A place to find Hope

Tag: failure (Page 33 of 36)

So What is so Good About the Heavenly Kingdom?

Watered the plants, cleaned up the dishes after dinner, put some beverages in the outside fridge, straightened up my side of the closet, and I thought I was done for the evening. I sat down here to start my post when my wife shouted from the den, “Did you take out the garbage?” No rest for the wicked. 🙂

Life has been pretty hard for me because of the Pandemic. I have underlying issues and I am basically in lock down. My wife and I go on drives to nowhere, and we enjoy that. I go for walks often. Other than that I stare at the walls

I have watched more movies in the last few months than I have in my whole lifetime.

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I got to thinking recently, (it gave me a headache) why do we cling to a God who has total power over us? What do we get out of that?

Four things came to my mind:

  1. The Kingdom is priceless.
  2. There is a price to be in the Kingdom.
  3. There is a purpose of the Kingdom.
  4. There is the peace of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom is priceless

All the silver and Gold we can pile up is even close to the Kingdom. There will be golden streets, angels singing, meeting our families, and we will have a new body.

There is a Price to pay

Here is where we lose many people. They do not want to obey anyone. You can see that in our day and age right now. Mass rioting, arson, people shot, people beaten up, and heavy destruction of the businesses.

These people will face God some day and they will beg Him for mercy and He will say, “I know you not!”

However, we, as Christians, are ready to meet God. We are made righteous in God’s eyes, because we accepted Jesus into out hearts.

The purpose of the Kingdom

We will all see that the purpose of the Kingdom is for us to have a heavenly home to go to. Jesus said, I have built a mansion for you. There are many rooms there. We will be living in style with Jesus.

The Peace of the Kingdom

This is the one I really look forward to. No more pain. No more death. No more cancer, No more heart disease. The peace will overcome us through the Angels singing to us. It will be hard to comprehend, but I think we can get used to it. 🙂

Some short thoughts:

You can’t change Jesus to fit your personal needs.

When we get to Heaven, the weak will be made strong.

We can not hide from God. He knows every hair on our head.

In today’s world…God will lead us through the fires.

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How about you? Are you sympathetic, towards the rioters? Do you run from God because you think He is controlling you?

I hope you are not this person. Pray for God’s forgiveness, and mercy, and He will hold you in His arms and protect you.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

There Are “Karens,” Out There Who are Racist

There is far too much anger floating around. I saw a Facebook page that shows a “Karen,” yelling racist words at two girls who were from Asia. The words were of course hurtful. The two girls took it, and kept walking.

I have no idea where they came up with the term “Karens,” I have friends who have that name. However, it is now a label, and you see far too much of them hurting people.

Makes me think of the Bible. In Luke: 25-37 we are told that Samaritans were hated by the Jews. People ignored them and were forbidden to associate with them.

Jesus told a parable about this.

A man was walking on a road back to his home. A thief attacked him and took all of his belongings. He left the person for dead on the road.

He laid there bleeding and dying. Along came a priest. When he saw the man he went to the other side of the road to pass him. Likewise a Levite also went to the other side of the road to avoid him. But a Samaritan came to where he was and had deep compassion. He fixed up his wounds and put him on his own animal. He took him to an Inn, and asked them to care for him. He said he would pay for anything they used to help him.

Jesus told his disciples to do like the Samaritan.

Which one are you of the three men do you fit into? Are you the Priest, Levite, or the Samaritan?

It is so easy to get angry. It happens to all of us. We probably wouldn’t attack someone and take all their belongings, but we do get overly angry at times.

I try to think about someone who may have made me angry. I have learned that love extends further than pride. We need to swallow our pride, and forgive people.

Who has the lord placed in your path to make you angry. Make a list right now. I have done that. It is sitting right next to me.

Thank of each one of them. What did they do to make you angry? Is it worth it to just go on like it didn’t happen?

I think not.

Love is not just love. It is love in action.

Using words like you are expendable, or you are worthless, should be in our vocabulary.

The sad part is that we seem to define ourselves by who we disagree with.

It is OK to disagree, but not to hate.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never unloved.

