Friday, December 29, 2006

Hope in God

Consider Each Other How to Stir Up Love by John Piper (Excerpt)


Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

...


"First, verse 23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Now that is not something you do with your hands or your feet. You don't go to the kitchen to do this, or to the den or across the street or to the office or to school. This is not done where anyone can see. This is an affair of the heart. Embrace your hope. Hold fast to your hope. Be a hope-filled person. Hope in God. Because God has made promises to you and he is faithful. He has promised to write the law on your heart (10:16) and work in you what is pleasing in his sight (13:21); he has promised to remember your sins no more (10:17); he has promised that we will be perfected for all time by a single sacrifice (10:14); he has promised never to leave us or forsake us (13:59); and he has promised to bring good from all our pain (12:10). And so he keeps his word."


Key Thought: "Be a hope-filled person. Hope in God. Because God has made promises to you and he is faithful."

Mary, The Mother of Jesus

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Though the topic is about Mary, I think we have to take a look at Joseph as well. I'm sure he was chosen of God for his part in the birth of Jesus as much as Mary was. Like Mary, he had a wonderful heart attitude. I believe you may have a new appreciation for Joseph.

We have to understand that though Mary and Joseph were only engaged to be married when Mary becomes pregnant, an engagement was as binding as marriage under their laws.

When Joseph learns of Mary's pregnancy, his first decision was to divorce her quietly. This would have been the kindest thing he could have done under the law at that time.

But an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and informs him that Mary has been chosen to bear the Son of God. The angel directs Joseph to marry Mary and take care of her. And in that same simple faith that Mary exhibited, Joseph believes and obeys. This was no easy thing for a Jewish man to do. Undoubtedly he endured ridicule and rejection for his decision. But we see that Joseph had a steadfast, obedient heart. Then he has to take Mary on that awful trip to Bethlehem, and subject her to a stable for a delivery room. That had to be frustrating for him.

Then shortly after the birth, instead of returning home to his family and business as he had planned, he had to take his wife and this child and flee his country, going to Egypt in order to save their lives. And all of this for a baby that was not even his.

We see how Joseph was continually called on to change his plans, relinquish his rights, subject himself to disgrace and much inconvenience in order to obey the Lord. But we never see him complaining or bemoaning his lot in life. He sacrificed a great deal for Mary and her precious Son. His love for the Lord and for Mary must have been enormous. Mary must have thanked God for Joseph time and again.

Think of Joseph when you're called on to do something inconvenient, when God changes your plans and asks something difficult of you. Think of his obedient heart and be encouraged that God has good eternal reasons for what he is asking. Like Joseph, we need obedient and non-complaining heart attitudes.

Key Thought: "We see how Joseph was continually called on to change his plans, relinquish his rights, subject himself to disgrace and much inconvenience in order to obey the Lord. But we never see him complaining or bemoaning his lot in life."

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Aimlessness is Akin to Lifelessness

John Piper, Consider Each Other How to Stir Up Love Excerpt

Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

What Are You Doing With Your Life?

When you get up in the morning and you face a day, what do you say to yourself about your hopes for the day? When you look from the beginning of the day to the end of the day, what do you want to happen because you have lived? What difference do you want your life to make?

If you say, I don't even think like that, I just get up and do what I've got to do, then you are cutting yourself off from a basic means of grace and a source of guidance and strength and fruitfulness and joy. It is crystal clear in the Bible, including this text, that God means for us to aim consciously at something significant in our days. God's revealed will for you is that when you get up in the morning, you don't drift aimlessly through the day letting mere circumstances alone dictate what you do, but that you aim at something - that you focus on a certain kind of purpose. I'm talking about children here, and teenagers, and adults - single, married, widowed, moms, and every trade.

Aimlessness is akin to lifelessness. Dead leaves in the back yard may move around more than anything else - more than the dog, more than the children. The wind blows this way, they go this way. The wind blows that way, they go that way. They tumble, they bounce, they skip, they press against a fence, but they have no aim whatsoever. They are full of motion and empty of life.

God did not create humans in his image to be aimless, like lifeless leaves blown around in the backyard of life. He created us to be purposeful - to have a focus and an aim for all our days. And this is not oppressive. It's not slavery. It's not depleting. To find what we were made for and to do it with all God's might (Colossians 1:29), is freeing (Galatians 5:13) and energizing. Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me" (John 4:34). Food! Aiming day by day to do what you were meant to do, is like eating: it gives life and energy, rather than taking it away. You will eventually die if you do what you were meant to do.

You may be young or you may be old. That is God's choice, not yours. But when you die doing what you were meant to do, you die well and full.

---

Key Thought: "Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me" (John 4:34). Food! Aiming day by day to do what you were meant to do, is like eating: it gives life and energy, rather than taking it away. "

As we come close to the new year I encourage you to consider your focus and aim.

Mary, Mother of Jesus

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

As you hear the Christmas story retold this season, look beyond those manger scenes and see the heart of the most blessed woman who ever lived, Mary the mother of Jesus. I think we can learn a great deal from this simple, trusting woman.

Can you appreciate the enormity of what Mary was asked to accept by faith? She was asked to believe that she would become pregnant without ever having relations with any man. And Mary believed. Why do you think Mary so readily believed what Gabriel told her? Was she just born that way? I don't think so. We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And we know from what Mary says later to Elizabeth that she knew the Word of God and believed it. So when Gabriel brought this further word to her, she was prepared to believe.

None of us will ever learn to trust God until we spend consistent, quality and quantity time in his Word. Instant faith is not possible unless and until you make trusting God a part of your everyday life. And that comes by knowing Him better and better through His Word.

When Mary tells her cousin Elizabeth her news, Elizabeth calls Mary blessed, and Mary answers with one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture, known as the Magnificat as found in Luke 1.

This Magnificat shows us again the kind of woman Mary was–a woman of praise. Mary could have said: "Oh, Elizabeth, what am I going to do? What will I tell Joseph? What will Joseph say? If he doesn't marry me, where will I go?" But Mary had a praising heart, and she was able to see the real importance of her position, rather than focusing on the negatives. So she thanked and praised God for his eternal purposes, though her life on earth was to be very difficult.

Like Mary, we need hearts of praise in order to find favor with God. How much time do you spend each day simply praising Him for who He is and what He has done for you? Notice that Mary used Scripture to recite back to the Lord in praise. That's a wonderful way to praise God, by reciting Scripture. You could use this wonderful Magnificat for your own personal praise time. The Psalms are full of praise passages.

Develop a heart of praise. This Christmas season would be a wonderful time to do just that.

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Key Thought: None of us will ever learn to trust God until we spend consistent, quality and quantity time in his Word. Instant faith is not possible unless and until you make trusting God a part of your everyday life. And that comes by knowing Him better and better through His Word.

Sit Together in Heavenly Places

Streams In The Desert
by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ . . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-6).

This is our rightful place, to be "seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," and to "sit still" there. But how few there are who make it their actual experience! How few, indeed think even that it is possible for them to "sit still" in these "heavenly places" in the everyday life of a world so full of turmoil as this.

We may believe perhaps that to pay a little visit to these heavenly places on Sundays, or now and then in times of spiritual exaltation, may be within the range of possibility; but to be actually "seated" there every day and all day long is altogether another matter; and yet it is very plain that it is for Sundays and week-days as well.

A quiet spirit is of inestimable value in carrying on outward activities; and nothing so hinders the working of the hidden spiritual forces, upon which, after all, our success in everything really depends, as a spirit of unrest and anxiety.

