Hope – In the Savior

From the first few chapters of Genesis, we learn of our need for a Savior. The first family, Adam and Eve were placed in the garden of God. In this perfect sinless environment, God walked with them and gave them the ground rules of freedom and relationship with Him. They were allowed anything but to taste the fruit from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Good was all that was known in the garden, but Eve discovered deception came through one that was trusted outside of God. We have to remember there was nothing harmful in the garden. There was no vicious animals, no death or disease, poisonous plants or animals. Nothing at that time could possibly harmed them except disobedience to God's instruction. It was a time of testing for Adam and Eve.

Sin entered humanity through not trusting God's instructions, believing that somehow God was not being forthcoming about this Evil thing. The simple truth is God is Good and He didn't not want His children to know evil because evil is not good.

So begins the legacy of death, separation, destruction and enmity between people and the rest of creation. Plants and animals became wild, vicious and poisonous. What began in perfection disintegrate into chaos. Separation is not what God wanted. He created us for relationship, so in handing down the chastening of Adam and Eve, He also promise a savior for humanity. That promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ!

God Almighty intricately planned the arrival of the Savior. He strategically chose a specific family line and insured the fulfillment through covenants and specific promises. Those He chose to declare His Word and carry out His plan were very special people. Although they were not sinless, they were faithful and honored God with their life. Through countless generations the Lord waited for the day when Jesus would be born.

The Holy Bible is a tale of Holy God's love for humanity. How He suffered long for those He loves because He wanted to bless us and shower us with His goodness. A restoration of the garden is the plan and the Hope of the future.

“How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bring us to himself through Jesus Christ and this gave Him great pleasure” Ephesians 1:3-5

How awesome is that!!! How we praise God!!! Amen!!!! Hallelujah!!!

Hope – The Word of God

As I continue this series, it is essential to understand that our strongest hope comes through the Living Word of God as written in the Holy Bible. “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our life. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Hope is defined as: Confident trust with the expectation of fulfillment. As I read the Holy Bible I am confident of several things; First I have personal experience to those things both good and bad described in the Bible. In the Bible I saw what was wrong in my life, but it gave me Hope that my life did not have to continue down a path of destruction. Second, as I read the Lord speaks to my heart and reminds me of the many times He was there in my life. How He provided and protected me. It gives me Hope through life's trials. Third, the Bible confirms those things the Lord speaks to my heart as His will for me. The Lord will never violate what He has said in His Word, both the blessings and consequences are true.

Reading the Holy Living Word of God inspires our Hope, encourages us to live in such a fashion that we will experience the goodness, grace and loving kindness which is the hallmark of our God. The Lord knows us and the plans He has for us are good. Jeremiah 29:11-13 speaks about this, but there is a condition, we have to seek Him with all our hearts.

Only those who have crossed from death to life in Christ can understand what the Holy Bible is all about. Those without the Holy Spirit of God can not understand the meaning of scripture. It is hidden in a riddle, because God confounds the wise, but speaks clearly to the humble. Proverbs 3:34

Our hope is found through the word of God, so be sure to “Carry out my instructions; don't forsake them. Guard them, for they will lead you to a fulfilled life” Proverbs 4:13

Hope - Breath of Life

Welcome,
With the arrival of Spring, I thought this would be a great opportunity to begin a new series about Hope. Spring, to me is the season of hope because it brings new life. It is my favorite time of year when everything is fresh and new.

Hope – Breath of Life

Without Hope we die. It's that unseen force deep within us which keeps us moving forward. Because of Hope we choose to continue breathing and dare to imagine the future. Hope is a gift from God.

Hope is the foundation of faith. According to Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the confidence assurance of things Hoped for is going to happen”

Hope keeps our dreams alive, a vision of our soul and the desires of our heart. “Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” Psalms 37:4

The Lord speaks to our hearts in dreams and visions. He plants those desires in us that cause us to believe in something better. He reveals His plans and purposes for us in this way as well. Psalms 16:7

Hope is a part of that all encompassing love of God. “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always Hopeful and endures through every circumstance” 1 Corinthians 13:7.

Hope is fundamental to all aspects of our Christian life.

I feel lead to write about the many aspects of hope so, over the next few weeks I will be writing about Hope. It is a wonderful topic and I hope you will join me.

Please welcome my first guest blogger Chris Vonada to my site.

