Selflessness...

Selflessness...by definition most people would probably say "its's simple..it's the opposite of selfishness". However, I would have to say not necessarily. Selfishness is having great concern for only ones self. However, selflessness is not all about having no concern for yourself, but having great concern for others over yourself. Philippians 2:4 says "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others." So Paul is clearly telling us "yeah its not all about you...BUT also think about others". It's easy to say "I'm not self centered", and you may not be....but do you think about others? Do you intentionally think about what is good for others and do those things for others? Yes, we can walk through life not being self centered, but also being blind to other's needs. And we can feel good about ourselves and content in that, but I don't believe it is how Jesus called us to be. I believe He is saying take it a step further....think about, and do, what is best for others....FIRST.
Now as if that idea wasn't enough, look at Luke 6:35. Luke states "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil". So just as you grasp this idea of needing to see other's needs and put them first, along comes this verse saying "oh yeah, and those who you would consider an enemy...put them first too". And most of us would say back to that "Really God? You want me to be good, kind and lending to those who are against me?" Yes, He does? Because His goal....God's main concern, is not how justified or rewarded you feel here on the earth, but that you help pave a way for as many people as possible to meet Jesus. And if you have to humble yourself beyond words to help make that happen, He expects it! And it states that your reward for that will be that you are considered a son(or daughter) of the Most High and in that moment you will be more Christlike than you probably have ever been. Jesus was kind to the ungrateful and evil ones. I am sure we can all think of some people in our lives that are going to be ungrateful if we are kind to them. And I believe those are the ones that God would have us put at the top of our lists to do nice things for. He knows it will do something for them, and it will help you grow too. When we can learn to lovingly put the needs of those people above our own, how easy will it be to drop what your doing and just help a stranger in need.
I do believe we do things in life that cause God to smile down on us...and when we live out this example that Christ gave us I think it is one of those times. Make Him smile today by watching you make a choice to be consciously selfless.

Let your light shine...

Who will you talk to today? Who will you talk to about Jesus today?
Think about all the people you are going to come into contact with today. Then, think about all the open doors in one day that God is going to give you to talk about Jesus to someone. I'm not saying that every conversation will turn into a chance to witness to someone, but I am saying that out of the 50 opportunities you will have today, how many will you use? In Mark chapter 16 The Great Commission is laid out before us...."Go out into all the world and preach the gospel..." is the command that is given to us. However, we get through a day, a week, even a month and how many times have we even spoke about the gospel, let alone preached it? And as I have said in other posts, you don't always have to "preach it" with words. How many times on any given day do you let your life preach the gospel? When I look around at my yesterday, my day before, my last week...I see time after time that God put me someplace and opened a door to talk to someone. Sometimes I saw the opportunity and acted on it, and sometimes I didn't even realize it until the moment was gone. I think the key is to get up each day and ask for the opportunities. It says in James that "we do not have, because we do not ask". Well why are we not asking....I personally believe that sometimes it's because He might actually give us what we are asking for. If we say "God give me the chance to witness to someone today and tell them all that you have done in my life"....well, He might just do that. However, not asking is kind of like saying to God that you don't want Him to provide the chances. And when we do that we are hiding our light. Matthew 5 says we need to be a light in this world....but we can't be if we are keeping that light under a basket.
If your child won the big game yesterday, or a scholarship to college, or you got a major award at work...you would talk about it. How much more do we have to boast about when it comes to what Jesus has done for us. Look for those chances when your at the store, in line with someone, or around your unsaved friends. Don't lay your head down tonight counting all the missed chances you had to tell someone about Jesus today. Instead, be telling the enemy how many seeds you planted that he needs to be worried about!  