There is immense power in stillness. A great saint once said, "All things come to him who knows how to trust and be silent." The words are pregnant with meaning. A knowledge of this fact would immensely change our ways of working. Instead of restless struggles, we would "sit down" inwardly before the Lord, and would let the Divine forces of His Spirit work out in silence the ends to which we aspire. You may not see or feel the operations of this silent force, but be assured it is always working mightily, and will work for you, if you only get your spirit still enough to be carried along by the currents of its power. --Hannah Whitall Smith

"There is a point of rest
At the great center of the cyclone's force,
A silence at its secret source;
A little child might slumber undisturbed,
Without the ruffle of one fair curl,
In that strange, central calm, amid the mighty whirl."

It is your business to learn to be peaceful and safe in God in every situation.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Hope

May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace
as you trust in him,
so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Birth of the King

CHRISTMAS ANNOUNCED

700 Years Before His (Jesus') Birth:

v2 "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."

v4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the LORD HIS GOD. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.

v5 And this One will be our peace ...

Micah 5:2, 4, 5 ... (NAS)

Exuberance

Throughout history, even the most devout and missions-minded Christians have lived
with exuberance.
Saint Francis of Assisi and his followers got rebuked in church for being so happy as
they worshiped God.
The first generation of Methodists received constant criticism for being
"too enthusiastic."
And the early leaders of the Salvation Army knew such joy that they could scarcely
contain themselves.
When someone told a drummer not to hit his drums quite so hard, he said,
"Oh, sir, I'm so happy I could burst the blessed drum!"
Instead of getting buried by the seriousness of a fallen world, faith in Jesus Christ
offers us the ability
to laugh and enjoy ourselves, resting in God's promised eternal joys and pleasures.

Emotions: Friend or Foe?

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Friday, December 22, 2006

Our emotions are not our enemy. That is something I'm just learning. Instead of seeing my emotions as something that gets me into trouble, I now recognize that God gave me emotions to motivate me to action. When God's truth invades my mind, it is the emotional part of me that responds and causes me to act as God wants me to. However, if those three things are not working properly, then I get into trouble.

For example, what happens to this sequence when we never set our will to act? I tell you, this is a common failure point. Many times the problem is we are lazy, undisciplined or disorganized, and therefore we never do anything. Another reason is that we become jaded to truth. When we are continually exposed to truth without responding as we should, our emotions harden, we become callous and insensitive, and our will is frozen. That is one thing that frightens me, frankly. I just don't want to become so accustomed to the truth of Scripture or spiritual things that they never touch me emotionally.

So, my message to you is that emotions are not your problem. Emotions are gifts from God to lead us to do something. It is only when they are based on something less than the truth of God's Word, or when they are out of balance, or selfish, or dead, that we find our emotions become a problem. You don't need to get rid of those emotions; just channel them, by God's grace, so that they cause you to set your will and do what God wants you to do.

When our emotions are in right relationship with our will, as God intended them, they are marvelous tools in God's hand to move you and me to respond to God's truth the way we should. I hope you'll remember this sequence: When we are confronted with truth, we need to be moved by our emotions to set our will for action. Ask God to help you keep those in balance.

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Thought to ponder:

"When we are continually exposed to truth without responding as we should, our emotions harden, we become callous and insensitive, and our will is frozen. That is one thing that frightens me, frankly. I just don't want to become so accustomed to the truth of Scripture or spiritual things that they never touch me emotionally."

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Glory!

The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks
and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”

Psalm 29:9 (NLT)

Truth Telling

Excerpt from Elizabeth Elliot Daily Devotional

Recently I met a friend for lunch whom I had not seen for twenty years. As I approached the restaurant I was thinking the usual thoughts: Will she have changed much? Will I recognize her? Will we be able to find things to talk about?

I saw her as soon as I got there, and I knew that if I said, "Why, Helen, you haven't changed a bit! " it would be a bald lie. The truth was that Helen was beautiful now. She had never been a beauty in college. The years and her experiences (some of them of a kind of suffering I knew nothing about) had given her a deep womanliness, a kind of tender strength. Her eyes glowed, there was passion about her mouth, and the lines of her face revealed a strength of character she could not have had when she was a college student. So, instead of the usual pleasantries, I simply started with the truth. I told her what I saw in her face. Of course she was taken aback, but I am sure that this unorthodox beginning did not render further conversation more difficult. We were able to get down to the real things in life, things that matter and that had changed us both, rather than spending an hour on the ages of our children, their mates and careers, and our latest diets and recipes.

We all know that the truth often hurts. We use this cliche as a defense for having hurt someone, and sometimes it is indeed necessary to tell this kind of truth. But there is truth which does not hurt--truth which encourages and surprises with delight and gratitude. What if a teacher sees that a colleague of hers has succeeded in breaking down the resistance of a pupil who has been the despair of the other teachers, the talk of the faculty lunchroom? The change in the student is noticed, a sigh of relief is heaved, but who goes to the teacher herself and says, "Thanks! You've done what the rest of us couldn't do!" How many are free enough from themselves to recognize the worth of others and to speak of it honestly?

A lady who is a good many years older than I tells me often of the aunt who was a mother to her throughout her childhood. "Auntie'' impressed her with the need to tell the truth--the welcome kind--and she would add emphatically, "Tell them now." My friend calls me on the telephone--sometimes to thank me for a note or a little gift, sometimes to tell me what my friendship means to her.

"You remember what Auntie always said," she will say, ''so, I'm telling you now." There would be no way for me to exaggerate how she has cheered and helped me.

I was talking with a lady who had been a missionary for forty years, and I noticed that she had exceptionally lovely hands. "Has anyone ever told you your hands are beautiful?'' I asked. The dear soul was so flustered one might have thought I had committed an indecency. She looked at her hands in amazement.

"Why . . . why no. I don't think anyone ever has!'' But she saw that I meant it, and she had the grace to hear the truth. She said thank you.

"Tell it like it is," is the watchword today. But suppose it's lovely? Suppose it's actually beautiful? C. S. Lewis said that the most fatal of all nonconductors is embarrassment. It seems to me that life is all too short to let embarrassment deprive us and our friends of the pleasure of telling the happy truth. Suppose the boy who does your lawn does it fast, trims it perfectly, and takes care of the tools? Suppose the clerk who waits on you happens to be the most gracious one you've ever encountered? Suppose even that your husband--when you stop for once to look at him, to think about him as a person and as a man--seems to you to be the best man you know?

Tell them.

Tell them now.

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Key thought: "It seems to me that life is all too short to let embarrassment deprive us and our friends of the pleasure of telling the happy truth."

Priorities

I don't care what kind of car you have—92 percent of the people in the world that see us driving our cars think...rich.
Somewhere around a billion people in the world don't even have clean water.
Have you eaten today?
Somewhere around 800 million people won't eat today; 300 million of them are kids.
Every couple seconds, somebody dies of hunger.
How much money do you have on you right now?
Around a billion people in the world live on less than one dollar a day.
Experts say that in order to provide water, basic health, and nutrition for everyone in
the world,
it would cost around $20 billion, which is how much Americans spend in one year on ice cream.

From Rich 013 Rob Bell
DVD by Flannel

See What God Has Done!

