Category: Hope

Hope

Posted on by Dorci

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
And moan within me?
Hope in God; for I shall praise Him
For the salvation of His face.
Psalm 42:5MKJV

Anyone who’s been through even a moment of depression understands the heart who wrote those words. 

No one knows for sure who wrote this psalm, but I find it interesting that the phrase “cast down” is used to describe the deep depression of his soul.

It’s a term used by shepherds to describe a sheep that, for whatever reason, has fallen upside down, all four legs in the air, helpless and unable to right itself.  If the shepherd doesn’t watch carefully and come to help the sheep, it can suffocate in a short period of time. 

If David was the author, he knows from experience that a good shepherd watches his flock carefully, and comes quickly at the first sign of trouble.

So, he encourages himself to hope. That word hope means to wait, to be patient, to trust.

And of course our hope is only as good as the one we put our hope in. 

The psalmist knows he has a perfect Shepherd who constantly watches His flock. He knows his salvation is coming.  He knows he will be delivered again, and again, and again, as many times as it takes. 

Our hope is a sure hope.  Not an “I hope…”  But a hope that knows God is faithful. His rescue is coming, and we must simply wait for it. A hope that knows God sees us, He hears us, and He’s working on our behalf…

A hope that knows a day is coming soon when we will look back and praise our Good Shepherd for all He’s done. 

I know God’s in the midst of us, doing great things.  And the day will come when all of us who have put our hope in Him will share story after story of His goodness and grace and mercy. 

Keep hoping. 

 

 

 

 

There Is a River

Posted on by Dorci

“God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.
                                                                                    Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.

He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.’
                                                                                    Selah”

Psalm 46:1-3, 4, 10

No matter what we face, God is our refuge and strength. I love that the Hebrew word for God used here is Elohiym, the plural form of God.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  

The entirety of His character – His goodness, His faithfulness, His ever-presence, and more than I could ever list here – is available to us in times of trouble. 

The streams of His grace and love and peace continually and eternally flow through the kingdom of God and sustain us.

“Be still…

Stop

and know…

Acknowledge

that I am Elohiym…”

that He is the I Am, the All-Encompassing, All-Sufficient, Triune God. 

Selah.

Selah indicates a pause in the music. In the entire Psalm, there are 3 selahs.

Yes, they may be instructions for the music, instructions for the singers, but I believe they’re also instructions for us.  

Pause…   and contemplate what’s been said. 

Pause…   and let it take hold inside the heart and mind. 

Pause…   and believe. 

This is a song a dear friend introduced me to years ago, and it never fails to bring tears to my eyes. The precious Holy Spirit of our God is a joyful, quenching constant for every need we will ever have.  We can go to the river and be satisfied.  

 

 

There Is a River
by Rita Springer

 

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of our God (repeat)
And I will rejoice
I will rejoice
And be glad
There is a fountain full of grace and it flows from Emanual’s veins
It came and it healed me
It came and refreshed me
It came and it washed my sins away!
And I will rejoice
I will rejoice
And be glad
I rejoice in the Lord always
And again I say I will rejoice!
Rejoice in the Lord always
And again I say rejoice.

The Two Wolves

Posted on by Dorci

 

That’s a scene from the movie Tomorrowland. Of course that metaphor has probably been told a thousand different ways for a thousand different scenarios.  But first and foremost, it’s a spiritual truth:

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16

Our flesh is always pulling at our shirts, jumping in our faces, snarling in our ears. It doesn’t like to hear no for an answer. And saying no is good, but if we don’t say yes to the Spirit, that vacuum will beg to be filled with something.  

That word walk in Galatians means “…to live, follow (as a companion), go, be occupied with…”

We are privileged to have as our Companion, sun up to sun up, 24/7/365 (or 366 as the case may be), the Holy Spirit. When we walk with Him, follow Him, obey Him, the vacuum will be filled with all things pure, and good, and holy. 

When we feed the spirit inside us with prayer and reading God’s Word, we will starve that beady-eyed, snarling flesh. We’ll start noticing the fear and anxiety has silenced, and in its place is divine fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Light and hope in place of darkness and despair.  Seems like a pretty good deal to me. 

Not only do we need that right now (as always), but that’s what the world needs us to have. It needs to see there’s another, better way.  It needs to see Jesus.  

 

The Chosen

Posted on by Dorci

Hello friends.  I pray this finds you healthy and hopeful and full of faith.  I want to post things to help keep you encouraged, and one of the most encouraging things I can think of is the video series The Chosen.

I’ve been doing my level best to let my friends know about it, and I want to share it with you.

The first season begins with the life of Jesus before he starts his ministry. You are right there with him as Jesus chooses his weary followers, heals Mary Magdalene, meets with a seeking Nicodemus in secret, and attends the wedding that makes everyone sit up and wonder who this man is that can change water into wine. 

