01
Oct '20
Hope in Christ
01
Oct '20
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
We live in a world wrought with pain and suffering.
Disease, divorce, death, and loss happen every day.
And many times, when something tough happens, it is totally out of our control.
So, how do you rejoice, much less, give thanks in every situation?
As an heir and child of God, your hope isn’t in the things of this earth.
Your hope is in Christ and the eternal life you have with Him!
Your pain and suffering are momentaryin light of what is awaiting you in eternity. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus.
He knows and understands every hurt.
He aches with you, and the Holy Spirit groans and intercedes for you.
God promises you that He will give you the grace you need to handle every situation.
Even though you may not understand why something is happening, you can trust the Lord.
There is a song by Babbie Mason that says, “When you don’t see His plan. When you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.”
Remember that what Jesus did on the cross is real, and His Word is true, let nothing steal your joy!
When I read this devotion it blessed me. Remember this today, To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust Him in the dark, that is faith. He sees the things you can’t.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
15
Sep '20
Don’t Stop at Your Limits
15
Sep '20
But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. (Philemon 1:22)
Paul asks them to prepare a guest room for him…surely their prayers will cause his release from prison.
He not only speaks positively of leaving prison, but writes in hopes that he can raise their spirits.
He expressed faith that their prayers were moving his chains and he looked ahead…not down at his shackles.
The present moment can often be like Paul’s shackles, clear evidence that we cannot change our situation.
Don’t stop at your limits, but look to God, who is limitless!!
I will do what I can, and God does what I can’!
Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. (Philemon 1:21)
When I read this devotion I felt it was full of so much truth and power. I pray today you are encouraged with confidence to do the very best you can in all things great and small and watch God do what you can’t. Hope is seeing light in spite of being surrounded by darkness. Cling to hope and continue putting one foot in front of the other.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
22
May '20
Hope and Great Expectations
22
May '20
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Our job is to not give up!
We overflow with peace because God cannot change and he is good!
He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
God is faithful and the overflow of confidence is built though our experiences with His goodness.
His promises are true and you can trust Him!!!
I choose each day to endure, to try again, to hope again and live with expectancy. My God is good!
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Romans 15:13)
I felt after reading this devotion that it needed to be shared time and again. I pray you are encouraged to do as today’s devotions says, endure, try again, hope again and live with expectancy. I am reminded of Psalm 62:5, My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. Great expectations!
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
28
Nov '18
Hope Is Our Strategy
28
Nov '18
Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7)
My favorite football team has lost eight consecutive games as I write this. With each loss, it’s harder to hope this season can be redeemed for them. The coach has made changes weekly, but they haven’t resulted in wins. Talking with my coworkers, I’ve joked that merely wanting a different outcome can’t guarantee it. “Hope is not a strategy,” I’ve quipped.
That’s true in football. But in our spiritual lives, it’s just the opposite. Not only is cultivating hope in God a strategy, but clinging to Him in faith and trust is the only strategy. This world often disappoints us, but hope can anchor us in God’s truth and power during the turbulent times.
Micah understood this reality. He was heartbroken by how Israel had turned away from God. “Woe is me! . . . The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men” (7:1–2). But then he refocused on his true hope: “Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me” (v. 7).
What does it take to maintain hope in harsh times? Micah shows us: Watching. Waiting. Praying. Remembering. God hears our cries even when our circumstances are overwhelming. In these moments, clinging to and acting in response to our hope in God is our strategy, the only strategy that will help us weather life’s storms.
Father, You’ve promised to be an anchor for our hearts when circumstances look discouraging. Help us call out to You in faith and hope, believing that You hear our hearts’ cries. Amen.
After reading this devotion I pray you walk away with hope in times of discouragement. He is your source of hope. What does it take to maintain hope in harsh times? Watching. Waiting. Praying. Remembering.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalms 37:4
26
Oct '18
Confident Hope
26
Oct '18
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
Dr. William Wallace was serving as a missionary surgeon in Wuzhou, China, in the 1940s when Japan attacked China. Wallace, who was in charge of Stout Memorial Hospital at the time, ordered the hospital to load his equipment on barges and continue to function as a hospital while floating up and down rivers to avoid infantry attacks.