See What God Has Done!
by Max Lucado

The heavens tell the glory of God. Psalm 19:1 NCV

How vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction and your prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. But spend some time walking in the workshop of the heavens, seeing what God has done, and watch how your prayers are energized …

Behold the sun! Every square yard of the sun is constantly emitting 130,000 horsepower, or the equivalent of 450 eight-cylinder automobile engines. And yet our sun, as powerful as it is, is but one minor star in the 100 billion orbs which make up the Milky Way Galaxy. Hold a dime in your fingers and extend it arm’s length toward the sky, allowing it to eclipse your vision, and you will block out 15 million stars from your view … By showing us the heavens, Jesus is showing us His Father’s workshop … He taps us on the shoulder and says, “Your Father can handle that for you.”

The Great House of God

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Emotions: Friend or Foe?

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Our emotions are the spark plugs that cause us to act. When we are emotional about the right things, we act correctly.

However, there are many people who are very emotionally committed to action, but their emotions are not based on truth. People involved in cults are often devoted and emotional about their religion, but it is based on lies and is not true to the Bible. So, the intensity of emotions doesn't mean a person is responding to some great truth. Our emotions can be very strong and very wrong.

If you, as a believer, are not continually immersing yourself in God's Word, it is highly likely that you are often emotional over something that is not true. You can be easily misled. So, we must first know the truth of God's Holy Word for our lives so that we are not reacting to wrong input.

However, just knowing truth as an end in itself doesn't really make a big difference, does it? We are to know truth in order to guide us into proper action. Truth should cause us to set our will to act in some decisive way.

That's when our emotions should be playing their important role. When Jesus saw the multitude in need, He was moved to compassion. Compassion is an emotion that moved Jesus to act–in this case, to heal people. He set His will to react to the emotion of compassion.

Many people are confronted with some truth which moves them emotionally, but that's all it does. You see, the strong feelings generated by the emotional reaction don't usually last too long. They should cause us to set our will to act, but the action frequently is done after those emotions have subsided. Unfortunately, all too often our wills go out the door once the emotion dies down.

In order to react to the truth that has stirred our emotions, we have to set our will at that moment and determine by God's grace to respond. That takes discipline; it takes commitment. The emotions give us the dream and the vision, but if we never set that will and make plans to do, then nothing happens.

God knows we need some dreamers and visionaries, but we've got to get beyond the vision to the action.

Contagious Faith

God's business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, settting us straight. Psalm 11:7, The Message

"The Hebrews were not an aggressively proselytizing people, but they were an intensely serious people -- serious about the meaning of life, serious about covenant with God,. They did not campaign to convert others to their way of life, but their faith was contagious. The peoples among whom they lived were attracted by the dazzling intensities of their worship and were drawn into the maturing pilgrimage of holiness. ... They discovered, through the witness of the Jew, the reality of God who created, who entered into suffering, who carved out a way of redemption."

Where Your Treasure Is


God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson

Teaching

I've been thinking about the Great Commission (Matthew 28). In this command Jesus didn't say "teaching them everything I've commanded you". What he did say was "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" -- the key difference is the word obey. Teaching them "everything" would result, I think, in us wanting knowledge for knowledge sake [see note at end] and becoming very proud of our knowledge. However, having to actually obey (follow) Jesus' teachings is another thing!

After hearing Jesus' response to the ruler (rich young ruler) his disciples said "Who then can be saved?" (Luke 18:26). That is, this is impossible! Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." (verse 27).

I think we must have a similar response as the disciples to "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" -- this should not result in pride because of what we know but instead should drive us to God because we recognize that this is impossible and it will only be through Him that we can pursue this command.

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On a related note here is what Dallas Willard wrote about teaching.

"We must recognize ... that the aim of the popular teacher in Jesus' time was not to impart information, but to make a significant change in the lives of the hearers.

...

The teacher in Jesus' time -- and especially the religious teacher -- taught in such a way that he would impact the life flow of the hearer, leaving a lasting impression without the benefit of notes, recorders, or even memorization. Whatever did not make a difference in that way just made no difference." (The Divine Conspiracy, p. 112-113)

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Knowledge

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (verse 3)

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (verse 8)

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In these two verses from 2 Peter 1 I've highlighted the aspect of knowledge. Notice most importantly that it is through His divine power and then in His divine power He has given us everything we need for life and godliness through knowledge. But also notice in verse eight that we can be ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge.

Knowledge given through His divine power should result in an increasing measure of His Spirit being exhibited in our lives in ways such as: goodness, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love.

Knowledge is for doing (through transformation), and if it is not changing us, then it's probably not really knowledge in the Biblical sense.

Being in the Word is extraordinarily important -- there is life in the Word!

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You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

John 5: 38-39

To him, glory!

From John Piper To Him Be Glory Forevermore


Romans 16:25-27

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

...

Then we hear the angels in Isaiah 6:3 say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.” The glory of God is the manifestation of his holiness. God’s holiness is the incomparable perfection and greatness of his divine nature; his glory is the display of that holiness. His glory is the open revelation of the secret of his holiness. In Leviticus 10:3, God says, “I will be shown to be holy among those who are near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.” When God shows himself to be holy, what we see is his glory—the beauty of holiness. The holiness of God is his concealed glory. The glory of God is his revealed holiness.

So here’s my effort at a definition: The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of his manifold perfections.

... what do we mean, for example, in verse 27, when we say, “To God be glory”? In the way Paul wrote it, there is no verb at all. It simply says literally, “To him, glory!” I think the absence of any verb opens the meaning to both a worshipful statement of fact and a worshipful expression of longing. The statement of fact would be: “To him belongs glory!” In other words, we are heralding the truth in worship: God is glorious! Whether you or I see it or not, God has it and displays it.

On the other hand, the expression of longing would be, “May glory be given to him!” That is, may people see him as glorious and praise him as glorious. “Give him glory,” not in the sense of adding anything to his glory, but acknowledging it and treasuring it. So when Paul leaves the verb out and simply says, “To the only wise God, glory!” I think he has both of these in mind: God is glorious! And the longing, the prayer: May all the nations see it and acknowledge it and value it as their highest treasure!


... see link for entire sermon ...


To him, glory!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Prayer Meeting

We had a prayer meeting last night to pray for "all the saints". We prayed for families, marriages, health, encouragement, faith, the lost, fellowship, safe travels and much more. It was a good time to "pray in the Spirit ... with all kinds of prayers and requests."

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18b

Emotions: Friend or Foe?

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Monday, December 18, 2006

Do you often feel that your emotions are your enemy? One of my biggest struggles is to keep my emotions from running the show. I think that's probably true for many of us. But it's also true that it's possible for some people to ignore their feelings and emotions, and that can cause problems as well.

Emotions can be troublesome, but we need to understand that God gave us our emotions woven into the fabric of our personalities, and it was not a mistake. When they work together with our will as they were intended to by God, they produce in our lives the best and highest purposes God has for us.

Let's see if we can understand the role that God intended for our emotions to play. Look at the perfect example of this in our Lord, as found in Matthew 14. In this passage, Jesus has just been informed of the death of John the Baptist, who was beheaded. This was His cousin and His partner in ministry, so obviously He was grieved. We read there that "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

Notice the sequence of events that led to the healing of the sick. Jesus saw the crowd. He was confronted with the truth of this group of people, who had great needs. This truth excited His emotions: "He had compassion on them," and that in turn led Him to heal them. This is the way God has planned for our emotions and our will to work together. When we are confronted with truth, that should cause our emotions to motivate us to set our will for the proper action.

So, the pattern is clear and simple: Truth in some form or another invades our minds and our senses. This truth then touches our emotions. The feelings and emotions that are stirred by the truth we’ve received then motivate us to do something. This is God's plan. You can see that emotions are the middleman, so to speak. Emotions are the spark plug that connect truth to our will and cause us to act. Without those emotions, we might take in lots of truth but never react to it.

