lead us isaiah-40-31 (1)in His way of hope.

He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

put-hope-1-627x376Will you join me in focusing on Hope and what God will bring your way in 2020?  Not only is it a New Year, it is also the beginning of a new decade.  Resolve to move Onward and upward with Christ alone!

Linda

Christmas with Eternity in Focus!

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Merry-Christmas

Today we celebrate the birth of the Christ.  His birth was foretold by the ancient prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born…”   The place was foretold in Micah 5:3  “But you Bethlehem…”.    He came to earth that day born as a human child, yet one who would lead a sinless life and die to save us from our sins.  We believe that only God’s Son, Jesus, could satisfy Holy God and bring us back into relationship with God.  Isaiah foretold in Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.”   So where does that leave us?  If we believe He was born miraculously as a man who was both fully human and fully God, and He was able to die to save us from our sins, what more is there for us to believe?   return-of-christHe is coming again.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words.” 

As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we need to remember the story does not end in the manger or at the cross.  The story of the redemption of mankind will end with us living with God for eternity.  Just as His first coming was heralded by angels so will His second coming.  Just as His first coming was miraculous, awesome and breathtaking so will His second coming be worthy of King Jesus when we meet Him in the air.

God eternalWhat do these events say about God?  God is eternal.  God exists outside of time.  He is not measured by anything.  We measure time by the movement of the planets and stars, which God created.  God has always been and always will be.  No one is like Him.  We are not eternal because we have a beginning and an end.  Because God is eternal, He can give us eternal life.  David described God in Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, form everlasting to everlasting you are God.”  John wrote in Revelation 4:8 “Holy, holy, holy is he Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come.”

With our finite minds, the eternality of God is difficult to grasp.  However, we can be assured that God is who He says He is and will do as He has planned for eternity. Jesus is the one who holds the key to our eternal life. john-4-14 John 4:13-14  Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   Come to Him this Christmas and be filled with His eternal blessing.  Look  past the manger, past the cross and look forward to His return!

Linda   

 

 

Thank goodness! Plans and Timing=we see Perfect God!

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Since Joseph is such a major character in the story of the birth of Jesus, I wanted to spend another day pondering the scripture in Matthew 1:18-25, , today I used the New Living Translation.

 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

matt 1 2120 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Looking again at our scripture, I was struck by Joseph’s compassion and consideration of Mary.  He knew that divorcing her was what was expected of him, but he wanted to do it quietly so as not to cause Mary further embarrassment.  He also thought about what to do and did not jump into action.  God knew Joseph was struggling with his decision,  so an angel appeared to him in a dream giving him direction on how to move forward.  The principle here is  that God knows the society in which we live and realizes we need His encouragement and reassurance to do His will when in opposition to worldly standards.  Joseph’s encouragement came in an angel dream but we have the Bible today which we can reference, search and rely upon as well as the indwelling Holy Spirit of God for direction and guidance.  Joseph did not have either of these so God took care of his needs in a different way which gave him exactly what he needed.

How do we see God in this appearance?  We see God’s omniscient knowledge of all that was happening, His realization of Joseph’s fear and need for encouragement and reassurance, God’s plan and forethought to bring Messiah into the world at exactly this time in history.  God is perfect.  Everything in this event is perfect.  What God says, does and plans is without fault.  Because God is unchanging and faithful, the measure of what perfection is begins with God.  What God wills is good and perfect.  His ways are flawless and righteous.  All scripture is included in God’s perfection.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 ” All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”     

plan and timing GodAs you consider God’s perfection, think about His creation, His plans for our redemption, and the plans He has for your life.  All good things reflect His perfection.  Remember the promise 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.” 

perfectGod has all your circumstances handled perfectly, relax and let God work in and through you today.  He can do it for you just as He did for Joseph.

Linda

Mary Praises Merciful God!!

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“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.  He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” Luke 1:50-55

mercy-savesYesterday I wrote about Mary’s praise for God’s preserving character, but today I want to focus on her praise for God’s mercy.  She knew God to be merciful, why?  She had seen Him show mercy on those who love and worship Him.  She had seen God’s mercy in her people’s history and in her own.

What does it mean that God is merciful?   God in His mercy does not give us what our sins deserve.  He limits the extent of pain.  He restrains evil and holds back sin.  He makes His gospel known in places where people have turned their backs on Him.  God seeks those who are lost, alone, hurting and in need.  He forgives and restores those who repent and turn to Him in faith.

grace-mercy

Mary knew that due to their sins in the past- worshiping other gods, idolatry, the people of Israel should have been abandoned by God in the desert, in Babylon, to their enemies, BUT God in His mercy saved them.  She knew that because of their rejection of Him- they should have been overpowered, taken captives and scattered throughout the world, BUT God in His mercy brought them back, kept them as one people returning them from Egypt and Babylon.  Mary knew that God is merciful to the individuals who love and revere Him- David as he fled from King Saul’s persecution, Daniel who survived the Lion’s Den, Joseph who survived being taken captive, imprisoned, wrongfully treated and then elevated to a high position so he could save his brothers, and herself.  She knew God was merciful to her by allowing her to be the mother of the coming Messiah, for choosing her, protecting and keeping her safe in a culture that would have rejected and mistreated her.   Her love for God and her thankfulness for His unending mercies shouts to us today.

How have you experienced God’s mercy?  Has He found you when you were lost spiritually, been with you when you were alone, or come to you when you were hurting from worldly circumstances?  Definitely if you know Jesus as your Savior, you have experienced the mercy of forgiveness and restoration, salvation and the hope it brings.  What mercy can you thank God for this Christmas season?   One of my favorite promises is Lamentations 3:21-23  “Yet 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.”   I know and trust that God in His mercy will renew me each morning and give me a fresh new day.  God is merciful, loving and faithful to me.  Mary knew this, do you?

