Tag Archives: hope

by

His Path

Ps 85:10-13 (God’s Word Translation), “Mercy and truth have met. Righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth sprouts from the ground, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The LORD will certainly give us what is good, and our land will produce crops. Righteousness will go ahead of him and make a path for his steps”

His footsteps will make my pathway. There is power on this path, provision on this path, protection on this path. Each footstep of Jesus was in the fullness of the blessing- so He healed them all, He delivered them all.
And now I am walking on that same pathway. He made it for us. His word illuminates it.

Psalm 119:105 (NLT), “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

We can clearly see the path. Even if it may seem like there are monsters, boulders, bridges, and cliffs on our route, don’t trust your own eyes. He made the path, let His word show you the way. Sometimes the path looks scary because we are still leaning on or living in the flesh. We have to crucify our flesh, deny its lust and laziness. When we learn to die daily along the way, the final death isn’t scary anymore, there is no fear of death. Instead of looking at the end of the path as the grave, we see Heaven as the destination. Who wouldn’t trade this life for an eternity with Him?

Find His path. It isn’t hidden. Read your Bible, it points the way. See Jesus’ footsteps and walk in them. Follow His path to your forever home. Bless others on the way. Encourage the lost to join you. When we walk through those pearly gates, we won’t be alone.

by

Tell Them The Truth

Last night I was woken at one by a heart wrenching wailing. At first I thought they were screams of pain, and I guess in a way they were. I opened my window to pinpoint the sound so that I would better know what to do. Right across the street a woman was howling and pounding on the window of the house. As I groped for my phone to call 911 another neighbor shouted, “What’s going on?” Her reply was, “My brother just killed himself.” I finished the call and cried. My husband and I prayed. My heart hurt for the family, that young woman, and the young man who thought that life was so bad, he took his own.

How do you go back to sleep after that? I prayed some more. I thanked God that my children and grandchildren were safe. Then I asked God, “How many people committed suicide today.” Which led to, “How many were murdered, raped, abandoned, hurt, tortured, and left to die.” I didn’t receive an answer. So I asked, “Isn’t this breaking your heart?” Still no answer. As I thought about this hurting world, this evil world we live in, God reminded me of a blog I wrote recently. I had stated that asking God “why” when bad things happen is futile, what we should be asking is “What now?” Not the answer I expected, however, it was the one I needed.

The more I thought about the evil in this world, especially suicide, the angrier I got. No, I wasn’t angry at God. But I was so filled with hate for the Devil. That old serpent who still deceives. His original lie in the garden is the same one he uses today. He still tells us that something is being withheld from us, something that is either unattainable, or that we have to somehow get for ourselves. He lied to that young man and told him, “No one cares, end your life and the pain will be gone.” That man believed that the only way to peace was at his own hand. He never found out the truth that someone does care, more than he could ever imagine and that that Someone could have brought peace into his life.

I remember those lies. They used to be whispered in my ear as a young person. I had my battle with the spirit of suicide, the spirit of death, and I spent some time last night and today thanking God for staying my own hand so many times when I thought I couldn’t handle the pain anymore. Satin is evil. He has infected this world with his evil. BUT God is good!

So now I am asking God, “What now?”

His answer, “Tell them I am good. Tell them they are loved, they matter, they have value. Tell them the truth.”

by

Obviously

Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV), “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 7:20 (NLT), “ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

What exactly is a “Silent Witness” or a “Closet Christian”? To some it is the opposite of a so-called follower of Christ who beats them over the head with the word, or who spouts off scripture when a hug or a helping hand is needed, or even worse, blasts them with a fire hose when a refreshing drink is all that is needed, the ones who are afraid as coming across as “one of those” people.

Honestly, in today’s world I can see the temptation to just keep your mouth shut and live right and hope someone asks you what is different about your life. However, if we are being honest, that isn’t what God has asked us to do at all. Yes, we live right. Yes, our life should be a living testimony of God’s love and forgiveness. Yet it is more than that. It has to be. Look at Matthew five again. We are to be a light that can’t be hidden. And in Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that a tree is identified by its fruit. If I am an apple tree, I should be bearing apples. If I am a light house, my light should be seen by every sinking and faltering ship out there in the perilous waters.

Sometimes, most of the time actually, that involves speaking. We have to tell them who’s we are. Just living right isn’t going to get a single soul saved. Living a hidden Christian life, so as not to offend anyone, isn’t going to help bring anyone out of the darkness and into the light. If we speak boldly as we ought, if we shine that light on some sinful behavior, if we live right in the midst of a world living so…wrong, won’t we face some opposition, maybe even persecution. Yep! In fact that is one way that we will know we are living for Him.

Who we are should be obvious. Again I know in today’s world that is a hard one. Today you can’t even use the once affective, “checking the body parts” to see if that seemingly genderless person is male or female. We can’t tell by the clothes, the makeup or lack of, we can’t tell by mannerisms, or really anything. We have become a world that wants no divisions at all, yet is so divided! So shouldn’t we live by a different standard? As Christians we want it to be obvious that we are male, or female. We want it to be obvious that we are hard workers, honest people, good parents, productive citizens, and fun people to be around. Shouldn’t it be just as obvious that we are His? I want people to know that Heaven is my home, that Jesus is my King, and that God is my Father. I want them to know that I am being led by The Holy Spirit, I have been washed by the blood, and that they can be too.

There is no such thing as a closet Christian. Shouldn’t it be obvious who’s we are. Obviously!

Be a shining star!