But problems arise when our emotions and our will are out of balance or out of sequence. Has that ever happened to you?

Sermon

Aaron preached yesterday on The Message of Christ"mess" based on Matthew 1 -- the story of God's family (think Tamar, Rahab) isn't of people who are cleaned up and have everything together. We have this God who left heaven for us to come into the mess and clean it up and then He tells us to take the message back to others in the mess that this is what God has done for me.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Pray Today

Be devoted in prayer today:

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:18

Another Christmas Song

Another Christmas song I like is "Mary, Did You Know?" -- here are some of the lyrics.

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that youve delivered
Will soon deliver you

...

Mary did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great--I--- AM---.

Pulled Into Community

My mouth's full of great praise for God, I'm singing the hallelujahs surrounded by crowds.
Psalm 109:30

"The gospel pulls us into community. One of the immediate changes that the gospel makes is grammatical: we instead of I, our instead of my, us instead of me. ...

A believing community is the context for the life of faith. Love cannot exist in isolation: away from others, love bloats into pride. Grace cannot be received privately: cut off from others it is perverted into greed. Hope cannot develop in solitude: separated from community, it goes to seed in the form of fantasies. No gift, no virtue can develop and remain healthy apart from the community of faith."

Reversed Thunder


God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson

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"No gift, no virtue can develop and remain healthy apart from the community of faith."

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Devote Yourselves

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Colossians 4:2

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Devote defined:
1. to give up or appropriate to or concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc.: to devote one's time to reading.
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Have you ever noticed how often when we're told to pray that we are also told to be "thankful"?

For example, Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Learning to Practice Love

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The definition of love is not easy to come by, because when we talk about love, it can have all kinds of different meanings. We say, "I love my dog, I love my job, I love my new shoes, I love my family, I love God." But all of those have different meanings and values to us.

Paul gives us a list of the evidences of love, and here they are: patient, kind, generous, humble, courteous, unselfish, good tempered, without guile. You'll notice that all of these relate to people and how we treat them. Loving God is not difficult to do when you have some understanding of what He is like. But loving people–ah, there's the rub.

Someone has said, "The greatest thing a person can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to some of His other children." Every time you or I lack patience in our treatment of others, we lack love. Whenever we fail to be kind, even to strangers and people who are not kind to us, we have failed in the love department. When you lose your temper or behave in a sullen and moody way, you're not living in love. When you talk about yourself a lot and make yourself the center of attention, you're not treating others lovingly.

As I've explored the meaning of love according to 1 Corinthians 13, I've wanted to crawl under a table a few times. I miss the mark frequently. Oh, I may have a radio program and speak at lots of functions across the country. But if love doesn't consume me so that I demonstrate these qualities in my life consistently, all this time and effort I put into the ministry counts for NOTHING.

Just try to let that principle sink into your head and heart. What we do counts for a big ZERO if we don't practice love on a consistent basis. Well, how in the world do we learn to practice love? Let me encourage you to begin by reading 1 Corinthians 13 every day for at least the next 30 days. The more you read it and meditate on the overwhelming importance of love, the more you're going to want to love.

Then pray that chapter into your life each day. Pray about those specific characteristics of love and ask God to help you practice them. We need to practice love–to learn to love–and that takes a plan and time.

Here's my challenge to you. Read 1 Corinthians 13 every day for a month, and pray it into your life. I'm doing it again, and I know it is life changing!

Bitterness

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:31-32


Tears blurred my vision as I struggled to keep the car between the highway markings. "God, I'll never go back," I sobbed as I sped toward home. "I've tried and tried to get along with Beulah. It's no use, she'll never change." I shivered in the crisp morning as the cool temperature seemed to penetrate my body.

This time my stepmother's tongue had cut too deeply---surely we had finally come to the point of no return in our relationship. I loved my father deeply, but I was going to have to stay away from both of them. Every visit ended in grief, and I could see no hope for a decent relationship---ever.

Beulah entered my life when I was three. At that age I should have adjusted easily to her as my mother, but even then she was possessive of my father's time and attention. Ever since, I had toted a hug bag of resentment toward Beulah. Bitterness was my constant companion. As a Christian, I felt ashamed that I couldn't manage a good relationship with Beulah. Knowing that it shouldn't be that way, I struggled with the problem constantly, but the situation seemed impossible.

I wallowed in self-pity for two weeks after my awful meeting with Beulah, and God listened to my tale of woe. "I've spent my whole life trying to please her," I wailed. "And those days I was miserable most of the time."

Then God brought to mind the parable from the Bible in which a wicked servant who was forgiven his debt in turn refused to forgive his fellow servant of his debt. The wicked servant's master turned him over to jailers to be tortured until his debt was fully repaid. (Matthew 18:21-35) God showed me that I was like that servant in that I had been in an emotional prison for years. I was hurting, but I knew that I could never be free from the torture of bitterness and resentment until I forgave Beulah completely. "What can I do, God?" I prayed. "She's the one who hurts me. I can't seem to do anything about the memories. Those things really happened, they hurt then, and now they're stuck in my mind."

I sensed that God was shining His light into a dirty corner of my heart. It seemed as if He were telling me, "You allow every painful thing that she has ever done to come flooding back into your mind. You have to go through the entire struggle of forgiving her again. You need to forgive her just as I have forgiven you. I have forgiven your wrongs against Me, and I will never bring them up again. When haunting memories come, refuse them. I've told you what to do in My Word. Read it."

Understanding began to rise in my mind, and I prayed, "Right now, with Your help, Lord God, I am going to forgive her just as You have forgiven me. I don't want to bring those things up ever again." With trembling hands I opened my Bible and read, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

"Oh, God," I cried, "is it really that simply?" I was already beginning to feel the first glow of peace in my heart as I began to understand that if I obeyed God's Word, He would help to change my thought patterns.

"From this moment," I promised God, "every time a bad memory enters my thoughts, I am going to obey this Scripture." And I did. When bitter thoughts and resentment entered my mind, I countered with good thoughts. Sometimes with something as simple as, "She's the best cook I know." Gradually I formed a new habit in thinking. God didn't change my stepmother - He changed me! I could think now of her as "mother" instead of "stepmother", and I no longer dwelt on the hurtful things she said.

A few years passed. One day the phone rang much too early in the morning. When I answered the phone, I could hear the panic in my father's voice as he said, "Honey, something is wrong with your mother. I can't wake her up." I said, "Daddy, try to be calm. We'll get there as fast as we can." A mad race to their house revealed Mother lying in bed, unable to speak, unable to move.

The next several hours were a blur of ambulance, hospital, doctors, test and more tests. Finally, we learned that Beulah had had a massive stroke. One doctor explained, "The trauma to her body was as devastating as if she had been struck by a semi." For the next nine months she lay paralyzed, unable to communicate even her smallest needs.

Because the bitterness was gone, I was able to spend long hours by Beulah's side caring for her. Friends and family who knew how difficult our relationship had been through the years asked, "How can you be so kind to this woman? She had made your life miserable since you were a child." I could respond that my compassion for her was real, and I felt a genuine sorrow for what she was going through. I have often thought of how different my feelings would have been during that time if God had not done His special work in my heart and wiped away the bitterness.

I praise Him. I adore Him. "He set me free, He broke the bonds of prison for me."

Joan Cox

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Let All Within Us Praise His Holy Name

I don't know about you .. and of course I get tired of hearing the same song a zillion times .. but I just love the lyrics of Christmas songs .. there is so much theology there and such a reminder of what God has done.

