Hope Changes Your Life Forever

Do life’s hurts, heartaches, and injustices leave you feeling hopeless? Me too. But there’s something I want you to know. You are never far from hope. And hope changes your life forever.

All humans hope.

Still, sometimes things turn out differently than we hoped.

But the Bible tells us authentic hope is found in the God of hope.

So let’s look at 4 ways hope changes our life forever.

(1.) Life’s Drive-Thru Window Lacks Hope

Just as we often end up with the wrong order or a problem with our order at a drive-thru window, the world offers us hope that fizzles and fades away.

The only choices on the menu offer false promises. High hopes placed in people, programs, possessions, money, goals, careers, or religion. None of these serve us well.

People fail us. Programs unravel. Possessions leave us hollow. Money never satisfies. Unreached goals magnify our weaknesses. Aspiring careers crash. And religion commands our tireless effort.

God’s Word offers a hope established before drive-thru windows…before the world even existed.

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV). The NIV states it, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”

The only hope worth waiting on comes straight from the ample, fully-stocked windows of heaven. No drive-thru service needed. This is a real and lasting hope found in the true Hope-Giver.

(2.) Hope in True Love: Hope Changes Your Life

“He loves me, he loves me not.”

Confident God’s Working for Our Good

Have you ever questioned what God’s doing? My hand’s raised. But once we know how God thinks about us and sees us, then we are confident God’s working for our good.

I used to flat out question God in a particular situation.

Because I couldn’t fathom the end result and even wondered if the Lord really wanted my good.  

Like when I lost a job and lost a baby in utero.

And the times I didn’t get the job or the award or the “thing” I wanted. 

Also, when my father died and the ache never seemed to go away. 

Oh, there’s more lost hopes and dreams along the way. And I imagine for you, too.

Even now, I still have to remind my heart to go to God’s Word, since Scripture reminds us of truths that point to how God’s working for our good.

I pray each reminder encourages you of God’s never ending love, care, affection, and good for you.

God loves us with a sunup to sundown, 24/7 kind of love: Confident God’s Working

God’s love is a sure love…never lost, only found. And it gives us hope in a guaranteed pledge of love that’s never eliminated from our lives.

“This I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” Lamentations 3:21-22 (ESV)

Look at how this love is described in Ephesians 3:18-19 when the Apostle Paul noted how he prayed for the church:

“..may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (NIV, emphasis added)

The Lord always works behind the scenes on our behalf.

Have We Forgotten Our God Never Fails?

The world seems to have gone half mad and continues to spin out of control. If you’re anything like me, “breaking news” also breaks my trust in positions, programs, and people. But in the midst of all the uncertainty, I’m reminded that our God never fails. Never. 

While we fail, this is never the case with our faithful and Almighty God.

He never fails His children. And He never fails as God. Because it’s outside God’s capacity to fail at anything. 

Humanly speaking, failing is a natural part of life. But God is supernatural, failing is not in His wheelhouse. 

So we learn from our own failures, how to cope with difficult life circumstances, and try to find peace in all the world’s chaos.

Still, let’s look at 5 ways to remind our hearts that God never fails (F-A-I-L-S).

F – Focus on God’s ability: God never fails

God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” Ephesians 2:20 (ESV)

There’s not a better time to really know who God is and what God does than right now in our nation and world. 

We trust God’s ability, not our own.

God. Is. Able. 

A – Acknowledge God’s sovereignty

Jesus Restores What the Enemy Stole

Jesus restores everything the enemy took from me.

Every saint and follower of Christ has this same promise of spiritual restoration.

Before I met Jesus, this enemy stripped my identity bare.

Also, he exploited my good name, with my resources at stake.

Robbed. Bamboozled. Deceived.

Jesus Restores Stolen Identity

You see, information security failed, leaving me open to attack. So a crafty thief stole from me.

Taking what belonged to me, he drained me of my inheritance.

And he left me utterly bankrupt and exposed to the most common scam on the planet.

I became a victim of identity theft. Not the kind you hear about in the media. My identity in association with bank accounts and financial credit remained undamaged.

Also, no one robbed me of “who I am” by posing as me online, running up a money debt at my expense. These areas remain secure and not breached.

But a vile enemy sabotaged my identity. The thief who intends to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). And he robbed me of “who I am” by strategic lies in my mind and labels imposed on me by others.

Who is this enemy? Satan. The chief of thieves. And the evil one.

The Enemy Versus God

What Summer Teaches Us About Soul Care

Summer teaches us to care for our soul.

Summer invites us to linger longer on the front porch or back deck. A glass of iced tea or lemonade and we’re all set.

Summertime welcomes us to pause from the hectic pace. It beckons us to relax by the pool or in a cozy hammock.

Because we are often intentional to care for our bodies in summer. 

And we participate in outdoor activities, gather with friends and family, foster recreation, and plan time off work to travel and go on vacation.

Yet, sometimes caring for our soul falls off the radar. 

Still, in this slower rhythm of summer, the Lord also desires to teach us how to care for our soul. 

So here are 6 tips for S.U.M.M.E.R soul care. And they teach us how to care for our soul all year long.

S – Satisfy our soul with what only God provides: Summer Teaches Us

“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things” (Psalm 107:9, ESV).

“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish” (Jeremiah 31:25, ESV).

