One Hope Stories

As we come into the Easter season, I am reminded of this story from Matthew 20. Jesus has predicted His death for the third time in the scripture. The scripture says that following this the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with James and John, knelt before Jesus to ask something from him. When he asked her what she wished, she ask Him to allow James and John to sit at his left and right hand in His kingdom. I am struck by her boldness but I also understand her request. As a parent it is natural to want the best for your children. But I love His response. He asked them if they could drink from the cup He was about to drink from, specifically referring to the Crucifixion. Then we see the other disciples became angry and Jesus gives us a crucial key to being a follower of Christ. He tells them that to be great in the kingdom, they must become a servant. It seems that God's principles are upside down. But the truth, we are the ones who are upside down. We operate in a fleshly realm where "me first" is prevalent. The world teaches us that we have to look out for ourselves. God is showing us that when we put others first we are the ones who are blessed. It doesn't cost anything but maybe our pride and it turns the world's system on its head.

I would like offer a modern day spin on this beautiful principle that Jesus left us with. We are presented with opportunities every day to serve others. Husbands, have you served your wives lately? It could look like taking the kids for a walk and giving her a 10 minute quiet time. Wives, you could take out the trash before your husband gets home. We can serve our children, friends, parents, community, pastors, or pastoral staff. I have listed some things that might help spark some new ideas for you. Let this be a spring board for your own unique personality and ideas. Who can you serve this week? I challenge you to start a new practice and spark a serving competition in your sphere of influence.

”Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”“ Matthew 20:20-28 NKJV

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‍20 Ways to Serve Someone Around You

1. Show up early or stay late to help set up or tear down on Sunday at church (even if you have never been scheduled before)
2. Bring someone their favorite beverage
3. Invite someone to church or small group
4. Show up to our monthly food distribution and serve the community
5. Offer to give a parent a break from their kids
6. Make a meal for someone and deliver it to their home
7. Offer to pick up groceries
8. Fill up their gas tank
9. Listen to someone for as long as they need to talk
10. Make a homemade dessert or loaf of bread and give it away
11. Send an encouraging text, prayer, or prophetic word
12. Make a small homemade gift to give away
13. Offer to give someone a ride to church
14. Donate clothing to the HCDC clothing closet
15. Invite someone to lunch or dinner
16. Gather trash and help clean up after an event
17. Give your mail person a bottle of water and snack
18. Talk to someone who is sitting by themselves at church
19. Retrieve and return grocery carts in the parking lot
20. Welcome a new neighbor with a small gift

As we come into 2024 I heard the Lord say, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 4:6). For many people January 1st is a time to reset their year. Some had struggles over the past year and the new year seems to offer a do-over. As the year goes on the excitement is often overshadowed by trouble. They wished for things to be different when the year began but life came in and shattered those dreams. No matter where you found yourself on New Year’s day, you were most likely dreaming about a better year. 

As I heard the Lord speak this into my spirit, I knew that He was asking us to leave behind our striving. He wants to show us what He can do when we lean fully into Him. Let the beginning of this year start with allowing the Holy Spirit to fully take the lead. He took me to Romans 15:13 NLT, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. As we come into 2024, let’s keep an open expectation of what God will do this year. 

Hebrews 6:18-19 TPT “So it is impossible for God to lie for we know that His promise and His vow will never change! And now we have run into His heart to hide ourselves in His faithfulness. This is where we find His strength and comfort, for He empowers us to seize what has already been established ahead of time—an unshakable hope! We have this certain hope like a strong, unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God Himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred threshold,“ 

Freedom.  Janis Joplin defined it as “just another word for nothin’ left to lose.”  But what is true freedom?  Is it the liberty to do whatever we want?  It is, in fact, just the opposite.  “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”  (Romans 6:12)  Freedom, or liberty, is the ability to NOT give in to the desires and urges of our carnal nature.  It is the ability to walk away from temptation, to not cheat on your diet or neglect your exercise routine, to change the channel when the movie is risqué.  

Paul urged the Galatians:  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”  (Galatians 5:1)  If you are in Christ, you are free.  It is, however, possible to slip back into that sin that snared us and it is up to each of us to choose the liberty of discipline.  “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”  (Romans 6:16)  A concert pianist will tell you that he or she spent countless hours practicing scales and playing exercises in order to be able to perform the most beautiful pieces freely and skillfully.

How do we enter into this freedom?  It is in the presence of the Lord.  “¹⁷Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  ¹⁸But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  This is how we become more Christ-like.  (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)  “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  (John 8:32)  That truth is Jesus Christ and we can all know Him through the Word because He is the Word.  (John 1:14)

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This is a vulnerable post...

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My favorite necklace that says "Actually, I can" broke a few months ago. So yesterday, I found this necklace among my jewelry...

