Good Morning my friends!!! Imagine what it does to a husband when his wife walks around sad and downcast all the time. It's a poor reflection on him. It's the same for a Christian who walks around sad and downcast all the time. It's a poor reflection on God. Our demeanor as Christians is one of our greatest witnesses. Christians who are happy, rejoicing people, speak of a loving Father who satisfies our deepest needs, provides us with everything we need to live a joyful life, brings happiness and joy and peace.
Joyful Christians have a countenance that glows. It cannot be faked, because it will come across as phony. Whether we're happy or sad, joyful or downcast all depends on our focus. Do you focus on the negative, or the positive? It's all up to you. If you bought a brand new car for each of your two children, which child will you rejoice in: the child who is happy and thankful, or the child is upset and unthankful that he didn't get the car he wanted? The redemption and forgiveness that came through the cross is a far greater gift than any car. Rejoice in your salvation each day you're alive, because in it you have life!!!

It's Not the Beginning but Rather the Ending that Counts

Sometimes when I start a painting, it looks sooo ugly. lol. But then, over time, I begin to see God revealing things to me as I paint. Ideas come to me in process. It doesn't matter how a painting starts out, only how it looks when finished. That's the way it is with us as well. We start out as Christians, and we're not too pretty. We're a mess!! But God, over time, begins to reveal and bring out something very special in our lives. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. Satan wants us to focus on our past messes. God wants us to see our future, beautiful, amazing, and wonderful. David said to the LORD: "I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made. So don't be discouraged if your life looks like a mess right now. God knows what He is doing. Just keep trusting Him, keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith!!!

Where Does Your Hope Lie?

Good Morning!

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance

(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our

hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men,

and especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:9-10

Yesterday we talked about hopelessness, and how that condition causes people to engage in all types of destructive behavior. We also spoke about how God sent his Son, Jesus, to give us hope for something better. I remember--One day I was ready for suicide with no hope, but after looking at the bible with a friend, it was like someone pulled the string on a light bulb, and instantly the depression went away. Why? My situation in life had not changed even one bit.
The only thing that changed was: One minute I had no hope. The next minute I had hope. It was that fast. One thing I had to do though. I had to believe the message. I had to believe what I heard.

What is Hope? Hope is a thought process reasoning that something will get better in the future, based on some belief, some piece of information. It is vital, however, that the information be accurate information.

A stranger walked up to a depressed man on the street and told him that in one year he would win the lottery. The depressed man was no longer depressed. He went out and started spending money like crazy, running up his credit cards, etc. He wasn't depressed anymore. Why? He had hope. He put his hope in something a stranger on the street told him. However, when the year passed, he did not win the lottery like the stranger had said. One year, two years passed. Now he had to pay back all that money he had spent, and now his condition was worse than before. Putting our hope in the wrong things is just as bad as having not hope at all.

I was putting my hope in the stock market as a way to get out of debt. Then, in November of 2008, I lost half of everything in 2 days. I was devastated. I had put my hope in the wrong things. God tells us to put our hope in Him, not in things that can be taken away from us. Our relationship with God can never be taken from us.

What are you hoping in? My wife and I believed the real estate agent who told us our property would only go up in value, and so we signed the mortgage for almost double what I thought it was worth. Then we lost everything.

Satan will lie to us. People will lie to us. But God will never lie to us, deceive us, or harm us. He is the One we can put our hope in. Nothing in this world is solid enough for us to put our hope in. Anything can change in an instant. But God never changes. He is rock solid.