Romans 5:1-2

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Also through Him, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

In these verses, we clearly see that faith and hope work together. Each must have an object in order to be effective, or all you have is a wish and nothing substantial to sustain it. The object of our faith is the sacrifice Jesus made for us, by which we stand before God as righteous and receive grace. The object of our hope is that the glory of God will be revealed in our life.

Faith takes us to the throne room, where we can ask anything of God according to His will, and He will do it. Hope is the constant looking for God’s glory in the middle of our dark circumstances. If we lose hope, the loss of our faith will follow. Looking for and expecting the glory of God to appear in our life fuels the faith to go before His throne and ask.  Faith grabs hold of hope, presents the matter to God, and gives us assurance as we continue to seek Him in our daily life.

Hope is born out of difficulty. As the following verses explain, “affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” As we face affliction, we experience God’s love poured out into our hearts and producing endurance. God’s love continues to pour into our life while we endure to produce proven character. God’s love works through our proven character to produce hope. We are changed through the entire process by God’s love, which comes to us through the Holy Spirit. By the time we see hope bursting forth, we have become dependent upon the love of God, and we have learned to trust it.

Trust the love God has for you today. Receive it. Bask in His presence and just enjoy it. Take it with you as you face your difficulty today, and allow it to mold you. He is producing something in you that will not disappoint as His glory is revealed in you, to you, and through you.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 26:3-4

You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because in Yah, the LORD, is an everlasting rock.

The Devil enjoys using our minds for his playground, and if we are not careful, we will find ourselves engaging in his endless taunts and bullying. We must learn to shut him out by redirecting fearful and anxious thoughts to God and His love for us. When anxiety begins to challenge us, the best thing we can do is to take those thoughts to God and begin to thank Him for His faithfulness to us in the past. Think of things for which you can thank Him right now, and begin to pray with a heart of gratitude, releasing those anxious thoughts or concerns to Him.

The thankful heart trusts God. Placing your trust in God simply means that you acknowledge the fact that you don’t have all the answers, but you know He does. Trust hands your concerns over to a much greater power to accomplish what you can’t. Holding on to worry and anxiety is an indicator that you haven’t fully trusted God with the matter, and you still think you have to find your own solution.

If you are anything like me, handing things over to Him completely can be difficult because it requires dependence upon His solution and His timing. My independent spirit has to be tamed to submit, but it longs for the peace and assurance that only God can give. I can’t have that peace if I insist on doing things myself, and I get a headache from hitting a brick wall. Only He can change hearts and open doors that I can’t even see. I have to depend and trust and find peace in the process. So will you.

The Message Bible states this passage a little differently:

People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit. Depend on GOD and keep at it because in the LORD GOD you have a sure thing.

Set your mind on God today, and become whole and steady. Keep focused on Him by thanking Him for what He has already done for you. Trust Him to take care of the things you can’t, and stop fighting battles you know you can’t win. He does a better job, and He is your sure thing! Depend upon Him to fight for you. You were never meant to do it alone. He will GIVE you the victory!

Have a blessed day!

Exodus 33:19

He (God) said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

God spoke these words to Moses when Moses asked to see God’s glory. Unless God went with him and the children of Israel through the wilderness and into the Promised Land, Moses did not want to go. Unless God’s presence was with them, how would any of the other people of the Earth know they were special to God? How would they be any different from anyone else?

God honored Moses’s request. He promised that all of His goodness would pass in front of Moses and declare His name before Him. If Moses were to see the goodness of God, he would have to move forward. He could not remain in the wilderness nor mourn over the past. He could not linger in the failure of the people to honor God or in his own weaknesses. He would have to trust God and move forward to experience His goodness.

We cannot experience the goodness of God unless we are willing to move forward, either. Now is the time to let go of past failures and hurts and move into the glorious calling God has for us. He has promised He will always be with us, and we can count on that word. In Christ we have a sacrifice that continues to cover our sins and offers grace to get up and keep moving. Hanging on to hurt, bitterness, resentment, doubt, guilt, or condemnation will only paralyze us and keep us confined. We must trust God and move forward to reach our Promised Land. Trust in His goodness today. Goodness is His nature, and He has something good for you. Move ahead and reach for it.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 20:1, 4

May the LORD answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob’s God protect you. May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.

God’s amazing grace is portrayed in this passage as we see how Jacob’s God treats His children. While Jacob was a deceiver, trickster, and manipulator who wrestled with God, God was still with him and enabled him to fulfill his purpose. What I find truly amazing about His grace is that He knows all our faults, weaknesses, and failures before they happen, yet He chooses to use us in His great plan and bless us anyway.

