Category Archives: Faith & Hope

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January 26, 2015

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Challenges & Difficulty, Church & Worship, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

THE EVOLUTION OF FAITH

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. [John 1:12-13 (NLT)]

When we’re born again, we come into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ. This spiritual birth is a new beginning, but for some of us, it seems like we’ve had several new beginnings in our lifetimes! In my infant Baptism, my sponsors dedicated me to God and promised that I would be raised in the Christian faith. At my Confirmation in eighth grade, I made a public affirmation of those same promises and accepted Jesus. My teen years were rather troubled and I briefly lost my way. Once in college, I found my way back and once more accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Accepting Christ, however, is not quite the same as walking with Him. When my children were quite young, I again lost sight of the Lord. Serious doubts even briefly kept me from taking communion. God led me back and, once again, I ate at His table. Several years later, perhaps because I got too busy, comfortable and overconfident, I grew lax in my prayer life until a series of crises brought me back to Him.

There were times in my life when I floundered spiritually and others when I walked confidently with the Lord as my shepherd. Whenever I lost my way, once I turned back to Jesus, the Father welcomed me back into His family with open arms. Each time, I’ve been reborn in my faith and each time my faith has become stronger. I can only hope and pray that this time my faith is great enough to keep me firm and strong in my belief until my dying day.

We are so incredibly blessed to have a loving and patient Father in Heaven. Like the father of the prodigal son, He forgives us when we wander off and He patiently waits for us to find our way home to him again.

We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found! [Luke 15:32 (NLT)]

Being born again is a new life, not of perfection but of striving, stretching, and searching — a life of intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit. There first must be an emptying, and then a refilling … It is a highly personal and subjective experience, possible only if we are searching for greater truths about ourselves and God. This experience is challenging, even painful at times, but ultimately deeply rewarding. It provides answers to the most disturbing questions about our existence, the purpose of life, and how to deal with sorrow, failure, loneliness, guilt, and fear. In it, we come to know that our gifts from God are not earned by our own acts but are given to us through his grace … For me, it has been an evolutionary thing. Rather than a flash of light or a sudden vision of God speaking, it involved a series of steps that have brought me steadily closer to Christ. [From “Living Faith” by Jimmy Carter]

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January 24, 2015

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Plan, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count, Trusting God

GUIDING LIGHT


DSC05658aawebSNo longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. [Isaiah 60:19 (NLT)]

Lord, thank you for your light that guides me through the dark times of life. Help me remember that it is light you offer and not a crystal ball that will tell me what the future holds. I’m going to have to trust you for tomorrow. Help me stay in the here and now, following your light, trusting that, when tomorrow comes, your guiding light will continue to be there!

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. [Corrie Ten Boom]

Lead, kindly light, amidst th’encircling gloom, lead Thou on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home, lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me.
[“Lead Kindly Light”  by John Henry Newman, 1833]

The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. [John 1:4 (NLT)]

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December 11, 2014

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Promises, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Trusting God

THE BROKENHEARTED

Call to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mysterious things that you do not know. …  I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. [Jeremiah 33:3,29:11 (GW)]

Be strong, all who wait with hope for the Lord, and let your heart be courageous. Psalm 21:24 (GW)

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Suicide has been on my mind lately: not my suicide, but that of others. After a life-long battle with mental illness, the son of a well-known pastor and author, shot himself. A young mother, terminally ill from brain cancer, publicly chose to determine the day and way of her death. A famed comedian, suffering from dementia and depression, hung himself. While in a dumpster, a young football player, suffering from disorientation and mood swings, ended his life with a gun. I cannot judge their actions; I can only pray for their survivors.

Last week, a young man from our church also took his life. Like many of us, he’d made some poor choices. He’d messed up and hurt the people he loved. Perhaps he was sick at heart and burdened with guilt, regret or embarrassment; perhaps he could face neither his past nor his future. I don’t know and I cannot judge his actions. I can, however, pray for his survivors.

The one thing all these people had in common was loss of hope. Pain, mental illness, disease, brain lesions, depression, dementia, guilt, regret and more had blinded them to hope. Christian hope is the knowledge that no matter what the circumstances, we’re being changed for the better. To do that, however, we must trust in God and his promises. Unfortunately, sometimes circumstances keep people from seeing God’s light in the darkness of their souls, believing God’s plan in the terribleness of their circumstances, accepting God’s love and forgiveness in repugnance at their own behavior, or thanking God for all things.