For example, I love the lyrics to "O Holy Night". Here are verses 1 and 3:


Oh holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born;
Oh night divine, Oh night Divine.


Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Our Custodian

The law was our custodian until Christ came. Galatians 3:24, RSV

"The meaning of the Greek word paidagogos that lies behind the English word custodian often loses something in translation. Greek families that were well off enough to have slaves chose one of them, usually an old and trusted slave, to be in charge of their children from the ages of six to sixteen. This custodian went with the child to school to see that no harm or mischief came to him. He was not the schoolmaster. He had nothing to do with the actual teaching of the child. It was only his duty to take him safely to the school and deliver him to the teacher. That, says Paul, is how the law works: it delivers us to the place of faith, to Christ."

Traveling Light


God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson.

Older Yet Growing Spiritually

David Jeremiah uses lessons from the life of Caleb (Joshua 14) to talk about growing older yet still growing spiritually.

"When we stop serving God, we stop growing spiritually. We stop being involved in what God has for us. We lose the edge on our spiritual life. I don't know any Christians who can sit back, retired from all Christian service, and maintain a vital healthy relationship with God. Involvement is part of our spiritual growth, and it doesn't stop no matter how old you are."

David Jeremiah, The Lonely Senior, Overcoming Loneliness.

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11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."

13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

Joshua 14

Only Wise God

John Piper in preaching on Romans 16:25-27 talks about the infinite wisdom of God and the great goal of God in our salvation.

"The great goal of God’s work in salvation is that all the elect from every people and tribe and language and nation would boast with white hot allegiance only in the Lord, and not in themselves."

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John Piper, "The Great Work of the Only Wise God"

Romans 16:25-27
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

When Paul comes to the final phrases of his doxology—the final phrases of the entire book of Romans—he emphasizes one attribute of God, namely, his wisdom. Verse 27: “To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”

My aim in this message is to open a window in your mind to the infinite expanses of the wisdom of God, so that you see it more clearly and admire him more intensely and trust him more firmly and thus obey him more consistently and joyfully—to the end that your life would display the glory of his wisdom more compellingly. You don’t have to remember all that. Just pray that it happen.

....

So Paul continues like this:

(Verses 30-31)
He [God the Father] is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

This is the greatest goal of salvation. This is what infinite wisdom was aiming at. “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” God has chosen us, purchased us, called us, and done everything else involved in our salvation, from eternity to eternity, with perfect wisdom—that is, in such a way as to strip us of all boasting before God in ourselves, and replace it with boasting only in the Lord.

The great goal of God’s work in salvation is that all the elect from every people and tribe and language and nation would boast with white hot allegiance only in the Lord, and not in themselves. Beware of saying you could have found a better way to do it. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” You do not know enough to counsel God about the way he saves. Rather, let us bow our heads with broken-hearted humility and learn what infinite wisdom does. And then, let your whole life be one consistent boasting in the Lord alone.

-- see link for the entire sermon --

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Stay God-Centered

Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

"Whenever Satan attacks, you must "be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). Don't worry about the devil's power. We are to stay God-centered and ministry-oriented. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus, preach the gospel, love one another, and be God's ambassadors in our fallen world."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

The King -- King Jesus!

I will be thy King. - Hosea 13:10
King of the Saints. - Revelation 15:3
A King shall reign in righteousness. - Isaiah 32:1
My King and my God. - Psalms 5:2
The Lord is King forever. - Psalms 10:16
And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. - Zechariah 14:9
The King of Israel, even the Lord is in the midst of thee. - Zephaniah 3:15
Thy King cometh unto thee. - Zechariah 9:9
Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty. - Isaiah 33:17
The Lord is our King. - Isaiah 33:22
The King of Glory shall come in. Psalms 24:7
The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory - Psalms 24:10
The Lord sitteth King forever. - Psalms 29:10
Thou art my King, O Lord. - Psalms 44:4
He is a Great King over all the earth. - Psalms 47:2S
ing Praises unto our King. - Psalms 47:6
For God is the King of all the earth. - Psalms 47:7
For God in my King of old. - Psalms 74:12
O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God. - Psalms 84:3
The Holy One of Israel is our King. - Psalms 89:18
I will extol Thee, my God, O King. - Psalms 145:1
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. - Revelation 19:16
King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. - 1 Timothy 1:17
The Lord is an everlasting King. - Jeremiah 10:10
Blessed be the King Who cometh in the Name of the Lord. - Luke 19:38
I set My King upon My Holy Hill of Zion. - Psalms 2:6
Worship the King, the Lord of Hosts. - Zechariah 14:16
I am a Great King. - Malachi 1:14

Learning to Practice Love

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Monday, December 11, 2006

I remember that as a young junior Sunday school student, I memorized 1 Corinthians 13. That's the famous love chapter, and I can still quote it almost perfectly. But, like many other familiar scripture passages, I've quoted it and heard it so often, that the full implications of its teaching can sometimes elude me.

Some dear friends recently asked me, "How can we pray for you?", and my ready reply was, "Just pray that I'll love Jesus more and more and have a heart to love others." If those things are in place in my life, everything else follows. If not, nothing I do has any importance or meaning. Paul said I could speak with the voice of an angel, but it wouldn't mean anything without a loving heart.

Paul also said that love is the fulfilling of the law. This was a radical statement in his day, because all of his fellow Jews were focused on fulfilling the Ten Commandments and the 110 other commandments which they had manufactured out of them. Can you imagine how difficult that must have been, just to remember all of them? And now Paul brings this revolutionary principle: "If you do one thing, you will do these 110 things without even thinking about them. If you love, you will unconsciously fulfill the whole law."

If we focus on ONE thing–being filled with love for Jesus and love for others–all other spiritual virtues automatically follow. Yet so often we reverse the process. I think of a woman who is in many ways very godly. She prays all the time; she studies her Bible constantly; she is at every church service; she keeps herself separate from harmful activities of any type; her life is exemplary in many ways. Yet, when she is with people, almost every time she causes them to be uncomfortable and hurts feelings because of her words which sound unloving and self-righteous.

Oh, we need to pray and read our Bibles and keep our lives separate from worldly actions, but those things should follow love, not precede it. Without being focused on love, we may do a lot of things that look good, but they'll never impress God, because He says without love, it's amounts to nothing in his sight.

My goal is to get some of you to make a commitment: A commitment to read 1 Corinthians 13 every day for 30 days, and to pray each day that God will teach you how to practice love–how to make 1 Corinthians 13 a reality in your life. It will be life changing. I've done it before, but I'm doing it again. Will you join me in that commitment?

Monday, December 11, 2006

Evensong

Last night we finished 1 Corinthians. We decided to read Deuteronomy next and made it through chapter 1.

A few places we read "the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it .." God had given them the land yet they still had to go up and take possession. I think the same is true today -- there are many things God has given us but we still have to "go up and take possession".

What contributed to their failure? "Our brothers made us lose heart" (1:28) -- don't underestimate your power to discourage others away from the will of God because of your fear and complaining. I imagine that is why we read in Ephesians "do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their need that it will benefit those who listen" (4:29).

Then we read "In spite of this [God's deliverance], you did not trust in the Lord your God" -- God called them an evil generation. Trust in God. Faith. One of the most important reasons for our fellowship is to encourage one another in our trust in God.

Sermon

Yesterday Aaron talked about Luke 2:41-52 --- the story of Jesus' parents losing him for three days. He said "it's easier to lose Jesus than you think -- it happens all the time."

They lost Jesus for three days.

