Tag: hope in Christ

Confidence In HIM

I read this a couple of days ago, and reread it this morning. Thank you Perth Girl for this breakdown of Psalm 23:1-4. It’s a timely reminder to let God, our Shepherd lead us. He loves us and will take great care of us.

Manu's avatarThe Faithfood Blog

Psalm 23:1-4 ” The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

This passage speaks of green pastures and quiet waters as well as the darkest valley, evil and enemies.

It is one thing to say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” and quite another to be in a dark valley in life and to hold that promise close to your heart with confidence and know that the Lord is with you.

Psalm 23 is a well-known and well-loved psalm and one of my favourites too.

David is identified as the author…

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Safe In The Shadow of Jesus

Psalm 36:7 ESV, “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

Some years ago I had a dream. I walked into an office building and once I got in a war broke out. There was shooting and loud noises all around me. I was terrified and was running through the building trying to find a place to hide. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not find a refuge. So I called out, “Jesus, hide me in the shadow of your wings!” Immediately a shadow appeared. No matter where I went in that building, I was safe as long as I stayed in that Shadow. No one could see me. It was as if I was invisible. Not one of those flying bullets could harm me.

Although this was just a dream, the message it carries is very true. The Lord Jesus will always be our refuge. He will lovingly hide us in the shadow of His wings. He will protect us. Even though we must walk (or run!) through the trials of this life, He will carry us safely through. All we have to do is call out to Him. No matter what, He will be there. His love is steadfast, it endures forever.

Romans 10:13 NLT, “For everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”

Jesus Our Hope

Psalm 25:3 NIV, “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.”

We can never go wrong when our hope is in Jesus Christ. He will not allow us to be put to shame. We can always look to Him for the strength, peace, and direction that we need. His grace is sufficient for us. The hope we have in Him is not an empty hope, because He is alive. He is our Risen Savior. Hoping in Him will never lead to disappointment.

Romans 5:5 NLT, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

When we fill empty, His Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with love. The love He pours into our hearts is a daily reminder of His presence with us. Everyday we can hope in Him because He will never leave us, He will never forsake us. His love is truth. We can place our hope in Him and be safe. The security and peace of mind we desire is found in Him. No matter how unstable the world becomes, we can anchor ourselves in Him.

Don’t lose hope. Stay focused on the Light of Jesus. His Light will guide your way.

Cast Your Cares

1 Peter 5:7 NLT, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.“

We have to remember that God tells us to give Him our worries . We must choose to hand all of our worries over to Him. When we don’t, then we will end up being weighed down as we try to carry our heavy burdens on our own.

Giving our worries to the Lord means we will have to trust Him. We learn to trust Him through the situations we go through in life, that allow us to see His faithfulness to us. We must pray and ask God to help us to give Him our worries and trust Him.

We don’t just need to trust God when bad things happen. We also need to trust Him with the good things that are going on in our lives. Even in good times, we need Him to sustain us and direct us. He must always be our focus.

Whenever I find myself worrying, I know my focus is no longer on God. Instead I have taken my eyes off of Him, and have mentally started trying to figure out how “I” will work things out. God wants us to turn our worries into prayers and trust “Him” to work things out, not ourselves or other people.

God does use people to help us, but even when He does, we must remember that He is our True Source. He is our Provider, not people. People are vessels He uses. Every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven (James 1:17).

Psalm 55:22 NIV, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Choose to cast your cares on the Lord. Allow Him to carry your burdens because He cares for you.

A Clean Heart

Psalm 51:10 ESV, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

When we give our hearts to Jesus, the Bible says that we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”). The Lord takes away our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He also gives us His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He is our Helper who convicts us of sin and empowers us to live for Jesus.

Conviction is what brings us to repentance, and repentance will keep our hearts clean before God. I ask God often to show me any sinful ways that I have, so that I can repent and turn from my sin. Sin separates us from God. But repentance draws us closer to Him. The cleaner our heart is, the more we can become like Jesus. A clean heart keeps us in a place of humility and submission before God.

This is why, I love the Holy Spirit so much. He is the third Person of the Trinity who works in us to keep our hearts clean, and lead us into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who reveals truth to us so that we are not deceived by the enemy’s lies.

About 10 years ago, I read a really good book called, The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit by R.A. Torrey. He was an evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer who lived from 1856-1928. His book is one of the best books I have ever read. I developed a deeper understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does for us.

John 14:16-17 NIV, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

May God’s Spirit continue to work in you to bring you into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Have a blessed weekend. ❤️

In Jesus Christ We Gain

1 Timothy 6:6 NIV, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

I have come to realize that I am most content when I choose to simply trust God. Trusting in Him, brings me to a peaceful place that is free from anxiety and fear. Both anxiety and fear cause us to take our eyes off of Christ, and instead put them on the things or people that we cannot control.

Jesus definitely set the ultimate example of contentment for us. He chose to walk in the purpose God had for him. He didn’t allow himself to be distracted by what was going on around him. As a matter of fact, when his parents became anxious because they could not find him, he said…

“Why were you searching for me?”….“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)

He definitely knew how to keep his eyes on God and not get sidetracked. We must do the same. The truth of God’s Word will keep us growing in godliness. Godliness will lead us to contentment because our hearts will become more and more thankful for who God is and all that He has done. We will see things from His perspective, instead of the worlds.

In Christ we gain, because nothing can compare to the privilege of knowing Him…

Philippians 3:8 NIV, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

Come Out From Among Them

Staying committed to Christ is not an easy way to live. There are temptations and many other distractions that try to come against us. Yesterday I remembered this post I made the early part of last year, and I wanted to share it. Have a blessed Tuesday!

The Last Will Be First