It’s unlike anything you have ever seen before, and that’s because it is completely crowdfunded (the largest crowdfunded media project ever) and was able to be made without the constraints of Hollywood.  

And it’s absolutely free.  Creator and director, Dallas Jenkins (son of Jerry B. Jenkins, who brought you the Left Behind series), is making all 8 episodes free (as it usually is) and fully available, with no restrictions, for the next couple of weeks through their free app which you can find on their website. It’s also on dvd and blu-ray, which include extras and the Christmas Special that started it all, and your purchase can help fund Season 2. 

I hope it encourages you and keeps you focused on the grace and mercy of this Man who came to save us, to know us, to die and live for us, because His love chooses us.

Here’s the announcement made by Dallas Jenkins:

“In light of these challenging and fearful times, we believe the message and stories of Christ are more important and relevant than ever. Not to mention, so many of you are stuck in your homes for weeks, some with uncertain financial situations.

To that end, until the end of March, we’ve decided to make every episode of Season One of The Chosen immediately and easily accessible, completely free and without delay, all over the world. “The Chosen” app is already freely available in every country, but this initiative will make it easy to see every episode with zero restrictions.

Considering that streaming costs money, will this delay our momentum towards financing Season Two? Probably, although if you have the means to “pay it forward” to offset the streaming costs, that would be helpful. But there’s no obligation to anyone, and we believe our long-term goals remain safely in God’s hands.”

 

 

 

 

Do Not Worry

Posted on by Dorci

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what
you will eat or drink; or about
your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and
the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store
away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable
than they?”
Matthew 6:25, 26

The Shepherd’s Lamb, and Ours, Too

Posted on by Dorci

A couple of blogs ago I gave a link to the series, The Chosen.  

This time I want to bring to you the short film that started it all. 

Writer and director, Dallas Jenkins (son of Jerry B. Jenkins who gave us the Left Behind series and more), shares here the story of how God led him to make The Chosen through a short film (24 minutes) he made for his church’s Christmas Eve service.  How at the moment he felt like a failure the Lord led him to depend on Him to make a series that is defying all odds.

The Christmas Eve special about the birth of Jesus is told from the perspective of the shepherds, one in particular.  

Grab some tissue.  And maybe share with your family and friends.  I’m going to. Hearing all God did to bring it to pass, I can’t wait to see what He does through it. 

Merry Christmas! 

 

What Hope Looks Like

Posted on by Dorci

Not gonna lie, this Christmas has been a little bit more difficult than usual. 

I’ve needed more recuperating/decorating/planning/shopping time from Thanksgiving to Christmas and had less; we’ve had a storm of things breaking down over the past 8 weeks or so, sometimes two things conspire to break down at once; we’ve had multiple plans change beyond our control; and this Christmas season has been one of those I miss, well, a lot. But I know I’m not alone. 

The holidays are notorious for being stressful, wishful, mournful. We’re worn and weary. Family members can be difficult to deal with, and so can not having them with us. We can compare our lives to others and think theirs looks like a Hallmark Christmas movie or a Rockwell painting.

And then there’s the outside world with its constant fighting, crime, threats.  I can’t read the news without seeing words like hostile, accuses, attacks, and my personal favorite – throws shade.  (Where do people come up with these phrases?) So much pride, so much hate, so much despair.

With all that going on we can start to feel a little lacking in peace. In hope.

So where can we find hope?  What exactly does hope look like?

Hope looks like this. 

 

 

A young woman who humbled herself and answered the call of God on her life no matter the cost.

A young man who humbled himself, obeyed God, and married a pregnant woman.

And Hope Himself, The King and Creator of the world who humbled Himself, giving up all that was rightfully His – His throne, His equality with God, His divine splendor, His right to be treated like the King He was, and was born a helpless babe, for the joy that was set before Him…

And that joy was us.

To forge a relationship with us so that no matter what’s going on in our personal lives or in the world around us, He can be our Light in a dark and weary world, He can give us His peace that passes all understanding, and He can give us hope.

He calls on those of us who are weary to come to Him and He will give us rest. 

I know firsthand that’s true. It doesn’t always come immediately, but if we keep seeking Him, it will come.

I was walking around the house the other day, and though I’m not normally one to spontaneously break out in song (the very next gift I’m getting after my crown is a beautiful singing voice), I suddenly found myself singing a song I hadn’t even thought of in a while. And it made me smile.

My Lord, my Heavenly Father, had heard my cries, seen my weary heart, and turned my focus again toward what’s important – my relationship with Him, my eternal salvation, my hope in the life of the One who came to save me and all this weary world.

It may not be a traditional Christmas song, but it embodies the spirit of it as much as any. 

I hope you’ll come away from the stress of the season, from the world, from life and weariness, and embrace the Hope that was born that day in all humility for the joy of knowing you and giving you hope.

