Keeping the Faith

This is a word of encouragement to keep the faith.

Sometimes waiting on God is hard, even when you've accepted the truth that His timing and ways are best. It's ironic how He can move faster than the twinkling of an eye yet other times be agonizingly slow.

When I try to figure it out I just get confused and discouraged.

But when I remember His love for Me (and for each of us, since He's no respecter of persons), and that He's Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11), I realize He cannot lie, He will honor His Word, and He will keep His promises (Numbers 23:19, Romans 4:20-22). I remember that He watches over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:11-12). I remember that "Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89). I remember that if I keep the faith, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13), including to believe that He will do what He says He will do, no matter how I feel, what circumstances look like or what "the people say."

And I also know that in Him, I have the victory, and no weapons of doubt, disbelief or any other ungodly thing, will prosper against me (Isaiah 54:17).

I thank and praise the Lord for His goodness and for the fact that in Him "there is no variation or shadow of turning," (James 1:17) that He's the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

"And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:4).

Amen.

Savoring the Now

Is it only me or do you find yourself getting aggravated when the days start getting shorter?

As August drifts away I've been noticing it more and more. It used to get dark after 8, now it's getting dark by 7:30. I see the creeping shadows and my mind fast forwards to thoughts of sinking temperatures, nights that never seem to end, and -- dare I say it? -- SNOW!

ACK!!!

And by the time I've reached this point, it's pretty much downhill from there.

But I also have been thinking that I need to change how I think about this "end of summer" thing.

I can choose to be angry and depressed about the natural cycle that happens every year, without fail, or I can savor the now and look forward to the good that will come out of the time ahead.

I choose in Christ to savor the now.

Integrity - Wishful Thinking or What?

I've been spending times in Proverbs, a book in the Bible that focuses on Godly wisdom, and the importance of applying that wisdom to everyday life. As a follow-up to "Daniel - A Man of Character" -- which I mentioned in my last posting, one Proverb in particular about integrity caught my eye:

"Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring is a righteous man who yields, falls down, and compromises his integrity before the wicked." (Proverbs 25:26, Amplified)

Doing the right thing on a daily basis is definitely a challenge, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). The more we trust Him to help us, the more we will overcome the hurdles that are inevitable, even strategically placed in our lives by satan (and sometimes created by our own desires and stubbornness!).

In life I'm always about the "how," how does one do a thing, bring it from the vague to the practical. Things that seem so difficult become much easier when we trust God and let him take control.

King David knew a thing or two about really trusting God. In the Book of Psalms, chapter 28 and verse 7, he says:

"The Lord is my Strength and my [impenetrable] Shield; my heart trusts in, relies on and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him."

David trusted God and God helped him. When we're willing, God does the same for us today.

With God, walking in integrity isn't an arduous path. There's less gritting of teeth, less stress and strain. With Him the integrity walk is easier, more enjoyable.

When we travel with Him and there's a roadblock ahead, when our ears are inclined to Him He gives answers about how to go over it, around it, or eliminate it. When there are forks in the road He guides us in the way we should go. And when others try to take us down a path that's headed toward a dead end He cultivates focus in us that keeps us moving forward, following Him.

In the process integrity becomes a natural part of who we are and how we function. It also becomes a witness to the world of the reality of Who He Is -- the Great I AM.

New posting on Hopelives.net!

When you have a few minutes, you're invited to check a new posting on the HopeLives website, http://www.hopelives.net/ called "Daniel -- A Man of Character," about the prophet Daniel.

Some years ago I seriously wondered if it was possible to honor God on the job and still get ahead. Can you scale the ladder of success without compromising? Daniel's story and life experience have shown me that it's not only possible, but that God can cause you to excel -- even 10 times more than the competition -- by doing this His way.

Counting Blessings

Have you thought today -- or any day recently -- about the blessings in your life? If so, have you ever bothered to count them?

Somehow the stuff that is going wrong tends to hog center stage. I'm guilty of that too. There's a special something about complaining, an inner inclination to hype the negative that can be extremely compelling. Yet blessings, from the Lord's perspective, bring life. In Deuteronomy 30:19 He equates blessing with life, and cursing with death, and calls us to "choose life, that both you and your descendants may live."

As we bless God and think about the blessings He gives us He fills us with life physically, mentally and spiritually. We then can share that life with others through our actions and words. Proverbs 12:18 says that "the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 15:4 adds that "A gentle tongue [with its healing power] is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit."

There's daily power and life in considering and counting our blessings.

Rejoice!

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice for the Lord lives!

His grace is limitless, His mercy is all-surpassing and His love immeasurable.

Choose Him for there's no better choice you'll ever make in life. It is His pleasure to love you, and He desires that no one should perish but all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Rejoice, and live in Him!

Unwind, Relax and Rewind

For me there's something special about Sunday night, my downtime before plunging into another week of work. It provides a moment of peace, a chance to sit back and relax, play some jazz and breathe.

Before I get caught up in the coming week's obligations, regulations and preoccupations, I typically spend time in my "moment." It helps me calm my mind and heart. It also gives me time to clear out the mental and emotional junk from the week, especially the daily irritations that grate on nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

Sunday nite downtime helps me unwind and relax so I can rewind to meet the unknowns that wait for me on Monday. I expect the Lord to ensure my success, for I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me (Romans 8:37). And when I trust Him fully, I don't just experience peace in the moment; the peace travels with me wherever I go. When I lay my questions and doubts aside, the peace flows.