What does your heart desire? God writes His purpose for us upon our hearts so He can lead us to the great plan He has for us. If our heart is not in it, we won’t do it with the full exuberance and excellence that success requires. Quite often, we must hunger and thirst for something enough to be willing to reach for it. When we do, we find God’s grace reaching back with fulfillment in hand.

God designs even our trouble to work in our favor. If your efforts to fulfill your dream have failed, surrender to His grace. Examine the desire of your heart, and trust Him to grant it. The God of Jacob is your God, and He loves you enough to hold on to you when you are at your worst. You have not blown it or failed beyond the measure His grace can sustain you. Believe once again for the things your heart desires, and trust the One who wrote it on your heart. He will finish the good work He has started in you.

Have a blessed day!

Matthew 12:1-13

There He (Jesus) saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out? A man is worth far more than a sheep, so it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other.

There are so many sermons that can be preached from this passage that I can’t count them all right now! What I want you to notice first is the condition of the man. His hand was paralyzed. Other translations use the word, “withered.” In either case, a withered hand is a paralyzed hand – it can’t move from damage and hinders the productivity of the person.

The Greek word for “withered” here gives the implication of something that has been burned or scorched. Many people become paralyzed in their ministry or their service for God when they have been burned, whether by someone else or by their own failure. Others have been burned by the church and or even burned-out from their service. Jesus saw a man whose hand had been burned and could not be as productive as he once was. He compared this withered, paralyzed hand to a sheep that had fallen into a pit, and His desire was to restore him to usefulness again. He cared more about the man than He did what the religious leaders would think of Him. The man was much for useful to Him restored than he was in his withered, paralyzed condition, and He desired to make the man whole again, as good as he was before he was burned.

God sees when we have fallen into a pit and need to be restored to usefulness again, and He has compassion on us. Regardless of what others might think, God’s heart is toward us. All we need to do is to stretch out our withered hands toward Him to find them fully restored and useful for His work. He can take us from burned to blessed in an instant! Hallelujah!

Notice, too, that when the man stretched out his hand, it was already healed and restored. Those that were watching did not see a withered, scorched, paralyzed hand. When he stretched it out, he found that Jesus had already healed him. When God calls us to stretch forward, don’t worry about your weakness. When you stretch forward in obedience, you will find He has already healed and restored what you thought was withered!

If you feel you have been thrown into a pit of limitations because of something that has burned you, stretch forth your hand to Jesus today. His desire is to lift you out of that pit by fully restoring you. He is much more concerned about your healing than about what others will think of Him. You are valuable to Him, and He wants you to be productive for Him. Count on healing, restoration, and a brand new start. He can certainly repair any damage the Devil may have caused you, and you will be as good as new! Hallelujah!

Have a blessed day!

Luke 7:13-14

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Don’t cry.” Then He came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And He said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!”

God has a heart for widows, and He cares about the things of their heart. When a woman suffers loss, bitterness can so easily try to take root, and God ministers to this through compassion. When Jesus saw this widow from Nain mourning her dead son, He was immediately filled with compassion and acted on her behalf as if it were a natural response.

As a widow, God cares about your heart. Therefore, continually pour it out to Him. When you hurt, He hurts. You may not be a priority to anyone else but you have great influence with God! His natural response is to respond to you with compassion to meet the needs you cannot meet for yourself.

When the people saw this dead son raised to life, they recognized Jesus as a great prophet and knew God had visited His people to meet their needs once again. Jesus was strength to her weakness, and it gave hope to those around her. Her weakness was an opportunity for God to be glorified.

Pour your heart out to God today, and turn your cares over to Him because he truly cares for you. You do not have to fix everything yourself. Trust His strength to manifest in your weakness to bring glory to Him. Those around can gain hope by seeing Him work in your life. He has a heart of compassion for you, and nothing is impossible with Him.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 52:8-9

But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever. I will praise You forever for what You have done. In the presence of Your faithful people, I will put my hope in Your name, for it is good.

The Message Bible records the first part of this passage in this way: And I’m an olive tree, growing green in God’s house. In both translations, we see an olive tree growing to full capacity and fruitfulness. Indeed, those who flourish in God’s house are the happiest of people because they are able to reach their full potential in Jesus Christ and lack no good thing in reaching maturity.

The green olive tree is a symbol of beauty. Romans 11 uses the olive tree to describe Gentiles, who are grafted into the root and become a part of God’s chosen people. Under the lordship of Jesus Christ, God’s people flourish and produce fruit that establishes His kingdom on earth.

