Category: Hope
The Name
“Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very natureof a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:6-11
Prayer Attitudes
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of his reverent submission.” Hebrews 5:7-8
Don’t think you have to come to God all stoic and speaking like you’re reading out of the King James Bible with a lot of thous and thees, or that you have to pretend to have it all together. God doesn’t want pomp and circumstance, He wants your heart. He wants you.
It’s okay to come to Him when you’re depressed and crying or riddled with anxiety. In fact, it’s imperative that you do come to Him in those times. Jesus did.
But it is also possible, and even necessary, to keep an attitude of reverent submission at the same time.
Come into the Light with all your heart, keeping no secrets and leaving nothing behind. He is El Roi, the God who sees you. He already knows, He loves you, and He wants to heal you and grow you into spiritual maturity. He has plans for you and rewards for those who diligently seek Him. Don’t be afraid. Be excited!
Grace and Peace,
Thankful Thursday – Living in the Light
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
Over the last couple of months or so God has been speaking to my heart about living in the light, and I don’t think His word is only for me. So throughout the year I’ll be sharing with you some things He’s shown me, and I’m sure will show me, about living in the light, about being a light and about sharing His light with those around you.
Because of certain circumstances throughout my life, I grew accustomed at a young age to rely on myself, and dealing with mounting difficult circumstances alone taught me to keep secrets. By the time I was saved at 26, that way of living had become second nature.
It’s been 25 years since the day Christ shown His light into my heart and life, and yet more and more He’s showing me that my habit of running and hiding when life gets hard hasn’t included hiding from just people. Without really realizing it, I was, to a degree, hiding from God too. I was still in the mode of dealing with much of the pain and circumstances of life on my own.
But through His love and grace and mercy, He’s been coaxing me out from hiding and telling me “It’s okay. I already know how you feel, I already know what you think, and I love you no matter what. I don’t love you as others have. I love you unconditionally, with an all-consuming love, and nothing can take that away.”
The world tells us the opposite: that we have to earn love, and that pursuit can overflow into our relationship with Christ. The enemy works hard to keep us working for love, although he never reveals to us that love can never be earned. In trying to earn it, he dangles love as a carrot that’s always just out of reach. And in trying to conceal God’s love, the enemy also tries to conceal His light.
The thing the enemy doesn’t want anyone to know is that unless we come into the light, allowing our sins to be exposed by talking to our Heavenly Father about our pain, our confusion, our brokenness, and letting Him deal with it all, there can be no healing. satan loves when we keep secrets, when we live in the shadows, because he knows that Christ’s light will offer us forgiveness and will bind up our wounds. That He’ll use them grow us and give us a greater capacity for compassion toward others who are going through their own painful circumstances. satan doesn’t want us to know that our shame and guilt were nailed to the cross along with our sins when we received Christ as Lord and Savior.
But they were, and we are free. We are free to come into the Light.
Some truths are finally moving the long journey from my mind to my heart. As I’m growing in the Lord, I’m growing in His grace, and I’m finally starting to understand what those words mean.
And so, for the freedom to stand boldly with arms raised in the light and love of Jesus, I’m thankful.
Pain That Earns a Crown
“1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:1-5
Did you know that in the Greek, the word for rejoice in verse 2 – “rejoice in the hope of the glory of God”….is the same word for glory in verse 3 – “glory in tribulations…”
Rejoicing and glorying in the hope of the glory of God: yes. But they aren’t exactly the first words I think of when I think of my tribulations – or pressure – as the Greek describes it. In our modern vernacular we might say “being stuck between a rock and hard place.” There’s no place to go, no way out, and nothing we can do about it. And for this we are to rejoice just as we are to rejoice in the hope, or expectation, of the glory of God.
How can we do that?
Just as we can rejoice in what will come as a result of our hope, our faith, our expectation: the glory of God, we can also rejoice in what will come as a result of our tribulations: perseverance…character…hope. Just as we wait for the glory of God Himself, we wait for the glory of God to be made manifest in ourselves through our sufferings. It’s through pain and suffering that we’re conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 as a runner who competes. A lot of training goes into an athlete before competition, and spiritually speaking, tribulations are our God-given trainer.