Develop Good Spiritual Habits

When a storm hits our life as a Christian one of the first places we find ourselves is on our knees crying out to God. Most of the time we run to Him and desire to stay in His presence until the storm passes. However, God does not want to just be our "storm shelter". A trial or a storm can be one of the best places to develop new and good spiritual habits. We will go to Him in prayer throughout the day, stay in His word, bury ourselves in a devotional that deals with the trial we are in and even find a great accountability partner to talk to. Problem is, once God brings us to the other side of our storm we tend to let some of these things fall the wayside. I can't help but think that sometimes God wishes He could take us back into the storm because we were closer to Him there. I believe the key to a great relationship with Jesus is to NOT let your new spiritual habits stop just because the storm did. Whatever time you carved out in your life for God during the storm....keep it!!! And then continue to build on it. Pray, fast, stay in the word, find new devotions....and keep people in your life that will speak truth to you. Oh yeah, and give them the freedom to do so. Sometimes we let our close Christian friends speak truth to us in the midst of the storm, then once we feel like the healing has begun we act like we don't need to hear that "truth" from them anymore. NOT TRUE! Allow loving and caring people to help hold your feet on the path. It is one of the ways you will become...and stay...healthy in your walk with Christ. Remember, He brought you through it for a reason and one of those reasons may be to get you on a new level with Him. Don't slip back into the comforts of life because the water in your ocean has become calm. The enemy would love nothing more than to let you think you can get comfortable again so he can kick your feet out from under you when you least expect it. Stay close to God and you will remain "armed" for whatever the enemy has planned for you next. And you can guarantee he has something else planned for you. But just think how much easier the next thing will be to get through if you already have some great spiritual habits in place at the beginning of the storm.
Romans 12:2 says "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect". Well a storm is the perfect place to be transformed because God will renew your mind....they key is keeping it that way so you can continue to walk in God's perfect will AFTER the storm.

Sin in you life....

Sin....I figured I would start with this word because a lot of people are going to stop reading this post just due to the first word I used. But, it is important to understand sin and what it does to our lives...
Lately God has really been pressing it on my heart that people label things in their life as either sin, or ok to do. But I feel that it's not quite that easy. Yes, there is a long list of things we may never do, or at least try really hard not to do because we know they are sin. No doubt about it. And it is good to recognize those things and avoid them, but what about the things that "cause" sin your life. How often do we stop and evaluate our life enough to know what things we label as "ok" are really causing sin in our lives? What....you mean something that may be morally ok could still be causing sin in my life? How? Well James 4:17 says "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." Ouch, right! So this means there could be things in my life that would be sin for me, that may not be sin for someone else? Yes! My struggles are not your struggles and yours are not someone else's. A very practical example of this could be if I spend hours in front of a TV each night. If this is causing me to not spend time with God, causing me to miss opportunities to do ministry or even taking away from my time with my family...then it is causing sin in my life. Notice I didn't even touch on what I may be watching. It may just be the place that I have given "TV time" in my life. Now you have to look at your own life and evaluate what "ok" things have you given to much time to you in your life. What things hold your interest and are they holding your interest more than time with God, time with your family, time doing ministry? For each of us this could be something different and if you really want to put that to the test then fast from that thing and see how much time you have freed up because of it. Sure, I believe God loves us to enjoy life and have hobbies, He is not a mean God. But because of all He gives to us day in and day out.....those things should not be taking up so much of your time or thoughts that they are held above Him...or above your time with Him. Simply said, anything that separates us from God...is sin!
God, help us purge our lives of the unnecessary things that keep us busy. God please help your people get real with you and show us the things we have placed before you....even the relationships in our lives God that we have kept in a unhealthy place. I'm sorry God for anything I have placed before you by the amount of time or thoughts that I have dedicated to them. I will do better at not letting anything come before you, or between us God! Thank you for your grace and mercy when I have done it wrong. In Jesus name, Amen.

Love One Another...