Sadly, these deaths were not isolated occurrences. Globally, every three seconds someone attempts to take his or her life and every suicide leaves behind six to eight survivors. The loss of a loved one to suicide is devastating; I wish could take away the survivors’ pain, but I can’t. As Christians, however, what we can do is offer hope: prayers, love, comfort and the support of our community.

What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God. [Rick Warren]

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. [Psalm 34:18 (NLT)]

May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:13 (GW)]

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November 18, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Prayer

NEVER TOO BUSY

After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. [Matthew 14:23a (NLT)]

It was a busy day for Jesus and the disciples. Having learned that John the Baptist had been beheaded, he went off to be alone but a large crowd followed him. Pitying them, he preached and healed the sick and then managed to feed 5,000. Sad and tired as he probably was, however, Jesus still managed to find time to pray.

We’ve all had those days when we hit the floor running and don’t stop until night. Everywhere we turn there is another task to be done, someone to call, someplace to go, some new crisis, or a deadline lurks. Even though Jesus told us that, apart from Him, we can do nothing, we allow life to interfere. “God knows how busy I am,” we say, “Surely He’ll understand if I skip prayers.” We fully intend to catch Him later, but later turns into tomorrow or the next day or never. God knows how busy we are but I’m not so sure he approves of our priorities.

If we needed dialysis to survive, we’d never be too busy for our treatment. If we needed an oxygen tank to breathe, we’d take the time to make sure we had a fresh supply. If we were diabetic, we’d surely find the time for our daily medication. If we’re not too busy to save our physical lives, how can we be too busy to save our souls? God’s got a busy day ahead, but He’s never too busy to hear our prayers. How can we be too busy for Him?

For apart from me you can do nothing. [John 15:5b (NLT)]

Never stop praying. [1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)]

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October 24, 2014

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Plan, Peace of God, Trusting God

UNDER THE RAINBOW

DSCN5280WEBAnd there will be a covering over everyone for protection. It will be a shelter to protect the people from the heat of the sun and from all kinds of storms and rain. [Isaiah 4:5b-6 (ERV)]

During rainy season in Florida, we can count on rain nearly every day. Sometimes, it’s a real doozy with thunder, lightning and a torrential downpour; other times, it’s just a little drizzle. Fortunately, by the end of October, the rainy season will come to an end and the tropical storms will give way to milder weather.

I have some friends who seem to be in the rainy season of their lives only, instead of water raining down on them, it’s troubles. Some storms are bigger than others, a child’s mental illness trumps the cancer scare, but, nonetheless, some sort of challenge seems to drop from the sky nearly every day. What’s worse, they have no calendar that tells them that this difficult season will likely stop at the end of the month. Amazingly, although their troubles rain down on them nearly continuously, their misfortunes seem to run off them like water off a duck’s back. Challenges that would sink many have little effect on them; they just keep paddling along. What differentiates them from other people who drown in just a small downpour of trouble?

The difference, of course, is my friends’ deep and abiding faith in a loving God! They receive strength from Him daily and, while they pray this season will soon end, they know that God’s plans for them are good. Faith allows them to see the rainbow in the sky in the midst of the storm.

There is only one secure foundation: a genuine, deep relationship with Jesus Christ, which will carry you through any and all turmoil. No matter what storms are raging around, you’ll still stand firm if you stand on His love. [Charles Stanley]

When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds. [Genesis 9:14 (NLT)]

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October 6, 2014

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Faith & Hope, God's Promises, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Wisdom & Guidance

SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES

DSC09563WEBAnd while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. [Genesis 4:8b (NLT)]

I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. [Albert Einstein]

I recently visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. While I enjoyed learning about the past, present, and future of nuclear science, I left the museum deeply saddened. No nuclear science presentation would have been complete without exhibits about the politics of World War II, the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cold War, and various weapons of destruction; it was these exhibits that so troubled my heart. We live in a fallen world and man’s capacity for horror boggles my mind. I read the stories, saw the pictures and viewed the weaponry; I thought of the billions of dollars and hours of brain power that went into finding ways to kill one another and was horrified. Since the beginning of time, we’ve tried to solve our differences with bloodshed. When will we ever learn? God, help us!

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love; so mightily spread abroad your Spirit that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, a children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen [Book of Common Prayer]

The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise! [Micah 4:3-4 (NLT)]