Hope Victorious

I wonder what it is like to be a seed All that potential locked up deep inside Waiting quietly –   A secret Multiplied growth – Enormous potential A concentrated time capsule Years of growth – Seasons of Fruitfulness Determination – Destiny   –   Longevity Held captive for now Waiting   –   Longing   –   Safely Stored Away Time –   Water   –   Planting   –   Tending The seed waits! But even before it even looks alive   –   Life is there hidden within   The mighty oak – held within the hard confines of an acorn An apple tree, boughs bent heavy with fruit secreted away in a small smooth seed A towering Redwood drops tiny seeds to the forest floor – unimpressive & hard to find I’ve neven seen the seed that will produce a rose bush: multiple blooms each year Beautiful rounds of colorful petals filling the air with fragrance and yet once it was contained in a tiny speck blowing ...

  I’ve been thinking of faith and our response to doubt and fear. We all have questions that we cannot answer and doubts that threaten to erode the confidence of our faith. Fear too is common. Sometimes our fears are big and limit our ability to function, other times fear is quiet and we attempt to cover it with action and bold declarations. What is a faith-filled response to these enemies of faith? Ephesians 6 talks about the armor of God and the fiery arrows of the enemy. Faith is the shield we hold up that, according to Paul, extinguishes all the  flaming arrows of the evil one.   (Ephesians 6:16)   I’ve been pondering how exactly that works. If faith is a shield, it stands between you and the enemy’s attack. The arrows shot by the enemy are intended to hit us! Jesus said in John 10:10 that the enemy comes to rob, kill and destroy . Our enemy, satan, intends to kill or at least injure us! But the second half of that verse is that Jesus came to give l...

Many are familiar with the amazing promise in Philippians 1:6 where Paul says “ He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. ”   I’ve read this verse countless times, quoted it, taught it, and been encouraged by it every time. But recently I was struck again by the significance of it and especially by the scope of this promise. Paul asserts his faith that God will complete the work that He has begun until the day of Christ Jesus. In the past I have focused on how the promise is about God: it is God who began the work in people and it is God who will complete it. It is truly God’s work! Many translations use the word “perfect”; others use the word “complete”. Either way, it is on God to finish wonderfully all that He has begun. It is the final phrase of this promise that has captivated my attention recently: “Until the day of Christ Jesus”. This is the time frame of the promise, the scope of God’s faithfulness. God will be working out, comple...

  Grateful To God for life, love, freedom and hope. Grateful for the people I love and those who love me. Grateful for laughter and the light in the eyes of my children when they smile. Grateful for wonder, discovery, learning and growth. Grateful for changes, even for challenges and questions. Grateful for how adversity connects us, stretches us and causes us to grow. Grateful for sunshine, rainbows and flowers. Grateful for wisdom and creative solutions. Grateful for dreams that inspire. Grateful for the work and struggle of pursuing those dreams. Grateful for the times we look around us and see just how much we are surrounded by all we are grateful for. Grateful for the hope that colors the skies of my future. Hopeful Hopeful for healing. Hopeful for the restoration of all that has been lost. Hopeful for the reconciliation of brokenness and mending of people once held closely. Hopeful for the silent hidden dreams of those that I hold dear. Hopeful for the dreams I know and...