In John 13:34 we are given the command to "love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." I want to make sure I point out 2 things about this verse...1) It is Jesus speaking (very important).....and 2) Jesus starts off with the words "A new command I give to you". Jesus does not say "I have a suggestion for you". He makes it very clear that He is telling us how it should be. Any time that Jesus, the Son of God, is telling us how something should be, we should take heart in every word that He is speaking. I'm not really sure we give it enough thought when we read a verse like this....that the Son of God is saying this is how you should treat others, no exception! He says, the way I treat you...you treat them. It's that simple! When I mess up, Jesus loves me through it. When I'm having a bad day, Jesus loves me through it. When I hurt Him, Jesus loves me through it. And yes, even in the times of my life where I completely let Him down, Jesus loved me through it.
If there are people in your life that you know you are not treating the way Jesus would treat you then maybe today is the day you can start. Sure, it may not be easy. Yes, it may require humbling yourself some. And yes, there will be fear that the other person will not react the way you hoped they might. But if we are living according to God's will for our life, then we are not doing it for them, we are doing it for Him. And when we do things for Him, He has a miraculous way of making it work out for everyone. That is the beauty of God's ways...they are meant to be above ours, and the results of doing things His way goes above our understanding.
God, please help me to love others, treat others and think of others the way you would have me to. You forgive me and hold nothing against me. If I am truly trying to be Christlike, then give me your supernatural strength to be able to be this way with even the most difficult people in my life. Thank you for the promise in Your Word that "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me". (Philippians 4:13) As I walk in this command I will rely on you for the strength I need and leave the rest up to you. Help me to not be a person who reacts based on circumstances, but instead reacts based on Your Word and your examples.

Great and Greatly to be Praised!

Father God I give you my all today. I'm not at a place where I understand my life, but I am at a place where I can still walk in peace. I want to pour out my praise to you God and have nothing left when I leave your service today. You are great and greatly to be praised. I refuse to let circumstances determine how much I will praise you today. The enemy wants me to be confused and hurt, but your word says that by Your stripes I am healed. I will walk in that so that your death will have full meaning in my life. Thank you God for my trials because they give me a chance to lean on you and let you shine in my weakness. Each trial is an opportunity to tell others how great you are....and I will! Search my heart today Holy Spirit and cleanse me of anything and everything that does not bring You honor. Forgive me for the times that I have acted in my flesh and purge me of the things that pull me away from you. I bow to you today and ask for Your will to be done in my life. Stop my human mind from trying to rationalize if things make sense and help me to just follow Your call. I love you Lord, I trust you Lord and I give this day to you to do whatever you see fit for my life. In Jesus name, Amen.

And God said "Go"...

"Do"...and do not question. I think as a follower of Christ this is one of the most challenging things to do. To know when to just drop it all and follow God's call. In a split moment's notice do what you feel God just told you to do. The number one thing that prevents us from wanting to do this is our human minds. This is the moment we begin to play the "what if" game with God. However, when Jesus called Simon Peter in Matthew 4:19-20, He simply said "Come follow me..." and it says "at once" they left their nets and followed Jesus. They did not fast, they did not give it a few days in prayer, they did not go to 3 or 4 of their friends and ask if what they heard made sense (good thing too because most of our friends today would say NO that doesn't make sense)...they just heard Jesus and moved. In our minds today we feel like God would never call us to do something unless it made sense. Really? Because in the bible I read God called people all throughout the ages to do things that made no sense whatsoever. Abraham, go kill your ONLY son...yeah, the one I promised you I would give you. In our minds that would be considered murder...God would not call Abraham to murder, or sacrifice, his son. That's crazy. But The Lord brought him through it. And another time God tells Moses, "go tell Pharoh to let my people go". In the moment Moses could have said, I know this sounds like God, but there is no way God would have me do this. It's crazy, it goes against anything that makes sense...Pharoh could have me killed in a moments notice. God would not have me do this. But instead, Moses goes against all logic and acts upon what he heard from The Lord. And God brought him through it.

The reason these men, and others throughout the bible, were able to do things that made no logical sense is because they spent so much time getting close to God, that when they heard His voice they didn't have to question IF it was God, they just knew it was! So they had the confidence to move when God said "move". Everything we do to get closer to God is so we can be so in tuned with Him, that when we hear Him say to do something, we are just obedient and we do it. THEN.....we act shocked when the enemy comes up against us. Why in the world would we be shocked that the enemy would try to convince us that this can't be God? There is no doubt that both Abraham and Moses had to have been thinking the entire time they were walking to their destinations that this is crazy. Both men were probably doing what we do...saying things like "God, give me another sign, just one more so I will know this is you". And they probably would have gotten the same answer we do, when we hear God say "If you and I are as close as we should be, you will already know this is Me. And if you didn't believe it was Me to begin with, you wouldn't have started this walk to your destination. So just be still and continue down the path I sent you on."

