The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
God’s Promise to Forgive
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)
As I watched the movie “Unplanned” the other day, I was reminded of this verse. Years ago Fred Hammond turned it into a song that frequently runs through my head……
Forgiven, Therefore Forgive
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
In the middle of the excruciating pain of crucifixion, Jesus proclaimed forgiveness for his tormentors. But it was not the first time He had talked about forgiveness. He had spoken numerous times about forgiveness during His ministry on earth.
In demonstration of His power and authority to forgive sins, He spoke in terms of forgiveness of sins when He healed the paralytic in…..
The Habit of Trust
Have you ever wondered where the little prayer “now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, Lord I pray my soul to take” came from. I do not know the origin of it, but I can see in Scripture the motivation of it. Psalm 4:5-8 gives us a peek into the assurance of safety, even for the Old Testament saints.
“Offer the sacrifices…..
“Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you” simply does not happen when pride makes us think that we can do life in our own strength.
He Knows My Name
While shopping recently I was delighted to watch two little girls whose mother was standing in line in front of me. The two girls couldn’t have been more than 3 ½ years old, twins and mirror images of each other. But how different their personalities are one from the other.
The one stood aggressively rattling a plastic bag of gummy candies hanging on the rack next to her until it fell off its hook. The mother…..
Out of My Control
My lack of control over circumstances in my life has kept being reinforced for me over these past few months of escrow and moving activities. Frequently I have allowed the stress of this massive change in our lives to supersede all else in ways I don’t remember experiencing in my life before, to the point of almost shutting down. And Jesus’ still small voice continues to pervade my thoughts with His promise of “Peace I leave…..
God’s Boundless Mercy
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Pet. 1:3).
God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to father His chosen people, Israel. He gave them commandments for obedience and holiness to God alone. Throughout the Old Testament God’s chosen people repeatedly followed the neighboring nations in idolatry, turning their backs…..
The Need for Revival
Throughout the Old Testament books of Ezekiel and Hosea, the national failure of Israel is described by two prophets from two different eras. Ezekiel wrote during the Babylonian captivity describing Babylon as the tool of God’s judgment on His people. Hosea wrote more than a hundred years before, prophesying the Babylonian captivity. Both explain that Israel had failed politically and religiously because they had repeatedly strayed in their worship and their allegiance to God……
Moving Time
Last Friday we were able to move into our new house. Since then we have been organizing, finding places for our belongings, and bringing stuff from storage, some of which has been there since June. Like Christmas? Maybe, in some cases. But stressful as we try to prioritize what room needs to be set up first. Yes, unpacking the clothes is important. So are the office files, not only because of upcoming tax needs, but also because of…..
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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