A runner runs until his feet bleed, his shins ache and his muscles spasm, but he doesn’t give up. A boxer hits a speed bag, a heavy bag and a sparring partner until he’s bruised, bloodied and his knuckles are raw, but he doesn’t give up.
No matter what opponent you’re facing, don’t give up. It may be more than you bargained for, it may leave you in tears and breathless, it may bruise your soul, but don’t give up. Trust in the One who sees you, the One who uses pain to produce in His children His own character. Allow our loving Father to discipline and prepare you, to mature and perfect you for whatever He has planned – in this life and the next – so that you may run the race and win the crown.
Grace and mercy,
How to Find the Abundant Path
Here we are, standing at the beginning of a new year with countless paths before us, each with their own forks leading into valleys, mountaintops, hushed wooded groves, deep waters, blue skies. Some would lead us closer to God, some further away. So how do we know which ones to take? Which paths are the Lord’s, and how do we follow Him on His paths of abundance?
There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end of it is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seems right…..
Too many times we make decisions based on what seems right, on what we feel at the time. What we feel one day we may not the next, and making a decision based on our ever-changing feelings – or as the world might say, following your heart – can be disastrous, and lead us down a path full of snares.
So. If we can’t make a decision properly based on what seems right to us, how do we know what really is right?
The word abundance in Psalm 65:11 is the Hebrew word deshen which means “the fat; figuratively abundance; specifically the fatty ashes of sacrifice.”
Genesis 4:4 talks about Abel’s offering to the Lord. “And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering..” Abel didn’t keep the first or the best for himself, giving the Lord his scrawny leftovers. He brought the best of the best to give as a sacrifice to the Lord, and the Lord accepted it and the proof of His acceptance were the ashes. The sacrifice was acceptable and good in the sight of God. It was a bountiful, generous, overflowing, richly abundant banquet between the Lord and Abel.
Fast forward a few thousand years to the hill of Calvary. There is a cross, and on it the lamb of God. God’s very best given as an acceptable sacrifice for our sins.
This Offering was an abundant, sufficient, once-for-all Sacrifice for our sins.
Only this Sacrifice was raised again on the third day and now lives to make intercession for us to the Father. From Him all blessings, wisdom and direction to the very fullness of our sanctification lies with Christ.
Oh my dear friends, the abundant path is Christ Himself.
As you walk through the year, keep your eyes focused on Him. Remember, this life is not about things, it’s not about climbing an imaginary success ladder, it’s about an ongoing, intimate relationship with our Abba Father. He created us for fellowship with Him. Talk to Him and practice listening to His voice. And as you move through this life and aren’t sure which path to take, remember that He will never tell you to do anything contrary to His Word. He IS the Word.
As you go, you’ll need to hold onto a few things.
Faith in God.
Not faith in circumstances, not faith in people, but keep your faith where it belongs: on the God who loves you, who hears your prayers, and is in the process of answering them according to His will and His timing. Never, ever give up.
Trust in God.
Trust is faith in action. It’s where the rubber meets the road. When God tells you to go there, or do that, will you trust Him enough to be obedient, even when it’s hard or even seems impossible?
Hope in God.
Hope will sustain you when nothing makes sense. Without it our souls wilt, we give up and we either make decisions in the flesh and move in the wrong direction or we’ll stop moving altogether. None of those will have a good outcome. But hope will keep us encouraged, patient and joyful.
Love, for God and His people.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 1 Cor. 13:1-3
“The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:7-8
We have such a short time here on this earth. If all we do is wrapped up in the holy love of the Lord, we will leave a legacy that reaches further than we can imagine, and we’ll lay up treasures in heaven that no one can fathom.
And what is true love?
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Cor. 13:4-8a
That is the abundant life.
In His good grace,