During dangerous times, Philippians 1:21—one of Wallace’s favorite verses—reminded him that if he lived, he had work to do for the Savior; but if he died, he had the promise of eternity with Christ. The verse took on special meaning when he died while falsely imprisoned in 1951.
Paul’s writing reflects a deep devotion we can aspire to as followers of Jesus, enabling us to face trials and even danger for His sake. It is devotion enabled by the Holy Spirit and the prayers of those closest to us (v. 19). It’s also a promise. Even when we surrender ourselves to continued service under difficult circumstances, it is with this reminder: when our life and work end here, we still have the joy of eternity with Jesus ahead of us.
In our hardest moments, with hearts committed to walking with Christ now, and with our eyes firmly fixed on the promise of eternity with Him, may our days and our acts bless others with the love of God.
Make of me, Father, a willing servant in times of weakness and times of strength. Amen.
When I read today’s devotion I was reminded of my former pastor who has since gone on to be with The Lord. He undoubtedly surrendered his entire life to Christ under difficult circumstances and fought the good fight to the very end, never giving up on what he was called to do, be a willing servant. My family, my dad, my mom, my sister and I were saved under his ministry, our lives forever changed for the good and I am who I am today because of His commitment to Christ and my prayer is that I can strive to carry on his love for Christ, his passion and zeal for winning souls, so one day when my time is through I can say with assurance, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, just as he did. How I loved my Pastor, James F White. He was a true example of a willing servant. Let’s remember today, sacrifices offered to God are opportunities to showcase His love.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Luke 6:27-28
24
May '18
Overflowing
24
May '18
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Romans 15:13)
“No! No! No! NO!” I screamed. It didn’t help. Not one bit. My brilliant solution for our plugged problem—flushing again—accomplished exactly the opposite of what I’d intended. I knew I had made a mistake the second I pushed the lever down. And I stood helplessly as water overflowed.
How many times have our kids tried to pour milk and misjudged the process, with white liquid flowing everywhere. Or maybe we failed to remember that a two-liter bottle of soda just rolled around in the trunk . . . with explosively startling results.
No, spills are almost never a good thing. But there might be one exception. The apostle Paul uses that image of overflowing to describe a people so full of God’s Spirit that what naturally spills out of them is hope (Romans 15:13). I love that picture of being filled to the brim with joy, peace, and faith because of His powerful presence in our lives. So much so, in fact, that we can’t help but exude and express winsome confidence in our heavenly Father. That might be during the beautiful, sunny seasons of our lives. Or when the proverbial cup of our lives gets jostled. Either way, what sloshes out over the top is life-giving hope to those around us who are “drenched” by it.
Lord, spills happen in life. But when they do, help us to be so full of Your Spirit that what pours out of us is the kind of hope that others can’t help but notice and be blessed by. Amen.
I love what today’s devotion expresses, let hope spill out of you today, no matter what your facing, hope. Allow each day to be filled to the brim with joy, peace and faith. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised) (Hebrews 10:23). The Father gave us the Spirit to make us like the Son.
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Romans 8:31
04
Apr '18
Hope
04
Apr '18
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. (Psalm 21:34)
The word “hope” is mentioned repeatedly throughout the Psalms to bring encouragement in the Lord. Most of us speak of “hope” interchangeably with other words such as dreams, wishes, desires and goals. We pray and hope, dream and hope, and you can probably think of other words that you use in connection with “hope.” The Bible most commonly uses the word “trust” in association with its definition. To hope in the Lord means that we are putting our trust in Him. In searching how often “hope” is used, I found that it comes up most frequently in the book of Job and the Psalms. One book describes pain and suffering; the other, praise and worship. But hope is the common thread in both.