Going back to Simon Peter again, not only did Jesus simply say follow me....He said drop what you are doing and follow me at a time when they had just received the biggest catch of their careers as fisherman. So again, don't ever stop and think that it doesn't make sense at this time in my life that God would call me to do this. He got me where I am, why would he send me in a different direction now. Why....because He is God and His ways are not our ways....His thoughts are not our thoughts. His purpose for our lives may not be logical, rational or even understandable at times....but I guarantee you they are far more meaningful than anything we could set our own minds to. That is my faith, and it is my prayer that He will continue to grow me in that faith. I want to always be ready to drop anything and everything to "Go" wherever God calls me to go.

Obtaining an unoffendable heart...

To obtain an unoffendable heart we must not let our heart grow cold. If the heart
grows cold it will become like stone. This can happen by us allowing an offense to
ferment in our heart. To prevent this we must go to the person who has offended us
and speak out of love to them, not speak about them. We also have to be careful not
to "stumble" over the small things in life. The small things we cannot overcome can
cause us to not endure the "race" of life, and eventually we will harbor lots of small
offenses in hour hearts and soul and become cold or bitter. Instead, we have to be
open to allow the Holy Spirit to expose these things in us so we can repent of them.
When we learn to listen to the corrections of The Spirit we can allow change to take
place in us. And when we allow room for change, we prevent pride from settling
inside of us, so that ultimately we can learn to walk humbly through life. With a
humble attitude we will not be offended when someone does need to approach us
with correction, but instead hear the words they speak and learn from them. And
in the end we will be able to truly pray for those who persecute us and ask God to
really bless those who curse us. So that their offenses cause us to lift them up in
prayer, instead of tear them down to others.

Becoming like Jesus...

If we can become more like Jesus we can point people to Jesus, which should be the
ultimate goal of our life. In doing this, we will also become one with God as Jesus
was one with God. The more we can become one with God, or Christlike, the more
forgiving, loving and merciful we will be to others. Ultimately treating people as
precious as God truly sees them. And when we obtain an unoffendable heart like
Jesus had, we will actually be able to pray for those who persecute us, even as they
continue to do it. As well as bless those who curse us, even as they continue to do it.
And it is when we can do that, others will see Christ in us and possibly desire what
we have. For it is in the moment that our lives speak of Christ louder than our words
do, that we are the most like Jesus. I believe God sent Jesus to not only die for our
salvation, but to also walk the earth in human form to show us the ultimate example
of what our lives should look like. Loving not our life, even unto death.

Your path God....

If you area a person who hears from The Lord, then you know what is like to hear Him say something and you follow it. But chances are that also means that you've experienced a time when you followed God's call and ended up in a very confusing place. John 10:27 says "My sheep hear my voice...and they follow me". However, the verse does not end in...."and they lived happily ever after". Sometimes God takes us to a place for His reason, now ours. And those are the ones that are the hardest to understand. But when you end up there, be careful, because those are the times that the enemy will jump on the fastest. When the results are not as we expected the enemy will put doubt and confusion in our minds. Sometimes he does this with people, sometimes with circumstances and sometimes with our own thoughts. He will make you ask yourself if that was really God's voice, even when you know it was. I'm sure not one disciple expected to find themselves at the cross watching Jesus die when they agreed to follow Him. But this was His plan the entire time.
Don't let the enemy fill your head with doubt and confusion when things turn out differently than expected. Trust Him!! Don't give up on God. Turn to God and say this may not be what I expected, but I heard you, I trust you and I will continue to follow your lead in my life. Then, the next time you hear His voice, don't hesitate out of fear, but act on it out of faith! Learning to hear God's voice and being obedient is far more important than things always ending up the way you had them in your mind. He is getting you somewhere, just trust His path for getting you there.
I've never posted a link to a song in one of my blogs before, but when it comes to this subject this song really speaks to me. Take a moment and listen to it....then ask God to help you find the path He wants you on, even if you have to walk through some confusing places to get there.
Sidewalk Prophets - Help Me Find It

Prayer for today...