 

 

Why Christmas in the Fall is a Good Thing – Really

Posted on by Dorci

Soon (if we haven’t already) we’ll be seeing Christmas decorations in the store and hearing Christmas music, and we’ll start saying to each other “Can you believe there’s Christmas stuff up in the stores already?”

But there’s one good reason to start talking about Christmas in October, and that’s for Operation Christmas Child. This year will be the 26th year Samaritan’s Purse has collected and delivered shoeboxes to children all over the world, not only giving them gifts they never would have otherwise had, but introducing them to the love of Jesus, and immeasurably changing countless lives forever.

And in order to get those shoeboxes where they need to go before Christmas, collections begin early – a mere 44 days from today, November 18th to the 25th.  Just click on the hyperlink above and they’ll show you how to pack a shoebox and where your local drop-off locations are.

Yes, it’s easy, and it’s definitely a lot of fun, especially if you take your kids to help pick out the gifts or have a shoebox packing party.

It’s a simple act for us to do, but the impact the gift boxes have on these kids is not small.  Here’s the story of Boun Thorne.  It’s a tough, real story of a girl who grew up with no hope, finding hope in the person of Jesus Christ through someone who took the time to fill a shoebox with some simple gifts, and the power of His love, and how God’s blessed her since.

 

How God Can Put Together the Broken Pieces of Our Heart

Posted on by Dorci

Last weekend our church had the distinct privilege of hearing this man give a little bit of his testimony about what happened on the day this photo was taken and afterward.  You might be familiar with this image of Chris Fields and Miss Baylee Almon that was taken, unbeknownst to him, on April 19, 1995, the day of the Oklahoma City bombing.

He described a little bit about that horrific, rainy day that would end the lives of 168 people, 19 of them children, and injured more than 500.  How rows of first responders dug their way through rubble, 5 gallon buckets at a time, passing each one behind him or her until late into the night, looking for people, dead or alive.  How they had to try to match body parts to the rest of the body. How they came across a woman, barely alive, and were able to get her to safety, only to learn later that she and her unborn baby didn’t survive.

And how another firefighter handed Miss Baylee (the name her family called her) to him for a few moments while he went to find something to lay down so they wouldn’t have to lay someone’s precious child directly on the ground. Even how the Pulitzer Prize winning photo itself caused a lot of grief and controversy.

Chris struggled hard to deal with all that had happened.  Sometime later, when the smell of wet cement triggered a flashback of that day, he began to realize just how much the events were affecting him.

Chris talked about the fact that his mom had always been the family’s prayer warrior, and she told him God had a plan for him.  But Chris didn’t see it, and he decided to make his own plan, and he moved away from his wife and young sons.

Chris’s wife, Cheryl, talked about the fact that she didn’t grow up in a Christian family like Chris had.  Still, when her husband left, she turned to the Bible. People encouraged her to read the Psalms, and when she didn’t understand something, she called Chris to explain. And she began to pray.

She didn’t try putting on pretenses with God. She was honest. She prayed that if Chris wasn’t coming back, the Lord would take away her love for him.

Some people might not dare pray a prayer like that. Some people might just get mad at God and not pray at all.  And they might miss out on all God wants to do in their lives because of it.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

Cheryl kept praying, and never once did God turn her away for praying that prayer. On the contrary. Sitting in the presence of God, over and over, allowed God to work in her heart. Of course, God didn’t take away her love for Chris. He strengthened it.

God filled Cheryl with His amazing grace. And when Chris called one day about a year and a half after he’d left, Cheryl said, “Come home.”

And he did.

I’m sure the road since hasn’t been easy. There’s been counseling, and Chris still gets emotional talking about it. But with God they’ve persevered.

Since then Chris and Cheryl have spoken to many groups about PTSD, and about the hope that God gives. Looks like Chris’s mom was right (as moms often are).

The enemy does not have the last word. he will not have the last word as long as we sit with God and pour out our hearts to Him. He will never turn away someone who’s genuinely seeking Him, no matter what the prayer.

God’s not one bit surprised at the thoughts we have. He knows our hearts better than we do and already knows the thoughts we have. He just wants us to be honest, and know we can go to Him with anything. He’s our loving Father, and He wants us to know that no matter how broken our hearts are, if we’ll offer up those pieces to Him in prayer, He can put them together even better than they were before. If we abide in Him – cling to Him – through the good, the bad, and the ugly, He can fill us with His love and grace and mercy, fulfill His plans for us, and set us on a path we never dreamed possible.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for all you do.  Thank you for loving us through everything, for giving us your strength and courage as we go through trials.  Help us to give you our hearts, no matter how dark they seem or how many pieces they’re in, so you can heal them and fill them with your light. Help us to daily abide in Christ. Help us hold onto Him, to pray without ceasing, no matter what. Make us more than conquerors, Lord, and we pray that you have the last, victorious, glorious word in our hearts and in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.