Tag: Hope

Trust

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Friends, sometimes directions can get the best of us. Be it trying to find a destination, build a creative project, or bake a new recipe – directions come in handy because they tell us the best way to perform the tasks ahead to get the desired results we are hoping for. Some directions we may not understand until we get to the middle or end of a project and then we realize why they said to do a certain thing (and if you are like me, sometimes you have to pull it all apart and start over the “right way”). What’s true in the natural is even more true in the spiritual. Every instruction, correction, direction, or command we read in the Bible we may not understand, but one thing we can always understand is, that God knows what He is doing. He knows how to get the end results we desire. Our job today and every day is to just “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6). God knows what He’s doing in your life.

~Word for Life Says

Don’t Miss the Visit

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Friends, it only takes a moment to miss a prime opportunity. In the blink of an eye, what could have been is no more a possibility. Many of the Pharisees who were looking for the Messiah missed the meaning and life of the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, whom they continually attacked and rebuked. When others in the crowd shouted, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38), their shouts were one of trying to quench their praises because they did not recognize Jesus for who He really was. Jesus wept over the city and the people (Lk. 19:41) and spoke these words: “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes… thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” (Lk. 19:42, 44). A clear vision of Jesus is imperative to our Christian faith. Don’t miss the visit. Whenever and wherever you see God moving and revealing, lean into it and refuse to let the opportunity slip through your fingers, especially if it is a decision of salvation.

~Word for Life Says

Get Uncomfortable

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Friends, this is the season when one seeks coziness and comfort. With the chill, and sometimes frigid temperatures in the air, warm blankets and hot mugs call us to snuggle inside. While much pleasure can be taken in this time of “tucking in,” in our walk of faith we may be called to unwrap ourselves from comfort to get uncomfortable. We may be asked to shed our comfort zone dwellings to step into new territories the Lord has for us. Like Abraham, our life must be directed by faith more than comfort: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8). Where will you allow God to take you with your “by faith” moment?

~Word for Life Says

Fight if You Must: Being Determined in Prayer

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“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Read Luke 18:1-8

Be determined. Determined to not be thwarted. Determined not to leave with one’s soul unsatisfied. Determined to forge ahead in resilience, refusing to go into this day without this sacred meeting.

Fight if you must and move intently ahead. Let nothing come in between or interfere with this time of sweet communion with the Lord. Thoughts may encroach and seek to pounce like an animal in waiting for prey, but keep thine eyes fixed on the things above (Colossians 3:2), trusting in the One who is the lover of your soul and life.

It is no simple thing, this gift of prayer, nor is it a pleasure to be taken for granted that we can approach the Lord with our honest and sincerest petitions. Getting there is a great privilege not to be neglected, so fight if you must to enter this holy conversation with the Lord.

For He, your Heavenly Father, is the main goal of your life. He is the compass and direction by which all our days are to be guided. Turbulent times, left unchecked will try to pull you off course, so fight if you must to get into the solace of this blessed sanctuary of prayer, for He has the wheel and knows the route to take.

Many distractions will attempt to interrupt and capture your mind for their audience. But when I come on my knees, with my heart opened to my King, it is His attending audience that means everything. Fight if you must to enter near this throne of grace, a guarded court surrounded by the angels who do sing.

What treasure lies within that holy realm of prayer. Go, search, and dig, and fight if you must to get there. For He will be a little sanctuary for you (Ezekiel 11:16), the true refuge and blessing of life who sees, hears, and knows everything you can unearth before Him in that divine assembly.

Fight if you must, and be persistently determined. Refuge, hope, power, and relief from life’s burdens lie ahead. Do yourself a favor, deprive not your soul of this great pleasure of meeting with the Father daily.

Further Suggested Reads:

“Persevering Prayer”

“Always Pray and Not Faint”

“4 Keys to Powerful Prayer”

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A Sure Foundation

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Friends, today, remind your heart that we do have a sure foundation. Other confidences are slippery slopes and unstable security, but we stand firmly on Christ, our true hope. He is unwavering and unfailing, a well-founded source upon which to plant our faith. While others may sway in their devotion, His promise was to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He never moves: “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation…” (Isaiah 28:16).

~Word for Life Says

Refuse to Be Moved

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Friends refused to be moved. Refuse to allow the tempestuous seas of life to toss you about. Refuse the swaying of this way and that, but make a stand to stay. Stay in the realm of your faith. Stay on this holy course of action. Stay where your hope is sure and secured. Stay anchored in the care and belief of who Jesus Christ is in your life. Though some days may seem overwhelming and the tug of life gets hard, blessed are the ones who know “We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Hebrews 6:18b-19a).

~Word for Life Says

The Quencher of Our Soul’s Desire

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Friend, there is a fountain we can freely come to satisfy our thirst that will never dry out. Spiritual refreshment for the day ahead. Hope to cling to when we feel parched and depleted. Jesus Christ is the quencher of our soul’s desire and He said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,” (John 4:14). Come, and be filled.

~Word for Life Says

Billions

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Friends, billions of hearts, minds, arms, and legs have walked the face of this earth. But none are you. The intricacies that consist of the makeup of your person are uniquely designed by the Creator. When He fashioned you, He saw the beauty of who you are and would become. You are a designer original who can say with King David, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:14). Yes, you are.

~Word for Life Says

Exchange

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Friend, isn’t it encouraging to know that no dismal state, regardless of how low the clouds may hang or how much shade is cast over one, who we are or were, through Christ, is made totally new. The grace of His love and sacrifice given to us is a picture so wonderful, who would not want to turn to Him and receive this great exchange? For He will “Give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3).

~Word for Life Says

Both Small and Great

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Friend, it is the soul’s consolation to know that when we come before our Heavenly Father, there is no turning away because of background or social status. Lineage is not a prerequisite to being called His and to receive His blessings, nor is one’s economic standing. The only requirement is to believe and trust in Him, knowing that no matter who you are or where you hail from, “He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great” (Psalm 115:13).

~Word for Life Says