If you lose Jesus for three days meet back here: Scripture (v. 49).

If you lose Jesus for three days meet back here: Communion (Luke 24:13-32)

... it's easier to lose Jesus than you think, it happens all the time ..

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I'm reminded of what is said in Jeremiah 29:13

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (NLT)

Look frantically, wholeheartedly, for Jesus -- He promises we will find Him.

Friday, December 08, 2006

No Afternoon Athletic Contest

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Ephesians 6:12-18, The Message

Living Large

I'll make a list of God's gracious dealings, all the things God has done that need praising. Isaiah 63:7, The Message

"There are tendencies within us and forces outside us that relentlessly reduce God to a checklist of explanations, or a handbook of moral precepts, or an economic arrangement, or a political expediency, or a pleasure boat. God is reduced to what can be measured, used, weighed, gathered, controlled, or felt. Insofar as we accept these reductionist explanations, our lives become bored, depressed, or mean. We live stunted like acorns in a terrarium. But oak trees need soil, sun, rain, and wind."

Reversed Thunder


God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson.

Gossip

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Friday, December 8, 2006

As Fran wakes on this Wednesday morning, she asks herself: "Why did you pass on information you didn't know was true?"

She tries to blame Andy because he’s the one who told her this gossip about Bill Best. But the Spirit of God won’t let her get by with that. She knows that what comes out of her mouth is her responsibility

But she's not ready to confront her sin, so, quickly she gets up and gets busy. Activity is one way she tries to block out the voice of Jesus.

As she arrives at work that morning, feeling just awful inside, her manager, comes into her office. "Fran, do you know that somebody has started a vicious rumor about Bill Best and why he's leaving the company, and there's not one word of truth to it. He's just been diagnosed with cancer of the lungs and they give him maybe six months to live, but he didn't want people to know before he left. And now, I hear this rumor that he was asked to resign because of something unethical. I just can't believe how cruel people can be."

Fran remains very quiet; she is devastated by what Marilyn tells her. After Marilyn leaves, Fran drops in her chair and lowers her head on her desk. This is the worst thing I've ever done, she thinks to herself. How could it happen?

Well, obviously Fran has got some serious mending to do, with the Lord and some other people. Gossip is not a game to play; gossip is malicious and harmful and it can cause irreparable damage to people and relationships.

Slipping into the gossip mode is easy to do. Fran never intended to become a gossiper. She relied on the accuracy of her information because it came from someone she trusted. She didn't check out her facts, but even if the facts had been true, there was no need whatsoever to pass this on. And in the end she's caused harm to an innocent man, damaged her relationship with Andy, and probably lost some respect from her coworkers. A big price to pay for passing on rumors.

I want to challenge you to memorize Ephesians 4:29:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

And pray that verse every morning into your life. If you and I practice this verse, it will stop gossip dead in its tracks.

Discerning the Trends

Discerning the Trends: The Prophecy of C. S. Lewis
by Chuck Colson

C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis was born on November 29, 1898, and forty-one years after his death, one thing has become startlingly clear: This Oxford don was not only a keen apologist but also a true prophet for our postmodern age.

For example, Lewis’s 1947 book, Miracles, was penned before most Christians were aware of the emerging philosophy of naturalism. This is the belief that there is a naturalistic explanation for everything in the universe.

Naturalism undercuts any objective morality, opening the door to tyranny. In his book The Abolition of Man, Lewis warned that naturalism turns humans into objects to be controlled. It turns values into “mere natural phenomena”—which can be selected and inculcated into a passive population by powerful Conditioners. Lewis predicted a time when those who want to remold human nature “will be armed with the powers of an omnicompetent state and an irresistible scientific technique.” Sounds like the biotech debate today, doesn’t it?

Why was Lewis so uncannily prophetic? At first glance he seems an unlikely candidate. He was not a theologian; he was an English professor. What was it that made him such a keen observer of cultural and intellectual trends?

The answer may be somewhat discomfiting to modern evangelicals: One reason is precisely that Lewis was not an evangelical. He was a professor in the academy, with a specialty in medieval literature, which gave him a mental framework shaped by the whole scope of intellectual history and Christian thought. As a result, he was liberated from the narrow confines of the religious views of the day—which meant he was able to analyze and critique them.

Lewis once wrote than any new book “has to be tested against the great body of Christian thought down the ages.” Because he himself was steeped in that “great body of Christian thought,” he quickly discerned trends that ran counter to it.

But how many of us are familiar with that same panorama of Christian ideas “down the ages”? How many of us know the work of more than a few contemporary writers? How, then, can we stand against the destructive intellectual trends multiplying in our own day?

The problem is not that modern evangelicals are less intelligent than Lewis. As Mark Noll explains in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, the problem is that our sharpest intellects have been channeled into biblical scholarship, exegesis, and hermeneutics. While that is a vital enterprise, we rarely give the same scholarly attention to history, literature, politics, philosophy, economics, or the arts. As a result, we are less aware of the culture than we should be, less equipped to defend a biblical worldview, and less capable of being a redemptive force in our postmodern society—less aware, as well, of the threats headed our way from cultural elites.

You and I need to follow Lewis’s lead. We must liberate ourselves from the prison of our own narrow perspective and immerse ourselves in Christian ideas “down the ages.” Only then can we critique our culture and trace the trends.

The best way to celebrate Lewis’s birthday is to be at our posts, as he liked to say—with renewed spirits and with probing and informed minds.


For further reading and information:

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Touchstone, 1996 version).
C. S. Lewis, Miracles (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001 version).
C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001 version).
Charles Colson, “ The Oxford Prophet ,” Christianity Today, 15 June 1998 .
Charles Colson, “ Cultural Prophecy: Lewis learned from the greats ,” Boundless, 25 August 1998 .
Charles Colson, “ C. S. Lewis: Prophet of the Twentieth Century ,” Wilberforce Forum.
James Tonkowich, M. Div., “ In Praise of Old Books ,” BreakPoint WorldView, March 2004.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 040412, “ Everything Old Is New Again: C. S. Lewis and the Argument from Reason .”
BreakPoint Commentary No. 031121, “ Three Died That Day: Reflections on November 22, 1963 .”
Dr. Armand Nicholi, The Question of God: C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life (Free Press, 2002).
Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1994).
Mark A. Noll, “ The Evangelical Mind Today ,” First Things, October

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Object of Thankfulness

I was thinking about how Paul addresses churches in his letters and how he often told them that he was thankful for them and praying for them. So, I thought it might be interesting to see why he was thankful as a way of identifying what we might desire for our local body of believers.

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For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Ephesians 1


I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1


We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—

Colossians 1


We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1


And one "negative" example:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all.

Galatians 1


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Not an exhaustive list .. I didn't look at every letter from Paul .. but it looks like there are some common factors here: faith in the Lord Jesus and love for the saints. Is this the criteria that most use in identifying a body to be associated with? I'm not sure, but I think this is what I'd want Paul to say about our church.

John

We finished our class last night on John. I love this book.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 20:31

And to make sure we know what he means by life we have:

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 17:3

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Enjoying God is a Means Not an End

The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World by John Piper


The enjoyment of God above all else is the deepest way that God’s glory is reflected back to him.

The enjoyment of God terminates on God alone and is not performed as a means to anything else. It is the deepest reverberation in the heart of man of the value of God’s glory.

We can do good works as a means to many things. We can speak good words as a means to many things. We can think good thoughts as means to many things. But we cannot enjoy God as a means to anything. We don’t choose joy in God as an act for the sake of something beyond joy in God. That’s not the way joy works. You don’t enjoy your wife so that she will make your supper. You don’t enjoy playing ball with your son so that he will wash the car. You don’t enjoy a sunset so that you can become a poet. There are no so thats in the experience of joy.

