Hope....A Small Word With Big Meaning

Some people place their hope in financial security. Others hope their popularity, abilities, or connections will get them where they want to go. But only those who place their hope in God can face tomorrow without any fear of the future. When you trust in God, you do more than hope for the best. You rest in knowing God's best is His plan for your life.

If we are believers, the Bible says that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and He guarantees that we will arrive safe, preserved from all destruction, on the final day of deliverance from sin and all it's effects. WOW!

Just think of what it will be like to actually see God face-to-face, to have no more tears, no more sorrow, no more dying...to see our loved ones who have passed on and never be separated from them again. These thoughts leave me totally awestruck!

But it is so easy to lose heart when your focus is on difficulties that persist day after day. That is why it is so important to reconnect with God every morning. Time together reminds you that an all-knowing and all-powerful God is in your corner, ready and able to help. It helps you sift the trivial from the eternal. And restores hope to it's rightful place in your life, where it can shine a light on God's goodness and faithfulness to you.

Life is not about losing. Life is about overcoming. As long as I hold tight in my heart the fact that His plans are GOOD, then I can fight through the obstacles life throws at me, to see the light of the reward that will greet me in the end.

Remember, God is bigger than your biggest problem, stronger than your most frightening enemy, and greater than your doubts and fears. WOW, WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD!

All our hope needs to be in God because He is the only One Who can make us happy.

Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future; Faith is the ability to dance to it today. I hope you dance.

God… Please don’t wipe away all my tears!!

Revelations 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Dear Father God,


I’m so glad that you’re going to wipe every tear away from my eyes one day…but I don’t want all my tears wiped away. I do want the bad tears wiped away…the ones that came from my suffering…but there are some special tears that I hope you collected and will never get rid of….they are….my tears of love for you! My God….I love you so much and in my prayer times I have cried so hard because I love you so so much.


My wonderful, merciful and caring God…these are my good tears and I don’t want you to wipe them away. Every tear of love I shed for you are from deep within my heart. My heart aches for you and each tear represents the depths of that love.


Please don’t wipe my love away. How will I be able to tell you how much I love you when I get to heaven? Will there be a way? Can I pour oil on you? Will I have hair to wash your feet with? I know you are a spirit so how will I pour my love out on you?


Luke 7:38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.


Please tell me how I will worship you and I will be so happy. Father God…when I get there… will there be room for me to lay before your throne in adoration of your Holiness and your love that you have shown to me. I think a lot about what I will do in your presence. I’m going to want to hug you tightly and say thank you for making me, forgiving me, saving me, loving me and accepting me warts and all. Yes these tears God…that I have on my face right now…they are for you….don’t wipe them away.


God there are no words in my mouth and in my mind right now…only my tears of love…my human expression of passion for you. My tear’s are my worship Father…don’t wipe my tears away. You’ve given me so much and my good tears are all I have to give you….they are…my love. They are symbolic of my heart’s cry of worship and praise to you.


Will I remember these times of prayer and intimate fellowship with you? They are precious to me! Will my love for you be lost in the history of your many other blood washed children? I know I’m asking so many questions…but I don’t want my good tears to be gone from my memory of you….I cherish my good tears and my good times with you.


I know when I get to heaven….you’ll be waiting for me and I’ll have a glorified body and I’ll be like you and things between you and me will be on a whole different level…..but I still have to say this while I’m still down here…..Don’t wipe my good tears away….they are my joy, my happiness and my love that I have for you! I love you!!


From your tearful daughter… good tears,

Whose Attention Are You Seeking?

Are we too busy lifting ourselves up to pay attention to God? Pride is ugly. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:5

God reminds me everyday that it's not me that does the work, it's Him.

The thing is, we can spend so much time worrying about what others think about us, that we have no energy left for what God thinks.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, we MUST remember whose we are on order to behave like we believe. What we should be concerned about is whether or not our actions and attitude are glorifying Him. Am I taking the credit for the work He has done in my life? We need to keep Christ and our reflection of Him at the center of our lives at every moment. The more we do that, the more instinctual it becomes. And instead of being prideful we become humble in His sight.

When we try to exalted ourselves above others, we set ourselves up to be dumped on.

God will use whatever it takes to get our eyes on Him and off ourselves.

Joseph dreamed of having authority and being a great man. However, he was young and impetuous. Joseph's brothers hated him and sold him into slavery. God used the situation as an opportunity to test and train Joseph. He spent thirteen years in prison for something he didn't do, but whatever happened to Joseph during those years definitely equipped him for his God-ordained role in history.

The Lord has to humble us before He can use us.

We have to trade in our self-confidence for God-confidence.

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James4:10)

My personal challenge is to look at my life not the way a perfect stranger would, but the way a Perfect Savior would.

Is The Grass Really Greener On The Other Side?

Why is it that we try so hard to belong in places we were never meant to be? Usually, it's because we want so badly to be there. But what we've failed to realize at one time or another is that it's not being where WE want that brings the fulfillment and satisfaction we seek; it's being where God wants us to be.