Here's to extending that Sunday nite vibe through the week.

100 Years, a Cup of Joe and the Word

Think of what someone who has lived for a century has seen and experienced. The knowledge, the insight, the wisdom. I was thinking about this recently when a friend told me that his great aunt recently celebrated her 100th birthday.

I find it interesting to discover what those who've lived a long time attribute their longevity to, especially when they're in good health and have sharp minds. My friend shared that among his great aunt's daily routines, to start her day she always has a cup of coffee and spends an hour reading the Bible.

If you're Christian you've likely heard other Christians talking about how important it is to read and study the Bible. When you read the Bible, you'll see that the importance of regularly reading the Word of God is stressed throughout. In fact, the Bible says that your very success rides on being immersed in the Word, being grounded in it, never departing from it.

A Scripture that really drives home the power of living and being led by the Bible is in the Book of Joshua, in the Old Testament. It relates to the time after Moses had died and the Lord was charging Joshua with the task of leading more than three million people from the wilderness into their place of promise, Canaan. It was a huge job with serious challenges ahead. But in giving Joshua this task, the Lord also gave him the key to success:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

Meditation here is not a mystical, ethereal thing. It is practical. In Hebrew, the word "meditate" in this verse is translated "hagah" – which means to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, speak. So it's not only studying, thinking and planning/plotting Scripture; it is to speak it, to say it. It's active.

When I was young, I had an aunt (a bit young than 100:) ) who, with my uncle, would visit my family during the summer on their way back from attending her family's reunion in Kansas. I remember her reading the Bible and talking about how she was reading the same verses over again. Back then I wondered how anyone would find reading the same thing over and over again interesting. It didn't make any sense to me.

When I was in my 20s and actively started searching for God, my mother was the one who encouraged me to read the Bible and to keep reading, though at the time I didn't understand much of what I read and honesty, it felt really tedious.

Now that I'm in my 40s I see more than I used to see. I see in others and I experience personally the power, the supernatural power, of meditating the Word of God. I see and experience the difference that studying and speaking, muttering, pondering, repeating the Word of God makes. I see how believing in, meditating on, and speaking the Word of God changes things. Especially the things I can't change.

As a Christian, when you meditate on, speak and believe what the Word of God says it delivers results. As singer Donald Lawrence says, the Word does the work.

But the Bible is not a toy, something to exploit now and then for our own purposes. It's the Book that reveals the heart and character of God, that shows us Who He is and how He chooses to relate to us. To experience the power of meditating the Bible one has to put in the time. And while there's no legalistic requirement regarding literal time spent each day, Joshua 1:8 pretty much makes it plain -- for your way to truly be prosperous -- God's type of prosperous -- the Word has to be the basis for who you are and what you do every day. And the only way it becomes that way -- the Bible literally becoming the blueprint for your life -- is to utter, to muse, to ponder, to meditate, to speak the Word -- and believe what the Word says.

I'm sure at least some of us (including myself) have struggled with making the time to spend reading the Bible. Just ask Him to help you carve out and protect your time with Him. If you're willing, He will do it!

I have no idea how long my life on earth will last. But however long it is, I hope I can share the same report my friend's great aunt has -- that I'm still vital, learning and growing each year because the Living Word lives in me.

Courage in the Crush

For those of us working in social services and human services organizations in Illinois, these are crazy times. With a state budget mired in multi-billion dollar debt, the very agencies that help people and families most in need are about to have their funding slashed by July 1. Many organizations are bracing for the worst, including my own.

Amazingly enough when I think about all this I've got a peace inside. In the midst of this I truly believe God is going to do something great. It may not be what we might expect. It may not come in a nice tidy package that looks like what we want. But I believe it will be better.

Remember how when people asked the Lord Jesus questions, and He rarely answered them directly? Usually He'd respond with an answer that went beyond the surface request to penetrate the heart of the matter.

Maybe that's at work here. Whether we know Him or not, many of us are asking questions based on fear. But I'm thinking in light of all the anxiety, the hand wringing, the angsting, He's calling us to do something that flies in fear's face. He's calling us to "take courage," to know that He is poised to do something far greater than the expected.

I'm convinced that for those of us who will look to Him for leadership in this hour, and be willing to keep looking to Him even after this crisis has passed, He is willing and will do far greater things than the best efforts of man alone can achieve.

Despite what I see, I'm expecting Him to go beyond the obvious to do something extraordinary.

Welcome to the HopeLives Blog!

Welcome to the HopeLives Blog!

You're invited to kick back and relax here at HopeLives.

My hope is to share insights from everyday life and more that will uplift, inspire and encourage you to live the fullest life possible with the God Who made you in His image and loves you with a passion indescribable -- Jesus Christ.

Tonight I'm reflecting on the fact that though the last few days have been filled with rain and cold -- I can't believe this is almost summer! -- the flip side is that everything is so amazingly green.

It's like the green is so bright it's ready to burst off the leaves! The trees and bushes are flush, and the grass is so thick it needs moving again.

Yeah, it's a drag that I'm wearing a wool jacket today and I'm still cold! But in the midst of the rain I see the life that's all around.

People on the streets, juggling bags and umbrellas as they board buses, others driving and jockeying for position in rush hour traffic.

A sparrow pecking at a bag of bar-be-que in front of Leon's.

A clump of ferns unfurling their fronds in the spring rain.

It's the lush life, in miniature, on a wet Thursday in early June.