It’s the very nature of joy to be a spontaneous response to something that you value. Joy comes to you. It rises spontaneously as witness to what you treasure. And therefore, it reveals more authentically than anything what your treasure is. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Joy is unique in its capacity to witness to what we treasure.

... there is much more to this if you follow the link ...

Songs of Victory

God's strong name is our help, the same God who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8, The Message


"Faith develops out of the most difficult aspects of our existence, not the easiest.

We speak our words of praise in a world that is hellish; we sing our songs of victory in a world where things get messy; we live our joy among people who neither understand nor encourage us. But the content of our lives is God, not humanity. We are not scavenging in the dark alleys of the world, poking in its garbage cans for a bare subsistence. We are traveling in the light toward a God who is rich in mercy and strong to save. It is Christ, not culture, that defines our lives. It is the help we experience, not the hazards we risk that shapes our days."

A Long Obedience


Eugene Peterson, God's Message for Each Day.

Promises

Promises of Love

The Lord appeared to me in a faraway place and said, “I love you with an everlasting love. So I will continue to show you my kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but have eternal life. John 3:16

I loved you the same way the Father has loved me. So live in my love. John 15:9

Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us. Romans 5:8

Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can’t be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world below or anything else in creation. Romans 8:33b-39

God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. 1 John 4:9.

We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4:16

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Saints

To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:7


"In Scripture, believers are called "saints." You are not a sinner; you are a saint who sins. If you fail to see that, Satan will convince you that you are a worthless Christian. But opening your eyes to the radical transformation of your core identity from sinner to saint will have powerful, positive effect on your daily resistance to sin and Satan."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

Instrumental Music

An essay by Leroy Garrett posted at Preacher Mike (December 3, 2006)


INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN CHURCHES OF CHRIST

It is significant that the Richland Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth recently announced that it would soon have a service with instrumental music in addition to its usual services where the traditional practice of acappella singing will be preserved. It is significant not only because Richland Hills is one of our largest congregations, if not the largest, but also because it is one of our most influential churches, if not the most influential.

Unlike some of our avant garde churches, Richland Hills has been cautious and moderate in the changes it has made through the years. A number of churches have “progressed” beyond the point of any identity as Churches of Christ, and have more or less disclaimed any connection. They have not only gone “instrumental” completely, but they have taken some generic name in place of Church of Christ. They say that name is an impediment to their mission. And yet their leadership and membership are largely from Churches of Christ, and they are likely to practice communion and baptism as before. They are particularly “grace-oriented.”

When I discussed this with Rick Atchley, senior minister at Richland Hills, he said being “Church of Christ” was no problem to them. He appeared to agree with what I have long said: We should be busy being what we believe a true Church of Christ should be – unsectarian, unity-minded, Christ-centered, and faithful to our heritage both in Scripture and to our Restoration tradition. That is what reformation/restoration is about – not leaving and becoming rootless, but staying and effecting renewal from within.

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(much more at link)

My Secret Life of Discipleship

On Becoming Truer: My Secret Life of Discipleship by Brian Mashburn


A few excerpts. I'd encourage you to read the entire post.

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I'd like to introduce you to a whole bunch of us who are members of the Church of Christ who live secret lives of discipleship totally separate and apart from our church practices.

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We are not interested in change. We are interested in Christ, and whatever we must change in order love Him more truly, we are glad and anxious to do so.

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The Bible's overarching call is to follow God. Jesus' overarching call is to discipleship. Our hope is in our mutual agreement to pursue the Restoration of Discipleship. Once again, and all over again, and in a brand new way...following Jesus can be our salvation.

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Monday, December 04, 2006

What's Happening


This is a model Joe describes in "What's Happening to churches of Christ". An excerpt follows.

Categories of People

Notice there are six categories of people contemplated in the model. In my opinion, these categories explain more about what is happening to us than do the types of churches.
Exasperateds are so fed up with the conflicts in our fellowship that they want to leave the Church of Christ . They generally view our brotherhood as denominational and feel that the negatives of other denominations are no worse than ours. Often they carry a great deal of personal hurt from the words or actions of Satisfieds or Zealots. That hurt strongly influences their feelings about the brotherhood and makes them lean toward cynicism and hopelessness about the future churches of Christ. They usually aren't considered Change Agents because they carry no hope for change. They dwell on the verge of leaving us altogether.

Opens are people who are comfortable with the nontraditional actions and doctrines of Innovative churches. They want to stay in fellowship with the Church of Christ but they put greater emphasis on their own spiritual development than on the judgment of other churches in the fellowship. They are often labeled Change Agents. They feel that certain changes in methodology and certain changes in traditionally accepted beliefs (like grace, fellowship, worship) must take place before the church will grow spiritually and numerically. They sometimes move toward becoming Exasperateds as they react to vitriolic attacks from Satisfieds or Zealots who try to force them back into more traditional views and actions. They typically don't see yielding to the demands of more traditional brothers as an act of compromise, but as an act of accepting spiritual lethargy or death.

Cautious worry about losing or harming their relationship with people in the Traditional churches. They want new and exciting things, are excited about their own spiritual growth, but have just enough fear of the "innovations" to be uncomfortable and concerned. Certainly not Change Agents, they retreat toward more traditional positions when pushed to make decisions between innovative or traditional actions or beliefs.

Searchers feel that changes have to take place to make the church vibrant but strongly fear making changes that may destroy the "identity" of the church. They like some things they see in Innovative churches but usually aren't comfortable with moving to those churches. They fear the loss of relationships of those they love in Traditional churches and often have questions about the "rightness" of some things the Innovative churches do. They would be ecstatic if someone could show them how to grow a spiritually vibrant and growing church while remaining totally within boundaries accepted by Satisfieds and Traditional Churches. When they are members of churches swelling from the death of smaller, dying churches, they enjoy the growth and the good things that come with it while harboring a secret fear that they are only delaying the inevitable realization that they haven't yet found the church they long for.

Satisfieds like things like they've been since the 1950s. They don't see any need to change and question or attack any change perceived as different from what the church has been during their lifetime. Neither increasing, level, or decreasing numbers of members affects their views or practices at all.

They feel that being doctrinally "sound" is the only test of faithfulness. "Sound doctrine" for them often translates into maintaining the views, beliefs, and practices of the church they grew up in or were converted to. They don't question, even when they feel they don't have good answers for what they believe or for the decline in their church's membership. Their confidence in the church they know, the leaders of that church, and the great preachers of the past lead them into a satisfied state that exists without question or scrutiny.

Zealots, like their first century namesakes, make strong attacks against everything and everyone they see as a threat to their culture and cling tenaciously to what they call the "old paths." They believe their defense of their culture is a defense of God's church and that conviction makes them very motivated and very aggressive. They make statements that their deductions and interpretations of the Bible are the "doctrine of Christ" and, therefore, equal to the very will of God. Therefore, they strongly condemn any statement or action not in total harmony with their deduced doctrines. They oppose many things done by the Left Wing and Innovative churches or said by Exasperated or Open people. The extreme in this group sometimes fabricate or embellish "evidence" to more forcefully attack those they feel to be a threat to the church they know. For example, they might write an article saying "this is what he said but this is what that really means." The difference in them and the Satisfieds is their extremely negative mindset and their quick willingness to attack orally and in writing anything or anyone they see as the enemy. Satisfieds tend to attack from a protective posture, usually only attacking when they feel their church or family is personally threatened. Zealots operate in offensive movements, attacking across the brotherhood whether or not they feel their church or family is personally threatened.

