Author Archive
May Hope Be Your Anchor – Part One
“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
Hope is the word receiving the most inquiries of any topic on the web. It is an indication people are looking for something more and/or better. They are hoping to gain something that will make life better. There is a volume the principal insight is to inspire hope. It is the Scripture that gives hope. It is replete with accounts of persons who were rescued from the slough of despond by the strong cords of hope,
Immediately after the crucifixion of Jesus His followers were depicted as having lost hope: “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24: 21). Had they had a fuller understanding of the written word of God their hope based on it would have flourished. The applied word would have sustained their hope. It does the same for us today. It stimulates “patience and comfort.” giving the tincture of time to engender hope.
At times our hope wavers, but the principles of Scripture are there to comfort us. To do so it must be known and applied. Therefore, studying the Scripture for it may give the truth you will need tomorrow to apply to a life situation. It gives hope. For it to do so it must be known.
Are you in the valley of despair? There is hope.
These words from the old hymn “How Firm a Foundation” by John Rippon are not only worthy of being sung, but lived. “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply.”
Imagine a cup placed under a running faucet. As it fills to the brim, it starts to overflow—not because it’s broken, but because it’s full.
“May the God of hope fill you… so that you may abound in hope.” God doesn’t just give enough to survive—He gives enough to overflow. This is the life of someone who trusts and believes, filled by the Spirit.
In 1941, Winston Churchill addressed a school and famously said, “Never give in. Never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in.” Hope is the refusal to give in when things fall apart and everything tells you to quit. It’s trusting that God has the final word.
Sailors drop anchor during a storm not to stop the storm, but to stay steady through it. Hope in Christ is the anchor of our soul (Hebrews 6:19). It doesn’t remove the storm, but it holds us firm while we persevere through it.
Drop your anchor that you might be stable even in your storms. We all know there are storms on our life’s horizon. Search the Scripture today that you may be firmly anchored tomorrow in the hope that gives life its meaning.
How to Have a Strong Heart – Part Four
“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” Psalms 31:24.
The words “be strong” and “take courage” indicate that we may face challenges. The phrasing of this verse indicates there are times of weakness and a need for strengthening. We don’t want such times, but we should expect them.
There is a little word amid the promised provisions of strength that we don’t like to comply with. It is the word “wait.” Yet, it is a strategic component of being strengthened. It is the training field for hope. Waiting on the Lord develops hope.
We are not to passively endure, but to actively express hope. Keep it alive.
In Isaiah 40:31, it says, “but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” This beautiful imagery reinforces the notion that our strength is renewed in God’s timing.
Waiting is often t-u-f-f. It taxes our patience and gives an opportunity for doubt and fear to develop. Hope counters both. The strength that comes when hope alone survives can’t be developed otherwise. It cultivates faith and prepares us for what is ahead.
In the time of waiting we often feel all alone. Not so, note: “all you who wait for the Lord.” It is a collective experience knowing others have waiting times.
A vital source of encouragement regarding being “in the Lord” is companions in the faith. You can not only gain strength from others, you can be a source of strength for others. In giving encouragement you put muscles in your own.
This battle cry for hope does not include a promise God will remove our challenges. He rather empowers us and thus enables us to be overcomers. He promises to be our companion in our struggles. This enables us to “be strong” and “take courage.”
We often experience our fear and failure when we have depended on our own ability. A “I can handle this one, God” experience leads to certain spiritual implosion. This should teach us to wait on the Lord and get Him involved by faith that fosters the kind of hope only He can provide. Hope in the Lord.
God holds the spiritual GPS, therefore follow Him when yours fails. As a matter of fact, knowing yours is inadequate start off following His. Manifest a faith-filled dependence.
As you confront challenges, and you will, life offers no exclusion clauses, resolve to be pre-committed to “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27: 14). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3: 5,6).
How to Have a Strong Heart – Part Three
“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord” Psalm 31: 24.
Hope is the happy anticipation of good, favorable and confident expectations. Earnestly anticipating and expecting through experiencing delay and disappointment hope lives.
Little wonder God calls hope “the anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19).
Hope realizes that it sometimes takes God time to work. It is the catalyst which makes divine ferment possible. It is the incentive which leads to unrealized perfection. Without hope man is less than a beast, he is a malfunctioning organism.
The media has exposed us to persons devastated by hurricanes, tornadoes, raging fires, floods, and crimes in homes, schools, and streets. Many have been absolutely inundated with sorrow and grief resulting from these tragedies. Some have rebounded, some have not. Often one thing makes the difference —- hope.
Doubts often slip into our lives like termites in a building. These termite-like thoughts eat away at our faith. This happens when:
* Things I think should not happen, happen.
* When things I think should happen don’t happen.
Then what do you do?
* When things I think should happen NOW, happen later.
God knows what He is doing regardless of the waiting period.
These three things cause termites of doubt to work. It is then the All-Pro of termite extermination is needed. That is, hope.
Famed American cardiologist, Dr. R. McNair Wilson, remarks in his autobiography, Doctor’s Progress, “Hope is the medicine I use more than any other…. Hope can cure nearly anything.”