You see, God has designed and equipped us to fulfill a particular role in this world. If we spend all our time trying to be somewhere else or do something else, not only will we probably experience dissatisfaction in the place we weren't meant to be, but we'll also miss out on the rich blessings God has planned to give us in the place He planned for us to be.

God hates it when we pass up on the real life and settle for false promises of this world.

Oh sure, the other side of the fence might look greener, but it's an optical illusion. It's not really a field full of green grass; it's a field planted with grass that Satan has painted to look green so he can deceive us into moving to his side of the fence.

I think that sometimes things are the hardest when we are headed in the direction God wants for us.

The grass is not greener on the other side, it's greener where we water and fertilize it.

I'm certain that the best I can think of for myself pales in comparison to the best God has in mind for me.

"As the heaven are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9

But We See Jesus!

“In putting everything under him, God left nothing

that is not subject to Him. Yet at present

we do not see everything subject to Him.

But we see Jesus.” (Heb. 2:8b-9a NIV)

Don’t you love it when a familiar scripture leaps off the page at you as if you’ve never seen it before? As I read the above scripture the other day, this part bounced up and crashed right into my heart, “Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus.” (Heb. 2:8b-9a NKJV)

Though some circumstances may not be subject to our control, they are always subject to the Lord’s control, even when, at times, they do not appear that way to us.

Without the same point of view as God, the same Spirit-realm vision, we fail to see God’s hand in action or His Word at work. We wonder why He is taking so long to remedy our circumstances or why He doesn’t answer our prayers.

But, no matter...

No matter what others say about us, we see Jesus.
No matter how discouraged we become, we see Jesus.
No matter what trials and afflictions pursue us, we see Jesus.
No matter how dark the night’s grief enshrouds us, we see Jesus.

As David said, “I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.” (Ps. 123:1 NLT)

Whatever comes our way...we see Jesus!

Operation Fragrance

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” –2 Corinthians 2:14

Trees and other plants rely on small animals to help them survive. Bees carry pollen from flower to flower in Spring. Squirrels take acorns and other nuts from place to place. Birds move the seeds from fruit trees to new locations where there may be more room for seedlings to grow. In turn, the animals get the food they need from the plants. God planned for the plants and animals to help each other in this way.

In a similar way, we carry the fragrance of the knowledge of God with us wherever we go. We plant seeds of God’s love in others, nourishing them spiritual and helping God's kingdom to thrive. As we go where God leads, He goes with us, filling us with His Spirit, His strength. This is God’s plan for us. We are triumphant so long as we rely on Him.

Holy Spirit, fill my life with the fragrance of Your love that others may know You wherever I go. Amen.

The World is Full of Wounded People Wearing Masks

Have you heard the phrase, “You can’t judge a book by its cover”? It’s true. Most of the time, people are not who they seem to be. You may be one of those people walking around right now.

Unless you have been outwardly wounded in some way, others can’t see your wounds. All wounds are not gaping holes or bleeding cuts. The worst looking ones are usually on the inside of us where no one can see and be disgusted.

That’s what people expect, you know. They think that others will be offended or disgusted when they see who you really are. Can she see that I used to do drugs? Does he know that my family is poor? They won’t talk to me anymore if they knew I had been sexually abused.

So, everyday you hide behind the mask. What is the mask? It’s smiles, laughter, a short temper, an indifferent attitude or acting clueless. You show whatever type of face or attitude that will keep the demons away.

The longer you do that, the less anything in your life will seem real. The mask is a lie and it will eat you alive. Satan likes masks. It lets him hide his true intentions from you. You may think that hiding your pain is helping you live but instead, it is holding you prisoner.

Here’s a scenario that everyone can relate to: Someone in your life hurts you. It could be physical, verbal or emotional. When it’s over, they walk away without apology or regret. Because they don’t care, you refuse to forgive them. That unforgiving attitude turns you into someone else. You lash out at people with your tongue or even your fists. All the while, the person who hurt you is walking around without any thought of you whatsoever.

Does this sound familiar? God wants to heal your wounds. Jesus died on the cross so that you could be free from bearing that pain alone (Isaiah 53:5).

If you’ve never read the Bible or it has been a long time, here are a few people you need to become acquainted with: The woman at the Well, the Samaritan woman, the woman with the issue of blood, the man by the pool of Bethesda. Most of these people are women but their gender doesn’t matter. What matters is how Jesus responded to them.

Their wound wasn’t always evident to others. But, their belief in Jesus healed the source of their pain. Living with your pain is not God’s will. He wants to heal your mind, body and soul through His love and your faith that He can do it.

This doesn’t mean that the pain goes away all at once. Sometimes physical infirmities stay with you as a lesson through your life to others who are suffering. God’s love turns an evil deed into something that can benefit your life and His message.

Many bitter people are holding on to pain. The wound has infected their entire life. Jesus came to save the ones who are lost and living with hidden pain is definitely living as a lost soul.

You might even be scared. Giving up the pain you have hidden for so long means you are opening yourself up to the possibility of more pain. But, God won’t hurt you. Let His healing wash out the fear and bring you back to life once again.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
-John 16:33