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As I looked at it before putting it on, I couldn't help but feel the weight of it...

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This HOPE necklace is very tarnished...

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I almost decided not to wear it. I almost threw it away...

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This season of my life, my hope has felt very tarnished at times... I've cried more consistent tears than I think I ever have, doubted myself more than I think I ever have. I've almost thrown my hope away so many times... This season has felt like the loneliest place I've ever sat in.And yet, I'm not alone... not even close. I'm surrounded by the supportive friends that God has placed in my life to pray for me and encourage me when I can't even lift my head. And I'm surrounded by the arms of my Father who is walking me through this tough season of ripping down mindsets and walls that have kept me from what I'm meant to do.

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After this past year or 2 of God constantly doing the impossible for me, I've learned to cling to that. It was preparation for what's ahead. So, I'll continue to put on my hope, even if it's tarnished because I know it's not ill-placed. I know my God is moving, changing my atmosphere. I know that even if everything around me is uncertain, my God is not. He's proven Himself to me. And even if I have to remind myself every minute of the day, I KNOW who He is. I know He restores hope, resurrects dead dreams, renews life and love, and does far more than can ever be imagined. I know on the other side of this is good. Far more good than I could ever create on my own.

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So for now, I'm grateful. Grateful for the hope I have, grateful for the life I have, grateful for what's coming, grateful for friends who pray for me, check on me and sometimes let me come just relax and nap at their home in between the chaos and confusion.

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‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:12‬ ‭TPT‬‬

"Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble,  but commune with God at all times."

I was reading Jonah this week (you are probably familiar)…Jonah is asked to go to Nineveh to deliver a message from God.   He feels unequipped and scared, so he runs…In the opposite direction.   When I read this story today, in ESV  the word “appointment” was used all throughout.   God appointed Jonah.  God appointed the waves. God appointed the storm.  God appointed the fish. God appointed the fish to throw up.   If you are not familiar with this passage, the long and short of it is that Jonah is swallowed by a fish and lives inside the belly of this fish for three days before he is thrown up on the shore of Nineveh.  What stood out was the way God appointed every step.   The bible says a righteous man’s steps are ordered of the Lord.  God  appointed everything to work out for good.  Jonah was called according to a purpose and so are you.   As a child of God I know that I do not always act like I am aware that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, but that doesn’t change that truth – I AM!   When I remember that God is on my side, I know that I am equipped and prepared for whatever God asks of me.   I may be uncomfortable, and I may not always understand in the moment, but I can trust that God has my very best interest in mind and my steps are appointed and so are yours.

Recently I turned 70 years old. I was thinking of different teachings that I have heard over the last 50 years. One message that made a tremendous difference in my life was one that I heard in 1978 by a visiting preacher named Bob Buford. He had written a book and spoke on having God’s favor in your life.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.  Psalm 84:11

Throughout my life, I have learned to pray for God’s favor. The difference in my life was amazing!  Situations I knew I would come up against could turn bad quickly, turned out well.  When I put God in control of these different circumstances, it was His favor that changed things for me. Simply put, God’s grace is favor!

“For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.”  Psalm 5:12

You should always see yourself wrapped in God’s favor 24 hours a day. Every morning when you get up, throw off the covers and jump out of bed and exclaim, “I am the righteous; Lord, Your favor surrounds me like a shield.”

Do you ever feel like you have completely blown it with God?  It’s almost like He’s thinking “I’ve had it!  I’ve already given you chance after chance. I’m done with you!”

You don’t have to feel that way any longer. The Bible teaches us that God is a God of  second chances because He knew that we might not get it the first time, the second time, the third, the fourth and so on. A God of second chances means the Almighty doesn’t give us just one shot at getting it right; He loves us even when we don’t get it right.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible that demonstrates our God of second chances is found in the book of Jonah. God called him to go to Nineveh to tell them of His judgement coming upon them. Jonah didn’t want to do that, so what did he do? He bought a ticket on a ship going the opposite way. The result…Jonah ended up in a storm and had a whale of a tale to tell his friends. He repented of his sin and our God of second chances did just that — gave him a second chance. After that Jonah went to Nineveh to tell them of God’s forthcoming judgement. His sermon was very short—a mere five words in the original Hebrew that translates as “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The people of Nineveh did repent and like Jonah, found that our God is a God of second chances. 

Perhaps today you are caught in a storm, crying out to God to forgive you and save you from the destruction your choices have caused.  It doesn’t matter how you’ve arrived in your storm; what matters is what you do next. Learn from Jonah and cry out to God. All is not lost. Don’t let past poor decisions keep you from making new good ones. Regardless of your past, Jesus can make all things new.  Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) says, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

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Yes, God is the God of second chances. He doesn’t give up on us. Imperfect people are always in need of a perfect God.

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