A Real Reason for Hope

1 Peter 1:3-7

Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.

You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.

Choices: Blessings with Consequences

“We’ve been blessed with the freedom to choose. But, your choices have consequences – for you and also for others. Choices can affect you for a lifetime. A lot of times we don’t realize just how widespread the impact our choices can (and do) have. Put God first when you make your choices!”
-Brandon Dudley

From the beginning of time, this has been true. God has blessed us with the ability and freedom to make choices (Genesis 2:16-17) but those choices have resulted in some very significant consequences (Genesis 3) as well.

So, just as Mr. Dudley said…put God first when you make your choices. The results will be much better for you when you do. 🙂

Have a great day.

Life Changer

“God is a life changer and today, your life can be changed!”

Heard those words at church one morning. They’re so true!

Whatever your situation is right now and whatever difficulties you may be facing, God can – and will – step in to change it for the better. All you have to do is let Him.

If you’ve never asked God into your heart before, you can do it today. If you don’t know what to say, this can get you started.

God, please forgive me for sinning against you. I’m sorry for trying to live life on my own, apart from you.

Thank you, Jesus, for dying in my place and taking the punishment for my sins for me.

LORD, please come into my heart and be the leader of my life.

Please guide my steps, take my burdens and show me Your way. Thank you for loving me.

Amen.

If you’ve prayed that prayer, you have a reward coming to you that you can’t even imagine. It’s an eternal reward and it can never be taken away.

As for what you might be dealing with in life, keep praying about it. You don’t need specific words to say, just talk to Him – and even better, take time to listen to Him.

Get plugged into a local church, where folks can pray with you and for you. Doing this has made a huge (positive) impact in my life, that’s for sure. 🙂 

God sees where you are and He cares about you. You’re not in this alone and you’ll make it through this!

Have a great day.

Keep on Knocking

Matthew 7:7
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

I like this translation of this verse. It’s a good reminder of the effectiveness of prayer, plus the need to be persistent about it and to expect a positive outcome.

Too often (myself absolutely included) we forget that God hears prayers. He’s listening. We just don’t talk with Him enough about what’s going on in our lives, or when we do talk with him we don’t do it with any confidence.

But God wants us to be confident, bold, and to believe in the absolute best when we pray. (Mark 9:23)

So go for it! Believe that good things are coming your way. Believe that the doors that have been closed in your life will open. He will open them for you at just the right time. It might not look that way to you now, but His timing is always perfect.

Have a great day.

Words of encouragement, as written by a seven-year-old

My youngest son learned these two Bible verses in his Wednesday night youth group class at our church. He (and his older brother) wrote them down on our dry erase board which hangs above the kitchen sink.

Some pretty good advice in these words. Hope this encourages you today.

Have a great day!