The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith

The LORD Is There

On Monday our escrow in Susanville closed and we spent a grueling morning emptying our house to pack up a 26’ U-Haul truck. A big thank you to the 15+ people who helped us accomplish that in a very short amount of time. Tuesday our escrow closed here, a paint crew began painting the entire interior of the house, and we off-loaded the truck into our garage, again in a very short amount of time…..

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The Lord Is My Help

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help comes from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. He that keeps thee will not slumber.

Behold, He that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is thy keeper. The LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

…..

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The Mystery of the Cross

In the New Testament Paul mentions the mystery of the gospel several times in a variety of settings. The one that caught my attention this week is the mystery of the gospel as preached by Paul and the other disciples.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Paul defines the gospel: “… I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved…..

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Be Exalted, O God

The past few weeks have been extraordinarily busy and stressful as we have been in the middle of selling our Susanville house and buying another in the Reno area at the same time. I now understand the wisdom exercised by friends who moved a couple of years ago and waited to buy in Reno until their house sold. They lived in an apartment for a while in order to do so. But they are also in…..

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What Are You Looking For?

A New Year is, once again, upon us. It seems a time of reflection for many, in which the old year is reviewed for the purpose of recognizing what we need to change to make our lives better. But then those resolutions quickly depress us by their unattainability and the New Year begins just like all the others: in the same rut of compromising behaviors and habits. When we make resolutions, what is it that…..

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The Christ of Christmas

Some years ago it was reported that a re-release of the 1965 “A Charlie Brown Christmas” television special had deleted the Luke 2:8-14 reading that is part of the Christmas program in the movie. How sad that the creator of the Peanuts cartoons, Charles Schultz, was so dishonored in the removal of such a key part of his carefully conceived story and script. But it is even sadder that subsequent generations have not heard the story…..

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Singing “Messiah”

Tonight Dan and I have the rare opportunity of singing part of Handel’s oratorio entitled “The Messiah” with the accompaniment of the Susanville Symphony. The libretto is a compilation of Bible verses establishing the need for a Messiah, the coming of the Messiah, the Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection, and the prophetic look at His future return. The part we are performing is the first part plus the traditional addition of the “Hallelujah Chorus”. We will also sing…..

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He Knows My Name

Dan celebrates his birthday today. After two cancer diagnoses, 2006 and 2017, the subsequent and devastating treatments for both, and a near fatal accident last summer he is celebrating more than just a birthday. He is celebrating the blessing of God’s healing, protection, and longevity. We keep reminding ourselves that God has spared us for a reason and that He is not done with us on earth yet.

But today reminds me also of family anecdotes,…..

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