"Shedding A Flood Of Light On The World"

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." Proverbs 4:18

Sometimes I think we take for granted the dawn of each new day. I know that I do. When this happens to me it's mainly because I'm caught up in the moment. Too busy to be thankful for a very basic need. If I pause and reflect I can gain perspective. Everything becomes clear like the midday sun. While there are other sources of light in our universe that we can see, the light from our sun is by far the brightest object in the sky. The sun's light that shines on our world is pretty amazing. We call the light "white" although it's actually colorless. And the cool thing about white light is that it's made up of every other color in the spectrum.

In Isaiah 45:7 the Lord says, "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things."

I guess the symbolism of the light of Jesus and the light of the world is pretty obvious then. We need it. I mean both. Too busy to be thankful? Yep, there are times when I have to admit that I'm guilty of that one.

It seems like most folks know the story of the promise that God made to Noah, that after the flood He would never again cut off the world from life by a flood. God's reminder of this promise to Noah was the rainbow. The sign of the covenant... God's reminder to Himself... and His sign to the world...

Rainbows form when "white" light from the sun is refracted through water in the atmosphere. We observe a brilliant display of color in the sky, and through God's promise. I think it's cool how our Heavenly Father brought together the themes of life, light and faith in the glorious rainbow.

Oh that rainbow and it's promise...

What do we need to see the promise of the rainbow? Just 3 things:

- Light. Light is made up of a whole spectrum of color. That's an example of Jesus' love being for everyone. What do we get when we mix all of the colors of the rainbow? White, or colorless light. That's what the Bible describes as the significance of Jesus. Jesus is called "the light of all mankind"

"The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." John 1:4-5

- Rain. Well, technically, just moisture in the atmosphere, but for the sake of this God post, I'm just calling it rain (hee hee). The rainwater is the 2nd component of the covenant that gives life. I guess that makes sense, we need water to live.

With the rain we receive another eternal promise, that of the living water...

"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Revelation 22:17

The next time the rain comes, think of it as a blessing. This shower falls all over the land. Sure, the folks in Seattle may be less psyched to see a rain cloud than the people of Phoenix. As for the rainbow, I can't ever remember seeing this reminder in the sky and not being filled with joy.

- Vision. Having the eyes to see. That's faith, right? The rainbow might be there but if our eyes are closed we aren't going to see it.

"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." Deuteronomy 4:9

Yep, a reminder, and encouragement to teach our children. Do you point out the rainbows to your children when you see them? I know I do, with my grandchildren now too. Maybe take the opportunity the next time you see a rainbow to talk to your kids about God, and explain to them the flood of light that shines on the world. Share with them about the light, rain and vision. When all of this comes together a new day is dawning.

When? It's happening everyday, somewhere. Just like the rainbow :-)

Open Spaces

Welcome to the newest addition of the Christian Writers Blog Chain. Each month a consensus determines the topic for the month. This month we chose an Open topic, not that unusual but an opportunity to express our individual thoughts. I usually don't chose the first day of the month, as a rule, but I felt brave to kick start this topic, set the tone, if you will.

As I pondered all the possibilities for this month, many ideas came to mind. Should I continue with the current series? Should I start another series? Should I share my thoughts on my current dilemma? Should I just skip the month?

If you have enjoyed our monthly posts, you've seen a decline in the participation. I know things happen in our lives. We get side tracked, become over burdened with current projects, become discouraged by events, or sometimes need a break from writing.

As Christians, we sometimes don't see the bigger picture of the spiritual warfare all around us. Every time we take our eyes off Jesus, we sink. Every time we make an excuse for not doing our job, (ie writing), we stumble. Every time we don't follow through with a commitment, we lose a bit of ground.

I want to express a heartfelt thanks to those who continue through all circumstances. I know several writers on this chain are very busy people who contribute to many sites, Lynn Mosher is one and so is Carol Peterson. Two ladies, excuse me, sisters I admire. I understand that things run their course, and perhaps this is one of those things, I hope we can keep going. The Bible teaches that we don't always know the outcome of our encounters, but we can trust that God will bless us as we step out in faith.

So What is the future of this ministry? I know I will continue to sign up each month and participate as much as I can. We are currently mobile and don't have access to the internet as often as I would like, but I don't let that stop me. I won't give the Evil One a moment's pleasure of trying to derail this child of God. The Lord does supply all my needs as I need them. I am not worried or afraid.

Beginning this month I have joined up with other writers to support them. We will host guest writers on each of our blogs to highlight their work. Topics and styles will vary, but I know you will enjoy their work. So please look for the new page link at the top of this page in just a few days—the road ahead is glorious!

" So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and courageous  Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless" 1 Corinthians 15:58

In the words of Pablo Cruise “Keep your heart open – 'cause love will find a way”

Peace and Blessings!!