Like we long to vacation at the beach, hope to relax at a tropical resort, or desire to fill our summer with joyful activities, our soul longs for good things as well. The Lord wants us to slow down long enough to spend time in His presence. And let Him satisfy, fill, and replenish our soul with His goodness.

U – Understand the role Scripture plays in our soul’s wellness.

How We Love Others as Jesus With Skin

How did Jesus love others? How can we love others like Jesus with skin?

God calls us to imitate His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ set the example of how to love others in the most godly and practical ways. This is how we love others as Jesus with skin.

We are called to love. Because the Bible never commands us to like others. But God’s Word commands us to love people.

So we look to the Scriptures to see how Jesus loved well in the midst of His biggest critics, the religious leaders. 

These religious men falsely believed a holy life meant keeping every letter of the law and adding to the law their own interpretations and rules, instead of showing compassion to others.

Even today, ministry may focus on programs over people, rules over compassion and love. 

Since Jesus led the way of loving unconditionally and practically, He is our example.

(1.) Love with kindness: Jesus with skin

I like the adage, “Kindness goes a long way.” And this definition for a person who’s kind: Sympathetic, friendly, gentle, tenderhearted, generous. (YourDictionary)

When others see a kind smile, kindness in word or action, or they notice generosity and compassion in us, they see kindness in us. They see Jesus in us.

20 Scriptures to Celebrate Freedom

In America, we celebrate freedom this week. A day of freedom dating back to 1776.  

But freedom isn’t free. Instead, blood, sweat, and tears worked together in order for freedom to ring loud and clear across this great land of ours.

Further, not only is freedom not free, but it also must be maintained. 

You see, any country and people are at risk to lose the freedoms meant for our welfare. The freedoms we enjoy and hold dear. This can happen when government’s corrupt—no longer “for” the people and “by” the people. 

Another danger lurks nearby when our personal choices enslave us either physically (jail, addictions, etc.) or spiritually (sin, idols, etc.). Still, the physical and spiritual realms often intersect when it comes to freedom.

But Jesus’ blood on Calvary’s cross set me free.

At sixteen-years-old, the Lord set me free from sin and spiritual death, giving me eternal life—freedom worth celebrating.

Therefore, here’s a list of 20 Scriptures to help us celebrate freedom.

Celebrate Freedom in Jesus Christ

(1.)  “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” (Isaiah 61:1, ESV)

Who I am in the Great I AM

Sometimes I forget who I am in God Almighty, the Great I AM.

Because the enemy of our souls hopes we believe all the wrong affirmations. 

Those negative statements we often say and repeat to ourselves that damage our true identity.

But I’m learning to take my cue about who I am from the Great I AM.

So we need to remind our hearts of powerful “I am” affirmations to regain our true identity. 

I am loved.

If you’re anything like me, you grew up questioning if people really loved you. 

And—gulp—wondering if God loves you. 

Maybe these questions formed in various stages of our life. Or, the enemy still uses our uncertainty of love to haunt us in the present.

But the love of God is firm and certain. To believe and know the truth about His love, write out and pray these scriptures: 

• Love lays down His life for me. (John 15:13)
• Perfect love drives out my fear. (1 John 4:18)
• The Lord quiets me with His love, singing over me. (Zephaniah 3:17)
• God crowns me with steadfast love. (Psalm 103:4)
• God’s love stands firm forever. (Psalm 89:2)

Affirm: I am loved. This is who I am.

I am chosen.

Please choose me pounded in my chest. Our physical education teacher picked two team captains for the softball game. Back and forth, each captain chose students as team members. 

For God So Loved: Eternal Life in Jesus

For God so loved the world. This is one of the sweetest and most powerful phrases in the Bible and in all of time. God loved us (every person) so much, He provided eternal life in His Son.

But not everyone fully understands this wonderful gift. Before I understood my need for salvation and a Savior, I only knew a little about Jesus. 

And I desired to be loved—really and truly loved.

Also, I didn’t understand God’s story in sending Jesus, His Son, to die for me. 

Still, after Jesus saved me at sixteen, my story became a God story. 

First, the term saves carries the connotation of a rescue from something or someone. 

Second, we need a rescuer, the one who saves, the savior. 

According to the Bible, the gospel message is the foundation of these main essentials:

Jesus. The Savior who loves us and takes away the sins of the world.

Salvation. Eternal life provided through the bloodshed of Jesus.

Eternity. Spiritual life after this physical life in either heaven or hell.

So let’s look at a list of scriptures from the Bible that show us our need for salvation and how Jesus saves us because…for God so loved.

For God So Loved

(1.) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17 (ESV)

Prayer Draws Our Hearts Closer to God

Would we pray more if we knew how prayer draws our hearts closer to God?

Because communing with God through prayer helps us form a deeper relationship with Him.

And praying grows our intimacy with the heavenly Father as we learn more about His heart.

These are prayers of praise, repentance, releasing control, and more.

So join me in P.R.A.Y.E.R.

P – Praise a living and powerful God: Draws Our Hearts

Heavenly Father, I praise You. You alone are God and worthy of all glory. Splendor and majesty surround Your throne. I magnify Your holy and matchless name. I worship Your beauty. There is no god like my God. 

R – Repent of sin: actions, words, and thoughts

Lord, forgive me of my sins. Sometimes I say, think, or do things unpleasing to You. I ask You to give me a desire to repent often and quickly. And help me repent of any missteps against You and others.