Hope for Him

Psalms 111:10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.  All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.  Praise him forever!  What is our foundation? Is our house built on the rock or on sand? The fear of the Lord is our foundation. That is how we become wise. The fear of the Lord is having reverence towards Him. We are to fear the Lord everyday of our lives. But do we? I think sometimes we take God for granted and just think of Him as a genie or someone who grants our wishes. I remember being in first grade and praying every night for my friend and I to get married. Of course God did not answer that prayer because it was not wise. I was naive and did not understand what the fear of the Lord truly was. When we fear of the Lord and have that solid foundation, that is when wisdom comes in. When we gain this wisdom we can use spiritual discernment and have reverence and knowledge of the God whom we have committed our lives to. When we are obedient to the Lord it sh

Matthew 8:9-10 “For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command.  I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, “I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!” The centurion has authority just like our father in heaven. As followers of Christ we are under the authority of our Him. The centurion did not feel worthy enough to even have Jesus come to his house. How unworthy do we feel as we make requests made known to God? Sometimes we shoot up prayers that seem impossible. But with God all things are possible. And when we do make requests known to God do we say them with great faith? It is convicting to read this passage as I examine my life. Do we ‘go’, ‘come’, or ‘do this’, when Jesus tells us? Do we follow after His commands in faith? Jesus turned to the crowd and told them of the great faith that

Mark 10:47:49 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48  And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Reading this text about the blind beggar reminds me of people who beg in big cities. Whenever I go to Time Square I get approached by people asking for money. They wake up with the question “how and when am I going to eat”? Bartimaeus must have had it very difficult since he was blind. He probably lived with people in similar circumstances judging his everyday move. When he heard Jesus was passing by I can’t imagine the excitement of the possibility of getting healed. With the amount of faith he had, there wasn't a possibility that he was getting healed. He believed that Jesus would give Him sight without a doubt. And he did not back down when people rebaked him and told him to be silent. When we have faith for an unbelievable circ

James 3:13-17 13  Who is wise and has understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness.  14  But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and deny the truth.  15  Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  16  For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. 17  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.  18  And the fruit of righteousness  is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.  When I look at this I have to examine my heart when it comes to my desires. Do I have envy others or have selfish ambition in my heart? Yes, I do. I am made of flesh so my heart is deceitfully wicked. My mind is always filled with distractions that lead down that road. When a desire comes into my heart I have to pray and ask if they are fleshly or of the spiri

Luke 8:22-25 22  One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23  and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24  And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25  He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” Reading this takes me back to being at the Sea of Galilee. Being on a boat in the sea on a bright sunny day I imagined what it would look like when a storm would come. The placement of the Sea is in the Great Rift Valley causing the waves to get to at times up 10-12 feet. The weekend before I had been in this area, two men were lost at sea because o

James1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. I admit I lack wisdom. I lack a whole lotta of wisdom. I need to daily ask in faith for wisdom because my flesh is week and I am in desperate need for it. The beginning of the chapter talks about falling into trials. When we fall into trials we can call upon the name of the Lord to help us. So often I fall into trials but never think to ask God for wisdom in the trial. I think I can face it on my own strength. God is our refuge and strength especially in times of trouble. In my pride I think I can do it on my own. But in reality I can do nothing in my own strength. I learned that a lot as I was in Israel. I tried to daily live on my own strength but found out a month in that I could not do it on my own. My days were packed, sickness would effect us all, and the spiritual warfare was intense. As a class we would have to pray for the strength of the Lord

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” The “Hall of Faith” chapter encompasses the followers of Christ who sought after God’s will. These men and women whole heartily trusted in God as they faithfully committed their lives to Him. The children of Israel didn’t just walk into the Red Sea without the trust of their leader. They had faith God was going to deliver them. In order to have communion with our Lord, we need to have faith that He exists. Our jobs as Christians are to please the Father by our actions which include being faithful. When circumstances come our way we need to rely on the Lord and trust in His sovereignty. When we approach God we are also to believe that He also cares enough to respond. Of course God cares to respond but it is not always in His timing. In verse 11 the author writes how Sarah was unable to have children but she was faithful to the Lord

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Being here in Guatemala, serving as an intern for Ignite Class 13, is one of the biggest leaps of faith I have ever taken. I have taken a year and handed it over to God. I have no clue what He has in store for me but I know "by faith” that He will use my life for His glory. I have faith in Him because I can put my hope and trust in His truth. I can trust Him because He is faithful. Christ is faithful when we are faithless. When I fall He is there to pick me up. I can hold on to that truth because I can believe in it. This time out here in Guatemala is a time of uncertainty. A time of uncertainty is a time for faith to brew in our lives. Sometimes I have to ask the question, “do I only have faith for things I want or do I have faith in the scary situations too?” Everyday I need press on because even though I do not know what tomorrow brings, I know God has a plan and that I am walki

Ephesians 5:15-17 15  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16  making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. When we walk what path are we following? The wide path that leads to destruction or the narrow path which leads to life? The narrow path is windy but when we are faithful to finish the Lord will reward us. When we are giving Christ our steps and he leads us we can grow in wisdom and discernment. Then we can see the path that leads to destruction and avoid it. Our life is not our own. When we live this surrendered life we do not determine our steps. This is something a control freak like me has a hard time surrendering. “control” I’ve learned the hard way that my ways are not God’s ways. He has transformed the desires of my heart. I thought I had a plan after high school but God smashed that plan to the ground as he sent a prideful girl to Bible college for b

2 Corinthians 1:12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. What do we boast in? Some may boast in a achievements, a possession, or abilities. Like I boast that I have the cutest niece in the world and I have confidence in this. Paul had confidence in his morals that he behaved according to the Spirit. I have to ask myself the question, “do I have that confidence as I live day to day?’ Do my morals show that I don’t have earthly wisdom but wisdom from God? I hope so. As I read this I have to observe the way I respond to situations. When I wake up and dig into the word first thing in the morning I can have a fantastic day because I have been filled with the spirit. But if I wake up and just have my coffee I will not be able to boast in the confidence because I would have a “flesh day”. When we live by the spirit and attain that