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Please see link for entire article.

Call to the Lord

I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

2 Samuel 22:4

Missionary Prayer

Today we are joining a missionary family, Philip and Jaime, in praying about their house here in the states. Please pray for them to have God's wisdom in making a decision.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Called to Freedom

You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

"In relationships, God desires that we focus on our responsibilities, not insist on our rights. Husbands, having a submissive wife is not a right to be demanded; being a loving, caring husband is a responsibility to fulfill. This principle applies to all other kinds of relationships. Someday, God will reward us not for what we received, but for what we gave."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

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Here's a related thought:

"Life is most enjoyed when we give ourselves away. In that sense the generous could be described as hedonistic. They experience indescribable pleasure in serving the good of others and knowing that someone else's life was enriched as a secret indulgence. ... Generosity is the natural overflow of love. Love not only expands our hearts, but increases our capacity to give of ourselves. Jesus reminds us, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)." Erwin McManus, Uprising.

Today

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Promises

Promises of Peace

I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down because you alone, O Lord, enable me to live securely. Psalm 4:8

The Lord will give power to his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the Nations. I rule the Earth. Psalm 46:10

With perfect peace you will protect those whose minds cannot be changed, because they trust you. Isaiah 26:3

I’m leaving you peace. I’m giving you my peace. I don’t give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don’t be troubled or cowardly. John 14:27

Also, let Christ’s peace control you. God has called you into this peace by bringing you into one body. Be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Try to live peacefully with everyone, and try to live holy lives, because if you don’t you will not see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

People who want to live a full life and enjoy good days must keep their tongues from saying evil things… they must turn away from evil and do good. They must seek peace and pursue it. 1 Peter 3:10-11

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Overflowing Blessing

My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19, NKJV


"A wrong idea of reality leads to a wrong response to life. If we think God is stern and angry and despotic, we will live frightened. If we think that God is miserly and stingy, we will live feeling gypped. If we think that God is abstract and impersonal, we will live aimlessly and trivially.

The gospel teaches us that in every way God supplies -- he overflows with blessing and salvation. In touch with that reality we live with a sense of abandonment and walk with a confident gaiety, freely trusting, freely hoping, freely loving."

Traveling Light

God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson

Promises

Promises of Joy

Don’t be sad because the joy you have in the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b

In him our hearts find joy. In his holy name we trust. Psalm 33:21

Righteous people will find joy in the Lord and take refuge in him. Everyone whose motives are decent will be able to brag. Psalm 64:10

Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord. Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation. Psalm 95:1

Let them bring songs of thanksgiving as their sacrifice. Let them tell in joyful songs what he has done. Psalm 107:22

Your written instructions are mine forever. They are the joy of my heart. Psalm 119:111

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

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

A Growing Shield

Taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16

"There is nothing mystical about faith. Biblical faith is simply what you believe about God and His Word. The more you know about Him and His Word, the more faith you will have. If you want your shield of faith to grow large and protective, your knowledge of the Lord and His Word must increase."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

Drudgery

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

Title: Drudgery

"I must admit I feel a lot of pressure with two children under two years of age. I am committed to do it until they are in school, however, and feel it is God's will. At times like this--when I wonder if I will even be able to finish this letter with both of them screaming for something--or when I miss going to lunch or getting dressed up, everyday life seems a drudgery. I worked hard to get through college--to be a scrubwoman, ha!"

I understand this mother's cry. So does the Lord.

He has given us this word: "No temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear. But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13, PHILLIPS).

"A way out," I can hear her say, "What mother has a way out?"

The New English Bible translation throws light on this: "a way out, by enabling you to sustain it." Think, too, of Jesus' words, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29 AV). He is willing to bear our burdens with us, if only we will come to Him and share the yoke, His yoke.

I saw this principle in operation when I visited the Dohnavur Fellowship in India. There, day after day, year in and year out, Indian women (most of them single) care for little children, handicapped children, infirm adults, old folks.

They don't go anywhere. They have none of our usual forms of amusement and diversion. They work with extremely primitive equipment--there is no running water, for example, no stoves but wood-burning ones, no washing machines. In one of the buildings I saw this text: "There they dwelt with the King for His work." That's the secret.

They do it for Him. They ask for and receive His grace to do it. I saw the joy in their lovely faces.

Promises

Promises of Forgiveness

Purify me from sin with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken dance. Hide your face from my sins, and wipe out all that I have done wrong. Psalm 51: 7-9

As high as the heavens are above the earth—that is how vast his mercy is toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west—that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself. Psalm 103:11-12

If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures. Matthew 6:14-15

God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven. Colossians 1:13-14

Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 1 John 1:9

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Mutually Encouraged

In a sermon on Romans 16: 25-27 entitled God Strengthens Us by the Gospel John Piper makes this statement:

"What kind of strength does Paul mean that God is able to give? Well, God can give whatever kind of strength he wants—“By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). But here he means the same kind of strength that he referred to in Romans 1:11-12, “I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen (stÄ“rikthÄ“nai, the same word as in 16:25) you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.” The substance of this strength is faith in Jesus Christ."

Notice the statement .. mutually encouraged by each other's faith .. I think that this is perhaps the most important thing that can happen between believers when we gather. I think we should make it our goal when we are with fellow believers to look for a way to encourage their faith -- this seems to me to be central to our fellowship.

Our Need for Recognition

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

I hate to tell you this, but the reality of most work environments is that expressions of appreciation and recognition are often few and far between. Have you noticed? Yet all of us need recognition.

As Christians in the marketplace, we report to a higher level of management than our co-workers, and we need to understand God's principles of recognition and reward. In Colossians 3 we read: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Now, this is terrific. God has a recognition and incentive program better than any employer could ever dream up, and if we perform our everyday work duties as unto Him, we're going to be recognized and rewarded by the Lord, whether our employer ever appreciates us or not.

So, if you feel you're not receiving the earthly rewards you deserve, rejoice to know that you can be assured of a heavenly reward. If you're doing a good job and nobody says "thank you," just remember that someday you'll get the "thank you" you deserve from a higher level of management. That is, of course, if you're working for Jesus and not for people.

In Matthew 6 Jesus said, Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Jesus said that if we desire the rewards of men, we may miss out on God's reward. If our whole motivation is to be recognized and rewarded here on earth, then that will be all the reward we'll get. And if our hearts are set on impressing people and receiving their earthly rewards, it will poison our motives and keep us from receiving God's heavenly rewards.

Jesus advises us to work for heavenly rewards, because they are worthwhile and certain. Earthly rewards we may or may not get; they are undependable and frequently distributed unfairly. I wish that were not true; I wish more managers in more companies would practice that simple management skill of "catch someone doing something right and tell them." But I know there are many of you who never hear a positive word of reinforcement from your manager. But don't be discouraged. You can receive the recognition you so dearly desire if you will do your work for Jesus.

Voluntarily United

Voluntarily United

by C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity


“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible.

Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata … of creatures that worked like machines … would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free.”

Promises

Promises to give Hope

Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11

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 29:11

We were saved with this hope in mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen? But if we hope for what we don’t see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Romans 8:24-25

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan.
Romans 8:28

Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
1Corinthians 13:7

God our Father loved us and by his kindness gave us everlasting encouragement and good hope. Together with our Lord Jesus Christ, may he encourage and strengthen you to do and say everything that is good.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17