Hope

The Beauty and Power of Hope

[306 words] Viktor E. Frankl is one of those rare and special individuals who survived Hitler’s concentration camps. He went on to become a well-respected psychiatrist in his time after the war. Frankl dedicated his life’s work to exploring and sharing the necessity and influence of meaning and hope. Frankl observed that the people who…

Grasping Hope

[346 words] Charles Spurgeon, a well-known denominational preacher of 19th century, related in one of his sermons the story of a sailor who fell overboard amid a great storm and the thrilling rescue that followed. As soon as the cry, “Man overboard!” was sounded the crew flew into action determined to save their shipmate from…

‘You shall call His name…’

[280 words] One of the earliest predictions about the birth of Christ came from the prophet Isaiah. Seven centuries before our Lord was born, this Old Testament preacher wrote: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). This passage would be repeated later to remind us…

The Best is Yet to Come!

[259 words] We know we need some good news. In fact, we need as much good news as we can get! With 2020 behind us, we are desperate now to be told that something good, something better and brighter is on the way. Well…it is! “But the path of the righteous is like the light…

What Great Things God’s People Can Do!

[275 words] The Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, New York. A player must be voted for by 75 percent of the voters for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. If you go to Titus, Alabama where my wife Janice grew up, you will see a sign that reads, “Welcome to Titus,…

The Motivational Factor of Faith, Hope, and Love

[126 words] When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he opened his letter with these words: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:2-3).…

The Power of Hope

[408 words] Have you been struggling with some feelings of hopelessness lately? Whenever we have a hard time seeing the end in sight or we face uncertainty or are exposed to fears and anxieties, it can undermine our determination to have hope. Yet, over a hundred times in Scripture, God points us to the hope…

Perseverance and Hope for the Future

[234 words] “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). In so many ways, the very end of the Bible is a mirror-image of its beginning. Because of sin, man in Genesis is separated from God’s presence and…

Hope in All Circumstances

[98 words] Anne Frank is perhaps the best-known victim of the Nazi Holocaust. Anne and her family left Germany for Amsterdam to flee Nazi persecution, hiding out in an attic after Holland was invaded by the Germans. To help cope with the fear and loneliness, Anne started a diary in 1942. They were eventually discovered…

Looking Ahead

[279 words] “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad” (Psalm 14:7). What is ahead? We may be surrounded by ridicule, by persecution, by a distressing picture of mankind’s irreverence toward God, and by man’s inhumanity toward others,…

Spirit, Help My Weakness

[354 words] Help my weakness of virtue. A primary weakness that we notice about ourselves is our moral weakness, our weakness in the face of temptation. Jesus noted that, like when we want to stay awake but drift into sleep anyway, we are susceptible to the weakness of our fleshly cravings. “The spirit is willing,…

Looking for What Can’t Be Seen…Yet

[456 words] A common theme with God’s people–and by that I mean people who were living in and going after a right relationship with God–all throughout the Bible was their yearning to see something that they couldn’t see at the time that they wanted to see it. They had a hope that looked forward to…

Encourage Someone Today!

[179 words] You know that feeling when you get something in the mail? It’s so exciting! I can remember getting things in the mail when I was growing up and not even being able to wait until I got inside to open it because I was so excited! My mom is probably the best mail…

The Value of Tears

[182 words] How much value do you place on tears? That question may seem odd, but it is something you should think about! Some tears may fall insincerely, but other tears come when words fail to express an emotion we cannot control. God places a high value on our tears. He knows that some tears…

Looking Back, Pressing Forward

[333 words] As a new year approaches, many of us are reflecting upon the past year, and looking toward the hope and promise of what lies ahead. One passage we often turn to when thinking about hope for the future is Phil. 3:13-14. Paul talks about putting to rest things of the past, and pressing…

Mother of Hope

[309 words] Recently, I wrote an article that was centered around a newborn baby named Hope Holets. Hope was born addicted to drugs and was adopted by the Albuquerque police officer who found her mother in the act of shooting up heroin. Since her adoption, Hope has gone through the agonizing, month-long process of drug…

Good News: Hope!

[273 words] The apostle Paul said it this way: “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise” (Romans 1:14). Recall that he had been brought up in, and participated in the strictest Jewish tradition. As a Jew, it would have been unthinkable for Saul…

This is Just the Elevator

[305 words] The story is told of a farmer who called into a radio station during a contest, and being the fifth caller, he was given an all expense trip paid to New York City. The farmer was absolutely overwhelmed by his trip and the new experiences. A stretch limo picked him up and…

He is Our Only Hope

When I was about 8 years old, I was asked by a neighborhood friend to attend an afternoon of swimming. I could not swim but I thought, “Just getting to tag along would be fun.” Within a few minutes of arriving at our destination, I was easily talked into getting in the water while holding…

Good News and Bad News

There is a lot of bad news out there, as mirrored on TV and the Internet. The stock market is in trouble, thousands of Americans jobs are on the line, and threats of terrorism are shadows in the background. And then there are our own personal pain and problems to contend with. Financial, physical, medical…

You Can’t Have a Rainbow Without the Rain…or Can You?

You can’t have a rainbow without the rain is the old saying. But is it true? I guess it depends on where you’re at. If you’re talking about life on Earth, the saying definitely holds water. Cloudy days and storms are the norm in mankind’s life (Job 14:1). Rich, poor, man, woman, young, old, red,…

Failure Need Not Be Fatal

[455 words] History books are filled with biographies of failures who made good. From them we can learn the valuable lesson that failure need not be fatal. The first President of the United States—the father of our country—lost two-thirds of the battles he fought during the Revolutionary War. But George Washington won the war, founded…

The Spring Will Come

[182 words] In the dead of winter, a young man was told by his father to fetch some firewood. When he got to the wood box outside, he found it empty. Not wanting to disappoint his father, we went looking about their farmstead and found a tree that looked quite dead and he sawed it…

No Matter What – Remember This

[84 words] • No matter what you’ve done– you’re not a terrible person. • No matter what you’ve done– it’s no worse than what I’ve done. • No matter what you’ve done– Jesus died for you. • No matter what you’ve done– His grace can cover your sins. • No matter what you’ve done– God…

Good News and Bad News

There is a lot of bad news out there, as mirrored on TV and the internet. The stock market is in trouble, thousands of American jobs are on the line, and threats of terrorism are shadows in the background. And then there are our own personal pain and problems to contend with. Financial, physical, medical,…

Good News and Bad News

[275 words] My great-grandson is counting the days until Christmas. Almost every morning as we leave for school he will tell me how many days are left until the holiday arrives. He has “hope“ of getting presents, of being out of school for two weeks. and for all the good times that are waiting. …

A Real Benefit Package

[276 words] People will often change jobs for better benefits. More paid health insurance coverage is a major benefit people seek. A liberal retirement plan with earlier investment is also a premium job seekers consider. For a moment, let’s consider a different source of benefits from someone who loves you very dearly. It is…

How Are You?

“I’m better than I was yesterday because I am one day closer to being with my Lord. ” Too often, the pain, grief, loss and disappointments of this world ﬁll our heart with the wrong things. To prevent this we need to follow the biblical examples of Godly responses to worldly afflictions. David was devastated…