God, give us the ability to see that what you really desire from us is our heart...not our works, not our stuff and not even just our good behavior. For we know that when we give you our heart, the rest will follow. Jesus give us a desire to love like you love, forgive like you forgive and be humble in all we do. Help us to see that all we do is really for you and you alone! Help us to serve others with joy in our heart because we know in that moment we are being the most like you. Thank you for loving us despite ourselves. Help us to realize that we are beautifully and wonderfully made in your image God and help us to not listen to the lies of the enemy about who the world wants us to be. May we walk in the will that you have laid out for our lives with each new day that you give us. In Jesus name, Amen.

God, give me strength...

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13....No doubt this is one of the most quoted and used scriptures in the bible. We turn to it to get us through situations in life, for inspiration in life and as a motivator for life. We use it to say "I can do this" when something just seems to hard. But do we really grasp that it is God reaching out to us when we face things in life that we have no desire to face...things we go through that we don't want to go through...things in life that we would just rather ask God to take from us, instead of taking us through. Sometimes God may say "no, I need you to go through this, but I will get you through it". And this verse is a promise from God that you can get through the things that you have no desire to get through, if you allow Him to be your strength. As a follower of Christ you are going to face things you would rather not face. Tough choice, situations and heartache...and that is when God tells us through His word, "I WILL get you through it, if you rely on me". Yes, you can try to do things in your own strength, and you might even be able to tough your way through it, but just know that it may be harder and way more stressful then it needs to be because it is not being done by God's design.
He longs to pour out His love, grace, mercy and HELP to all who call upon His name. I don't know anyone else in my life who invites me to drop every problem I have on them so they can help me through it. Thank you God!

Healing God's Way

Isaiah 41:10 says "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand." When we are going through things we pray for healing. But sometimes we think we know what that healing is supposed to look like in our minds...and that may be different than what God has for us. I love this verse in Isaiah because it basically says "don't be scared...I've got you". If you are going through something and looking for healing, try not to tell God what that healing needs to look like. Be open to His healing for your life and KNOW that His outcome will ultimately be better than anything you could imagine. God sees the big picture and when we are in the middle of something that can be very difficult for us to see. However, when God sees all and bases His healing on that...many lives can be changed, restored, made better and His kingdom can be advanced. In the midst of our problems it is so easy for us to get hung up on just getting things better for ourselves. But God's ways are not our ways, and in the end I am so grateful for that!
God, thank you for showing me that Your healing over my life will be better than anything I could have wished for on my own. Use my trial and my healing to advance your kingdom and let my life help point the way for others to find hope in You! In Jesus name, Amen!

Being connected to Christ

Nothing and no one can secure you salvation in Jesus for you, it is a personal decision you must make...and nothing can cause separation between you and Jesus except you. People can pray for your salvation, but they cannot get you saved. The same is true for separation or distance happening between you and Jesus. You can blame it on things going on in your life, but the truth is, if there is separation between you and Jesus it is because you have allowed it. Sin and trials that we go through have one goal....to separate us from Christ. But they can only have that kind of power over you IF you let them. John 15:5 states that Jesus is THE vine and we are the branches. If we separate ourselves from Him we can do nothing. We were meant to stay connected to Christ. Connected through the good times and connected through the rough times. The enemy wants to discourage you from this in every way possible, but I can testify that if you can stay connected to Jesus, your life will be blessed for it. He can do much with little, He can be strong in your weakness, He can do more with your life than you can...if you let Him. The more you believe this, the more you have faith in Jesus...the more He can prove this to you again and again. But that takes complete submission to Jesus. Whatever part you are refusing to submit to Him is the part that is standing between you and Him. In Acts 17:28 we get the best words for what that is supposed to look like. It says "In Him we live, move and have our being...". That pretty much covers everything! If you are feeling distant from God, ask yourself what you are not trusting Him with, what you have allowed to come between you or what are you still trying to control in your life. If you desire to give that over to Him, He WILL take it from you and then you can "live, move and be" IN Jesus.