Philippians 2:12-15 (Berean Study Bible) “Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world.”

by

The Delivery Business

Colossians 1:13 (Weymouth New Testament), “It is God who has delivered us out of the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the Kingdom of His dearly-loved Son,”

God is in the delivery business. I know, in the past I have said that He is in the “Family business: saving souls” but this is still a branch of the family business!

We recently started a business of our own. We specialize in expedited (you needed it there yesterday) delivery. People contact us because they have a load that the customer wants ASAP and we can get it there fast in our little sprinter van. So maybe I have had delivery on my mind. However, the month of January our church always goes on a corporate fast (and prayer time). During one of those times of praying and listening, this thought popped into my head, “God is in the delivery business” followed by this scripture in Colossians. Soon I couldn’t even stop the thoughts that bombarded me. I am going to share a few.

God has delivered me!

Out of darkness and into the light. II Corinthians 5:1 (NIV), “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

From my past. “Philippians 3:13 KJB), Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

From fear. I John 4:18 (NASB), “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

From sickness (including tumors, anxiety, and some ugly stuff you don’t want to hear about.) I Peter 2:24 (NIV), “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

 

God has delivered to me:

Forgiveness. I John 1:19 (KJB), “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Blessings. Ephesians 1:3 (NASB), “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

Mercy. Jude 1:2 (NLT), “May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.”

Grace. I Corinthians 15:10 (NIV), “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

Wisdom. James 1:5 (KJB), “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

I am sure there is more to be found. I sure love to think of the Father hand delivering all of these wonderful things to me. A personal gift. Free of charge.

Now, our company, JW Expedited LLC, delivers for money, our purpose and motivation is to please the customer so that we get paid well.

God’s motive? Love.

by

Book Review for “The Solitary Envoy-Book One in Heirs of Acadia” – Christian Historical Fiction

What the book is about: “Book 1 of Heirs of Acadia, continuing the story told in the bestselling Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn Song of Acadia series. Erica Langston’s comfortable home and loving family living near Washington, D.C., carry no outward hint of the sorrows and fears faced by her Acadian forebears, but she will soon discover that similar determination and fortitude will be required of her. When the British once again invade the nation’s capital and leave death and destruction in their wake, Erica is left to deal with the creditors circling around the crumbling family business. It seems her only recourse is to travel to England to collect on outstanding debts held in British banks. Arriving in London at the home of the United States ambassador, Erica is gradually immersed in a secret mission that brings her face-to-face with her most feared and reviled enemy. She discovers that Gereth Powers is part of a group of Christian activists headed up by William Wilberforce himself. Along the way, Erica comes to realize her faith has been more cultural than real, and her spiritual journey becomes far more signi?cant than her journey over the ocean.”

My Review: This book has been sitting in my kindle for ages. I am pretty sure it was offered free at some point on Amazon. I just loved this book. Set in around the time of the war of 1812, the main character is a woman who faces great problems. She ends up meeting William Wilberforce (a great Christian man in parliament who was crucial in the anti-slavery movement), and learns to trust in God. There is history, romance, and tons of moral traits portrayed. Now I have another series to finish! I give it five stars. No swearing, or sexual content, some violence as it relates to war. I can recommend for teens and up.

Get the book here.

 

by

Shut Up

I John 5:14-15 (KJB), “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

Psalms 55:17 (NIV), “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.”

Proverbs 15:29 (ISV), “The LORD is far away from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.”

Who doesn’t love these scriptures? He hears us! That’s a big deal in my book. All throughout my life I have been not heard, sometimes outright ignored, and often misunderstood. But God hears me, never misunderstands, in fact He knows what I am thinking before I ever voice it, and never, hears me. That boosts my confidence just like John’s.

Prayer is an awesome thing. The more time you spend with Him, not begging, but in honest communication, and yes that includes some things we may need or want from Him, the better we know Him. The better we know Him, the easier prayer becomes and the more we desire to pray. Incidentally, the Father loves that alone time with us. Even though He does know what we need, what we want, what we thing, and what is best for us, He still tells us to “ask”, to be verbal about those things. Why? He loves you and He wants to be in fellowship with you. In our ever increasingly busy days, He wants some time set aside and while we are at our tasks, He wants us to still be speaking to Him in our hearts.

Prayer builds us up; it settles our hearts and settles some issues in our minds. The act of talking to our Creator humbles us and encourages us to keep at it, no matter the battles.

All these things are so wonderful, yet, there is an aspect of prayer even better than all of these things… listening to God during prayer time.

Sounds simple really. Isn’t that what a conversation is all about, taking turns talking and listening? Honestly though, how often do we forget that crucial part of our time with God. At the beginning of the day we read our bible, devote our day to Him, then hurry through our “bless us, and keep us” prayers, then get on with our day. We take time to ask God to bless our food, strengthen and nourish our bodies, and to pray for special needs. Before we drift off to bed, we again ask for peace and sweet sleep, for angels to guard us, and maybe remember some things we should ask for or thank Him for. Where in all of that do we just shut up!

I know some of you hate those words. You think they are blunt and maybe rude. Yet isn’t a one sided conversation, where we do all the talking and never give the other person a chance to get a word just as rude? Of course. So, when we pray, when we are talking to Him (please remember prayer is just asking for things, but also just visiting and sharing some love), remember to be quiet. If you have asked a question such as, “What should I do in this situation” or “How much do you love me?” Give Him some time to answer.

I love how He speaks to me in His word, through others, and in nature; however, the best dialogue I can have with Him is when He is speaking right into my spirit. Nothing better in fact.

John 10:2-5 (ASV), “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”