“Saturday Review,” reported, “Hope … is medicinal. This is not merely a statement of belief, but a conclusion proved by meticulously controlled scientific experiments.”
To be most effective this hope must be Christo-centric. Timothy expresses this in four all-inclusive words: “Christ Jesus our hope….” (I Timothy 1: 1).
There are two ways of looking at life’s defeats and delays:
THE WAY OF THE DISILLUSIONED – Some attribute the disillusionment of hope to youth. Life having not fulfilled the disillusioned one’s aspirations, thus, they resolve to make the best of it by being tough. Such a one guards self against the awareness of hope. They become fearful that it is a sign of weakness. They become oblivious to it as a source of strength.
Hope in the future fills the present with energy.
THE WAY OF THE CHRISTIAN – Hope accepts trials. It exists alongside the potential for despair. Hope isn’t blind – it sees through the eyes of God.
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus. blood and righteousness.”
How to Have a Strong Heart – Part Two
“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord” Psalm 31: 24.
Heart is the Hebrew word for mind, purpose, intention, or insight.
The following is a revolutionary concept that can change your life.
It is said of God “He will strengthen your heart.” Such a concept has been veiled in meaning. The organ of the heart is a marvel. This rugged four-chambered, four-valved pump which handles 5,000 gallons of blood a day, almost enough to fill a railroad tank car. It supplies the circulatory system through 12,000 miles of vessels, and in the course of the average lifetime beats two and one half billion times. There is an additional strategic function of the heart long unknown.
Now without regard for that statement a British researcher at Southampton University and author Dr. Alan Watkins help our understanding. In his book Mind-Body Medicine: a Clinician’s Guide to Psycho/neuro/immunology he speaks of the heart as the body’s powerhouse which has a “hitherto unrecognized role in balancing the entire human system.” He states the heart produces 50 times more electrical energy than the brain and a thousand times more electro-magnetic energy. Being the strongest power source in the body it coordinates all the other body systems, including the brain, commonly thought to be the dominant organ.
The process is known as “entrainment.” It produces harmony throughout all of the body.
He illustrates it by observing a flock of birds. Have you ever seen a large dense flock of birds flying along and all at once they all instantly dart in the same direction in response to a threat. That togetherness is entrainment. Dr. Watkins says biological systems entrain. The heart sets the pattern. In humans it only happens in response to a positive emotional state. All body systems have their body clocks which have their own rhythm. When there is a positive emotional state these rhythms synchronize. When this happens the brain works better, the immune system functions better, and your hormonal system is at its best.
Let the Lord strengthen you as a result of your hope and spiritual entrainment will follow.
When our Lord says He will strengthen our heart He is saying He will help our brain, immune system, and hormones work together to our fullest advantage. All of this happens when the Lord is allowed to strengthen your heart by you thinking with the mind of Christ. That is, having His thoughts on each issue. Such positive thoughts impact all of your life.
Is your hope that God keeps His word and He will strengthen your heart. If so, pause and renew your commitment to Him.
How to Have a Strong Heart – Part One
“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord” Psalm 31: 24.
A sense of futile hopelessness is so foreign to the Lord that the word “hopeless” does not occur in the Bible. Knowing human nature, our Lord realizes it exists and proposes an antidote. Therefore, take heart.
If you are faint hearted or even if you have lost heart the Lord can rejuvenate you. Both expressions speak of a loss of courage. The Lord can replace your weakness with courage. He has instructed you to “Be of good courage….” Your strength can be equal to your task. Victory can still be yours.
To do it He needs your involvement. “He shall strengthen you” IF you exercise hope. When you exercise hope He supplies strength. When you manifest hope He provides a sense of His nearness. He strengthens us through His word so absorb it in your thoughts. He strengthens us through individuals so associate with persons who love Him. He strengthens us through circumstances so look for those “God things” in your daily life. He strengthens us by His invisible, but empowering Holy Spirit. However, He chooses to do it. He will do His part and strengthen you when you demonstrate hope. That is your part.
When you commit your spirit into the hand of the Lord He will surely preserve your precious deposit.
It is a joy worth worlds when driven where none but the Lord can help you, and then to experience His mighty hand pulling you out of the slough of despondence. The joy lies mainly in the fact that you have hope in the Lord, and are sure that He is near you. This blessed realization of the Lord’s interposition causes us to be renewed even in our tribulation. That is a cure for worry, a blessed cure for anxiety.
We visited the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem to see the famed beautiful stained glass windows by renowned artist Marc Chagall. The twelve windows in the synagogue represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The captivating window of the tribe of Issachar is stunning. Issachar was an agricultural tribe that loved the land so much they would not even leave to go to war (Genesis 49:14, 15). Tradition says that Zebulun and Issachar made a pact. Zebulun would enter the commercial arena in order to allow Issachar time to study the Torah. Therefore, the gift the Issachar tribe gave David was that they “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (I Chronicles 12: 32).
God’s people need to study God’s Word in order to understand our times and know what to do. Commit yourself now to the study of His word and wisdom can be gained thereby.