Answers....

God answers every prayer.....Do you realize that God answers every prayer? Or are you still stuck in the mindset that because a situation didn't turn out the way you thought, He either didn't hear you, or He didn't answer your prayer? Luke 11:9 says "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you,: seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." ....but this verse does not end with the words "your way".
I have had so many conversations with people who want to turn the verse into their bottle that they can rub and jeanie will pop out to give them what they want. That couldn't be further from the truth. A selfish prayer will not get you what you want. But a humble prayer will open you up to receive what God has for you...not what you want from God. When you pray, be prepared for God to answer you....He is going to. But also be prepared for Him to teach you with the answer you receive. Yes, He may want to teach you by blessing you with exactly what you are asking for. Or, He may want to teach you by not giving you what you are asking for. Both can be a blessing if your willing to live in God's will. When you pray, something IS going to happen. Don't limit God by making that "something" be your way and only your way. Because in the end, His way is going to be the best way. As I have stated before....that might be because His way will touch lots of people, and your way would have only helped you. His answers to prayer will always advance His kingdom. However, my selfish prayer may only advance my own life. But oh how beautiful it is when you are walking in God's will so closely that you are praying simply for His will....and His will blesses your life...and the lives of others that may be touched.
Thank you God for answering my prayers Your way. You are all knowing and I am all trusting...because of those 2 things I know every prayer I pray will be answered the best way you see fit. In Jesus name, Amen!

God's peace...in all times, in every way!

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way..... 2 Thessalonians 3:16
If you feel like peace is lacking in your life ask yourself if you are seeking it in the right place. Even though this verse was a benediction to what Paul was really saying, it is still packed with so much truth. God is peace, God wants you to have peace in your life and God can provide you with that peace...at ALL times and in EVERY way. It may be time to take a look at your life and see what you have in it that is taking away from the peace God desires to give you. Ask Him to search your life and your heart, and to get you to a place where He can bless you with peace. Paul wrote in the verses 6-15 with words of warning. I think He was trying to say be careful because these things can keep you busy, cause you problems and take away from real peace in your life.....but The Lord can bring you true peace. Sometimes we can get wrapped up in things that may not "send us to hell", but they aren't adding any value to your life either. But once you have found God's peace, you will never want what the world has to offer again!

Trust in The Lord...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Webster's definition of TRUST is...belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc...Based on what Proverbs says and the definition of trust, we should KNOW that The Lord is reliable, good, honest and effective....with ALL of our heart. This means no matter how big or how small whatever you are dealing with is, you should know that God's ways are more reliable and good than your own. ALWAYS! Not just when your in trouble, looking for answers, but in all things we do in life, we are to acknowledge that God's ways are better! But here is the part of this verse I love the most...when we trust God and acknowledge His ways are better than ours....the verse says He will make our paths straight. So this means if you are praying, trusting God and doing what The Spirit tells you, then you will never have to worry about your decisions causing you to stray. How amazing is that promise...God assures us that if we ask, listen and do He will keep our life moving in the direction of His will. And that is the direction that all of us should be trying to move in every day of our lives. Thank you for your promises God! 

Worthy to be praised...