In order to flourish in God’s house, you must first come before Him in humility, which requires admitting your sin, turning away from it, trusting His mercy, receiving forgiveness, and surrendering to the lordship of Jesus Christ. While you may encounter struggle, trial, and storms from time to time, you can still flourish in His blessing and favor. Without doubt, in the house of God and within His will is the safest and most satisfying place to be.

In the verses prior to this passage, the psalmist describes the proud who will not submit to God. They are a people who will not humble themselves, and they trust in their own riches. God will crush them and bring them to nothing. No one has the power to stand before Him in his own strength and avoid judgment! Any blessing the wicked man has can be brought to nothing in the hands of Almighty God and Creator of the universe!

I don’t know about you, but I want to be on God’s side and in His house. I cannot function without His favor and His blessing, and neither can you. Within His house and His will, however, we can grow, flourish, and be all God created us to be. May we find comfort and peace today in knowing we are a vital part of His kingdom and a symbol of beauty. Pray for a spirit of humility to fall upon our country and that God’s people will put their trust in His unfailing love.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 33:18-19

Now the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him – those who depend on His faithful love to deliver them from death and to keep them alive in famine.

In this verse, we see the fear of the LORD defined. Those who fear God depend upon His faithful love to deliver them and keep them alive. They depend upon God for their very existence.

When we have done all we can do, we must depend upon God’s love for us. The Devil would like nothing more than to convince us we are being punished in some way because then we would lose faith. We must believe that God loves us, He is with us in every battle, and He is for us. He fights for us and defends us against the schemes of the Devil. When we don’t believe God is on our side, we lose our joy, our hope, and our faith.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Nothing pleases God more than to see His children dependent upon Him and believing in His love toward them to take care of them. In that dependence, faith is revealed.

If the storm is raging around you, the bills are piling way too high, and the attacks just keep coming, rest in the love the Father has for you. His eye is upon those who fear Him. Depend upon His love for you to see you through whatever struggle you face. Feed your faith and not your fear because faith pleases God, and He has the power to deliver you and sustain you.

Have a blessed day!

Hebrews 11:1-2

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by it our ancestors were approved.

If you don’t have faith in something, you can’t sell it. You can’t convince others of its value because you doubt it yourself. When you do have faith in something, however, promoting it and suggesting it to others is easy. If we don’t really have faith God will answer prayer and work on our behalf, we will most certainly have problems convincing others He will. To share our faith, we must first possess it.

If we believe God’s word is true, we must act on it. James 2 declares to us that faith without works is dead. Faith cannot work its power in our life if we don’t act. Therefore, if God leads us to do something either through His Spirit or through the written word, we need to act upon it. Otherwise, all we have is potential. To reach our full potential in Christ, we must act upon His word.

Where do you stand in regard to your potential? The gap represents the faith required to reach the full measure. Faith is much more than great desire and belief; it requires action – stepping forward toward the goal. While you may see the goal in sight, you can’t fully possess it until you reach for it. Faith is the substance that activates the reach.

Reach for your dreams. Don’t merely wish and hope. Be willing to act upon the word or promise you have received from God, and trust Him to stretch your reach far enough to grab hold of the promise. By faith our ancestors were approved, and by faith we will find approval, as well.

Have a blessed day!

John 10:4

When he (shepherd) has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.

Every time I have heard this story preached or taught, it has always been with the emphasis of hearing the shepherd’s voice. Indeed, we need to recognize the voice of Jesus, our Shepherd, and follow Him daily. There are many voices that will appeal to us, and we have to recognize the Savior’s voice while ignoring the strange ones. Notice, however, that the good shepherd goes ahead of his sheep.

Philippians 4:6 instructs us to be anxious for nothing but to present all of our concerns to the Father, who cares for us. While I tend to be a worrier, this passage gave me great comfort to know that whatever God is doing in my life, He has already gone before me to prepare the way. I need only to follow His voice. He will lead us into the destiny He has prepared for us.

Verse 10 of this same passage gives us another reason to rejoice. Our Good Shepherd came that we may have life and have it in abundance. While this phrase refers to eternal life, it also speaks of the quality of life here on earth. With Christ, life on earth can reach a much higher quality if we simply follow the voice of the Shepherd.

I pray this morning we will all be able to recognize the voice of our Good Shepherd and be faithful to follow wherever He leads. He calls us all by name, and He leads us into good pastures. He has laid down His life for us – His sheep – and leads us where He has already paved the way. May we all live life more abundantly as we follow Him.

Have a blessed day!