HOPE

 

What are you hoping for? Is it a house? A great job? Healing? Hope is the thing that gets you through tough times. It's like shifting your car into a higher gear when you're going up a mountain. But maybe you have put your hope in something and had it dashed to pieces, leaving you hopeless. The temptation is to give up on your dreams altogether. What do you do when you've lost hope?
"When the world says, 'Give up,' Hope whispers, 'Try it one more time'" (Author Unknown). If you sat in a broken chair and fell through, would you never sit in a chair again? No, but you would choose a sturdier chair next time. The Bible tells us what matters is where you put your hope. "How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God" (Psalm 146:5). When you put your hope in Jesus, you are putting your hope in the fact that not only will He never abandon you, He will bring you into heaven. The hope in His Son Jesus tells you, When you go through hard times, I will be there for you. Even when you die, I will carry you to eternal life.
Get fresh hope today by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. Read below to do it right now.

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1 God Loves You!

The Bible says, "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"
The problem is that...

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2 All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God.

The Bible says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says "The wages of sin is death."
The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago,

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3 God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. "God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."
Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me."
God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior.

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4 If you want to accept Christ as your Savior and turn from your sins, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this:

"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always."

GOD isn't longing for you to come to Him with perfect, polished prayers.

Have you considered that perhaps God isn’t longing for you to come to Him with perfect, polished prayers that have fifty-cent words and flowery language? Have you thought about the pleasure God experiences when you simply approach him just as you are, warts and all, because He loves you? He delights in your attention. He takes pleasure when you go to Him simply because you are His.

I love how the psalmist responded to God’s love:

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
(Psalm 103:1-5)

WAGING PEACE

God’s desire is for us to wage peace in every relationship. What is even more amazing to me is the fact that God calls us to wage peace with even the roughest, most abrasive sandpaper people who come our way. Now that is a formidable task, since sandpaper people seem to come with a set agenda that targets emotional eruptions and creates constant relationship upheavals. They love a good fight, live to evoke angry reactions and are fierce warriors determined to win every battle initiated by their downright irritating personalities. However, combat is impossible when the enemy has laid down his weapons and chosen peace.
Unresolved conflict is the enemy of peace, and peace is often the casualty of unresolved conflict in relationships. I love this little poem about relationship problems:
     "To dwell above with saints we love, that will be grace and glory.
      To live below with saints we know; that's another story!" (Author unknown)

The world has its own system for working out conflict. That system is retaliation. God has a different plan for working out conflict. That plan is restoration. The apostle Paul was a master at conflict resolution and in 1 Thessalonians 5:13, he offers a simple but powerful command to “live in peace with each other." In Colossians 3:12-14, he paints a clear picture of what living in peace should look like in our lives:  
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Sounds like an impossible task, doesn’t it? It is … unless we choose to rely on and surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. When Paul says that we are to "clothe" ourselves with certain characteristics so we will always be prepared for peace, he means we must plan ahead and make deliberate choices before the choice is actually necessary.
For example, the holidays are coming up. (I know. I can't believe it either.) Let’s say that your least favorite relatives are coming for a week and you are already dreading their visit. Make the decision right now to practice patience, love and self-control during their stay. Choose today to please God by how you treat them and welcome them into your home. Why?
Proverbs 16:7 (ESV) “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
"He" is the operating word in the verse above. Did you catch that? Our obedience to God invites Him to promote peace in our relationships – even the most difficult ones. All we have to focus on is making sure our ways are pleasing to the Lord and He will do the rest. Now that is a great plan for peace!

Mary Kulick-Almas in the arms of the Angels November 2009

Can there be communication between the living and those who have died? I mean an awareness of a sensitive if not a dramatic kind, which has nothing to do with mediums and their messages. The Oxford writer C S Lewis expressed what went on in him, unbidden and unexpected, after the death of his beloved wife, Joy. This has awakened many of his readers to a sensitivity towards the unobtrusive but solid presence of a deceased beloved. ‘The sound of a chuckle in the darkness… so business-like… yet there was a cheerful intimacy… Solid. Utterly reliable. Firm. There is no nonsense about the dead…’
The author G W Hughes SJ was aware of the presence of his two sisters who had died tragically. They were, he remarks, like shy guests at a cocktail party who turned out to be the best of company once you gently engaged with them. ‘In imagination, I speak to Marie, and to the rest of my family, who are now all dead. Margot, like Marie, is close to me, a strengthening, reassuring presence…. Somehow their good and my good are identical.’ The Irish TV broadcaster John Quinn wrote to his wife, Olive, after her death. ‘I believe in your presence totally. That’s why I talk to you all the time. You are in the light. It’s me that needs the letters…. I am at once heartbroken by your absence and consumed by your ‘presence’ – more in love with you than I ever thought possible… I know you give me little signs now and then, and I know I must be patient’.
Such intimate and humble revelations are in line with what many of us may dimly experience. Those with exceptional awareness can encourage us to tune into this new frequency. Human solidarity and the doctrine of the Communion of Saints offer an understanding, in terms of relationships, of the widespread experience of connectedness with those we cared for and who cared for us. They still care.

A STUNNING VIDEO GLORIFYING GOD'S MAGNIFICENT CREATION

www.andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html

“O Lord, we thank Thee that it is not always like this.”

I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name (Psalm 138:2, NLT)

Alexander Whyte, the Scottish preacher, always began every prayer with praise. One brutally cold Sunday, his people filed into the church, wondering what the preacher could possibly find to praise God for on such a miserable day. Alexander Whyte stood, bowed his head and prayed, “O Lord, we thank Thee that it is not always like this.”
Are there times when you don’t feel like praising God? Honestly, our feelings are irrelevant when it comes to praising God. Praise is not about us. Praise is all about God. Praise is a deliberate choice and a learned habit that produces contentment and an attitude of gratitude.
In Philippians 4:11, the Apostle Paul writes, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” In this verse, “learned” means to be “educated by experience” and the word “content” means “contained.” Paul’s contentment was the result of the resources contained in his heart. In other words, Paul used his circumstances as tutors in the school of praise. He learned how to give God praise even when he was beaten, ridiculed, in prison and facing his own death. Paul’s attitude did not reflect his circumstances. Paul made a deliberate choice to praise God – no matter what. Why? Because Paul knew that even when he did not understand God’s process, he could trust God’s heart.

WHAT WILL BE YOUR GIFT TO GOD ???

What do you get for the person who has everything? If you’ve ever tried to find a gift for someone who already has it all, you know how hard it can be. Now what about for God? He said, “For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). All the cattle on a thousand hills—that’s hard to beat!




God is the same way. King David said to God, “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:16,17). What He really wants is heartfelt love from you and care for others. Just like my handmade cards and pictures, here are gifts that God loves:

• Tell Him how much You Love and Appreciate Him: God said, “But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me” (Psalm 50:23). That’s what I was doing when I drew my dad little cards expressing my love.
• Spend Time with Him: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). God wants to spend time with you just like my dad loves to spend time with me!
• Do What He Asks: Jesus said, “If you love Me, obey My commandments” (John 14:15). Would you believe your friend loved you if you always did things that he hated?
• Care for Others: Jesus said, “The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me'” (Matthew 25:40). When you do something kind for someone else, it’s like you’re doing it for Jesus.
• Live in Peace with Others: “Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose” (Philippians 2:2). Just like my dad wants peace at home, God wants peace amongst His children. Show Him your love by being kind and forgiving towards others.