God, you are worthy to be praised. Not because You have shown me extra favor today or blessed me more today...But simply because you are God, You are holy, You are faithful, You are merciful, You are loving...You are my best friend. You are worthy to be praised because of the sacrifice You made for all of mankind. You are worthy to be praised because you have made a way for an imperfect man to receive perfect forgiveness. You are worthy to be praised because you find something in me that You think is worth using to advance Your Kingdom. You God, are worthy of more praised more than I in my human mind can think to show You. Your angels praise You all day, everyday, because you are so worthy. So please accept this prayer as my praise to you today. As I walk through this day, which is another gift from you, let me be reminded that I should be praising you all throughout the day. Help me to see the good in every minute, of every hour, and praise you for it. Forgive me when I accept Your gifts, but don't stop and give You praise.
Please God continue to change my heart and my mind to be more like You so my light will shine to a lost world. Let the praise that comes from my lips be heard by others and stir up a desire in them to receive what You have for their life.

In Jesus name, Amen!

The hopeless find hope....

Having been in a place of hopelessness myself at times in my life, I fully understand how the feeling of hopelessness can bring you to your knees. But that is also exactly where God wants you to be when you finally come to the end of yourself....on your knees, crying out to Him. When we have the feeling of no hope it is more than likely because we have placed all of our hope in situations, others or ourselves. This was not by God's design. Jesus is hope...life in Jesus is hope...life in Jesus was God's design. In Romans 15:13 Paul writes  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." This verse is packed with meaning. You almost have to read it backwards to fully get it. Hope comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, but you have to trust in the God of hope to have it. (along with peace and joy) We lose hope because we place that trust in other things...and other things are going to let us down. But we know God is faithful, God is true and God will not let us down...that is why He IS the God of hope. If you are having the feeling of hopelessness, ask yourself what you have placed your hope in. Is it in a situation, a job, another person? If so, redirect that and trust God to see you through your situation. He will.....and you will have hope again. I know, because my life is a living testimony of this.

Suffer for the sake of others....

1 Peter 2:20,21......But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
One of the toughest questions I've ever been asked is "why do bad things happen to good people". One answer certainly is that evil is all around us trying to take us down all the time. However, the other answer is that perhaps someone is going to grow in their relationship with God, or even come to know God, because of how they watched you endure your suffering. Jesus suffered to make a way to the father, why should I not think that I could endure some suffering so that God could use my life to point someone to Jesus. When suffering comes try not to only look at the bad of the situation. Instead, try to ask God to help you endure it so those around you can see Christ in you. No one likes the suffering when it is happening them. But in Hebrews it says "(Jesus) who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross". So it was for joy that Jesus suffered the cross? It certainly wasn't His own joy....so this means Jesus suffered the cross for our joy. If Christ was able to suffer for my joy, then it would be my prayer that the joy of a relationship with Christ might be found by someone due to the suffering I go through in life....and in turn I would find favor with God in my own life. Psalm 30:5 says "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."
God, let me always be aware that others are watching me and how I handle the suffering that comes my way. Please give me the strength to always point people to the cross with my actions, not away from it. In Jesus name, Amen

Be Changed....Reflect Him

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:18
This verse says so much with such little words. Once the veil has been removed, once the truth is in us, once we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior....our lives should be changed to REFLECT Him! The Lord (who is The Spirit) will make us more and more like Him and change us into His glorious image. It doesn't say Only some will experience this, it doesn't say He might do this to you...what it does say is that once you accept Him, you should start to represent Him...others should see a reflection of Christ in your life. Yes you have to willingly let Him change you, but once you receive Him in your life you shouldn't want to look anything like the old you. And when people see the change in you, it opens doors for you to be able to witness to and introduce them to the one who changed you.

Reflect God

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1,2 
In ALL we do as Christ's followers, let us be a light to the rest of the world. Let us be the first to walk in love, grace, mercy and forgiveness when dealing with others....especially those who may have hurt us. The only way to accomplish this is to stay in close relationship with Jesus ourselves so we can remain in the mind and heart of Christ. I know some days that may not be an easy task, but if we want to impact the world it is a necessary one. I think nothing pleases The Lord more than when do something that reflects His love. I think that is when He looks down on us with a smile and says "They're getting it." Yes he loves when we are obedient with our tithe, or we serve in a corporate gathering. But I think it is when we do the right things (sometimes the ones no one will ever know about) for the right reasons, that we please Him the most...and He sees His reflection in us the most.