When we are down, we are desperate for something or someone to place our hopes in or upon. We need to know that tomorrow will be better. We need to believe that lives are changing toward the good. If we are sick, we hope to be healed. If we are in financial crises, we hope for restoration and prosperity. If we are in any kind of trouble, we hope that everything works out positively. We hope for a tomorrow that is better than today. Without hope, where would we be? How could we keep going? Hebrews 11:1 says that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We must trust in the only One who brings real hope – Jesus Christ. Though we cannot physically see Him, we must place our faith in His love for us. Jesus is our only hope, for only He has the power to change our tomorrows.
Do you need hope for today? Pick up God’s Word and ask Him to show you His hope for your situation. Regardless of where you are, He already knows everything about it. No trouble or trial is too great for our Lord. We have but one requirement: to place all of our hope in Him. There is no hope in the world, only fleeting moments. But God gives us hope in the eternal life that awaits us. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that our light affliction is but for a moment compared to the eternal glory that awaits those of us in Christ Jesus. Put your hope and trust today in Jesus. Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit to comfort you with His hope of glory.
When I read this devotion I was reminded of a conversation I had just yesterday. No matter your struggles, no matter your hurts, no matter your hopelessness, give God thanks, hand every struggle over to Him, thank Him for everything in your life and receive the hope He has just for you. As long as you have God you have hope. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost (Romans 15:13). Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer (Romans 12:12).
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Proverbs 17:28
20
Dec '17
Breaking the Silence
20
Dec '17
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:17)
At the end of the Old Testament, God seems to be in hiding. For four centuries, the Jews wait and wonder. God seems passive, unconcerned, and deaf to their prayers. Only one hope remains: the ancient promise of a Messiah. On that promise the Jews stake everything. And then something momentous happens. The birth of a baby is announced.
You can catch the excitement just by reading the reactions of people in Luke. Events surrounding Jesus’s birth resemble a joy-filled musical. Characters crowd into the scene: a white-haired great uncle (Luke 1:5–25), an astonished virgin (1:26–38), the old prophetess Anna (2:36). Mary herself lets loose with a beautiful hymn (1:46–55). Even Jesus’s unborn cousin kicks for joy inside his mother’s womb (1:41).
Luke takes care to make direct connections to Old Testament promises of a Messiah. The angel Gabriel even calls John the Baptist an “Elias” sent to prepare the way for the Lord (1:17). Clearly, something is brewing on planet Earth. Among the dreary, defeated villagers in a remote corner of the Roman Empire, something good is breaking out.
You have come to us, and we rejoice! Jesus, You are the gift of redemption and hope for us. Thank You. Amen!!
When I read this I couldn’t help but think, He is our hope, He is my hope and He is your hope. Every time I begin to think about the depth of love He has for you and I, I start to cry, even when I’m reading my children a children’s book about his birth, I begin to cry. What love. Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world. Think on that today!
Have a beautiful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Luke 1:11-17
23
Sep '16
Hope and Encouragement
23
Sep '16
The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary . . . (Isaiah 50:4)
When we struggle in the circumstances of life, an encouraging word from others can lift our spirits and our eyes to the Lord. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote, “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary” (50:4). And when we look to the Lord, He offers words of hope and light in the darkness.
Heavenly Father, help me to hear Your word of hope today. And help me to speak words of hope and encouragement to others, pointing them to You. Amen
When I read this devotion I immediately thought it wasn’t super lengthy but it was direct and to the point. Some days that’s just what we need. It’s so elementary but it’s important to be reminded of the simple things. It’s so easy to get so caught up with life that we fail to stop and offer hope and encouragement to someone in our path. What a difference we can make just by being an encouragement to someone today. Let’s take time today to find someone in need and encourage them with words of hope and encouragement, someone needs you today. Will you be the vessel God uses? Are you willing to say, Here am I Lord, use me.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Isaiah 50:4-10