Thankful for God’s mercies to me,

Linda

Here is a quote I found that really spoke to me.  This truth gives me great reason to Praise Him along with Mary for His great Mercy.

the-mercy-of-god-will-always-be-greater-than-any-sin

 

Let it be heard! Blessings from Mary.

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I had the privilege of speaking Sunday morning at my church.  My topic was Mary’s story.  In my address, I give thoughts about Mary and what we can learn from her.  I do hope this is a blessing to you.  It was to me as I studied and let God organize my thoughts for this presentation.

Blessings from the First Sunday of Advent,

Linda

Lessons learned this month-did you get it too?

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A lesson and truth I received from the scriptures we studies this month on cultivating a habit of thankfulness in our lives is this:  Thankfulness has a powerful affect on me and all those around me.

contagious thanksHow have you seen this to be true this season of thanksgiving?  Is your mindset towards thanks contagious?  “How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9  Paul felt that the thanks he had for his fellow believers, for their faith and love for God, caused him to rejoice.  He saw God working in their lives and this brought joy and thankfulness to his own worship.  I would call that contagious thanks.  Have you ever been thankful for someone or something and it caused you to give thanks to God?  As we live our lives, we need to look for those things that God gives us that create ‘contagious thanks’ within our hearts.  As we give thanks to Him in these situations, God will faithfully create in us a thanks that will be contagious and will result in our being in a constant state of thankfulness and joy.  Paul left the Thessalonians with these words in 5:16-18  “ Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”  

blessings jarDevelop that attitude of gratitude and watch it grow in your own life and then watch it rub off into the lives of those around you.

Linda

The Blackest Friday = Profit for you and me!

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black fridayI was thinking this morning about the designation ‘Black Friday’.  It seems that since the 1950’s the day after Thanksgiving has been called ‘Black Friday’.  It began as a term to describe the crowds,  like the street was black with pedestrians.  It then became a day  to retailers signifying when they began to turn a profit and moved from the ‘red’ into the ‘black’ as the volume of their sales increased.   In the Bible the blackest Friday would be the day of the crucifixion. It was the day when the skies turned black and darkness covered the land.  “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.  Luke 23:44-46   The blackness of that Friday is a picture of the sin that Jesus bore on the cross for you and me.  His death on that darkest day brought the greatest profit for us.  John 12:46 puts it in perspective for us as to why that blackest of Friday’s had to happen.  “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

Even on that blackest of Fridays, the people were rushing around preparing for their Sabbath.  Since they could do no work on the Sabbath, they hurried to get Jesus down from the cross,  buried and settled in a borrowed tomb.  Mark 15:42-47 describes these events done in haste.  After the Sabbath was over, several women came back to the tomb to anoint Jesus with spices as his burial had been done in such a hurry they felt they had not been able to treat his body properly on that Friday.  “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.”  Mark 16:1  Their walk to the grave site was done in sadness but their return was joyous as the learned of Jesus’ resurrection and defeat of risensin and death.  An angel spoke to them when they got there, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”  What joyous news they had to share!

That blackest Friday brought death to Jesus and  burial brought the greatest profit to you and me.  Colossians 1:21-22 explains where we were on the black Friday and where we are now because of it.  “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,”    That was the the biggest gain or profit for mankind ever in history.  Christ reconciled us to God so that we can be colossians 1 ;21in communion with Him and have our sin’s forgiven.   We are free to live a life in Christ that is pleasing to God and that is free from the penalty of death brought on by sin.  That Black Friday was the best one in history for you and me.

As you venture out today to do some shopping, think about that blackest of Friday’s and how much you gained through Christ.  Praise Him as you do.

Blessings,

Linda

Is Jesus Personal to You?

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Psalm 118 28Who is God to you?  To King David He was a personal God, one who saved, loved, protected, helped, restored,cared for and directed him throughout his life.  In Psalm 118:28-29 David desires to give thanks to his God.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;  you are my God; I will extol you.     Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;  for his steadfast love endures forever!

David had a personal relationship with God and knew who He was and how he could depend upon Him.  I too have a relationship with God that was made available to me through Jesus.  Knowing Jesus as my savior opened the door to having God’s indwelling Spirit within me.  Jesus put it this way in John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  Jesus told Martha in John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”  I don’t have ‘religion’;  I have a relationship with God.  I am His daughter.   Paul described our new relationship with God in Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”    Is God your Father?  Do you claim your status as an adopted son or daughter of God through Jesus?

personal godMake God personal today and move into a relationship with Him.   1 John 1:9 tells us how to know Jesus-  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”   Make this your first Thanksgiving with Him- ask for His forgiveness for the sins you’ve committed.  You know the words you’ve used to hurt others, your selfishness, your unkind actions… the list for all of us goes on and on as this is the sin nature we were born with.  Put a stop to this circle of sinning and invite Jesus into your life.  Like David, you will have a personal relationship with God.  That relationship is worthy of all our thanks and praise to Jesus who made it possible.  Knowing Jesus will change your life!  Praise and thank Him this Thanksgiving for this new life.  If you know Jesus, thank Him today for His marvelous grace and forgiveness.

1peter3 15Share your thanks with someone else this year.  1 Peter 3:15 tells us to be ready to share our hope in Jesus with gentleness and kindness, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”  Jesus is the good news of life to a dying world.  Be bold and share Him with others.  You will be blessed.

Linda