You are never forsaken.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Do What God Wants You to Do, Not What You Want to Do.

Not long ago I saw a fly trying to get out by banging on a window with its head. It was getting nowhere. He never gave up. He kept pounding that window over and over again.

I finally opened the window to let him out to the fresh air. Guess what? He still stayed in his spot and kept hitting the window.

Many of us are like that. We struggle on our own and try to face life without God. We need to end that! We need to stop trying do do what we want to do for our lives, and do what God wants for our lives.

We go around like using a GPS in our car. If we make a wrong turn it says recalculate.

Well, you have your own personal GPS. You may think it is guiding you in the right direction, then you hit the wall. That is when God says, “recalculate!”

Let ME guide you!

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What are you favorite foods? I love pumpkin pie. I also love peanut butter. Both of these sweeten my tooth and soothes me.

Here are some better sweeteners:

  1. Wisdom sweetens your soul.
  2. Optimism (gluten free by the way) also sweetens your soul.

These sweeteners are non fattening, and good for you.

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Some thoughts about God:

  1. God will never abandon you.
  2. God’s power is much greater than any evil.
  3. God fits into your plan.
  4. God’s Son died to provide eternal life.
  5. God has promised to help you when you are in need.

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Take an inventory of your life. Are things going in the right direction for you? If not, what is causing you to not be going in the right direction?

God allows U-turns. Now is the time to turn around.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…Never, ever, give up!

God Never Calls us to do Something easy

We are certainly in tough times in our country. The Pandemic virus is growing fast. There is mass rioting throughout our country. People are out of work because of the Pandemic. Children can not go back to school to learn.

I was told the other day that this is a huge sign of the end times.

It may be, but what do we do if it is?

We need to have FAITH!

1 Faith is always true.

2. Faith always goes forward.

3. When God speaks to us we have enough faith to say yes.

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God is in the business of doing the impossible. It sure makes you wonder why he is allowing so much chaos. Remember…God is in charge.

The world was shocked when President Trump won the presidential election. Shouldn’t have happened? GOD IS IN CHARGE!

He is watching over us. The next question is… Why is He allowing so much tragedy to happen? This is a tough question. However, God gave us choices. He allowed us to make our own decisions, and then face Him later. That is why dictators exist. That is why there is sex trafficking. That is why there are wars. That is hard for us to have to face, but it is reality with god.

All the rioters, seem to think what they are doing and is noble. They think they are heroes. God will be speaking to each of them later.

How about you? Are you walking the narrow path, or the wide path to destruction? God knows and you know. He knows every hair on your head. There is no place to hide from Him.

Now, I have made God sound like a mean, awful person. Know that He loves you very much. He made you in His own image. He wants the best for you.

BUT, we have to abide by His rules, not ours. There is a wonderful manual to guide you on how to act and how to be. It is called the Bible. If you read and live by it, you are in God loving graces.

So, God never calls us to do anything easy. A friend once told me,”Life is tough and then you die.” Pretty sad. That was many years ago that he told me that, but it still sticks with me today.

Don’t be allowing the dark side to overcome you. Look to the light, which is Jesus Christ our Lord. He died so that you have a chance for eternal life. I say you have a chance, because you have to accept him as your personal savior to receive that gift.

Life IS tough, but be strong and know that God is with you during your storms.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…Never, ever, give up!

How Many Times Should We Forgive Someone?

I have been watching the movement of Representative John Lewis from his hometown to the Capitol Rotunda, to be put on display.

This man was a furious warrior fighting for the black community. He marched with Martin Luther King. He was beaten many times, and was arrested 40 times for his support for the black community.

No man, since Martin Luther King, has done more for civil rights in our country.

He spent over 16 years in Congress.

Was he a Democrat or a Republican? DOESN’T MATTER!

He fought for what was right.

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We need to find more leaders like him. Dedicated to helping others and fighting for what is right.

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I am switching to some negative things to bring up another point.

Portland, Oregon has had 60 straight days of rioting. There are many fires, many beatings, many arrests, and many people hurt badly. Many of those hurt are police officers, trying to keep the peace.

The Federal Government has come to help. We will see how that works out.

There is widespread rioting in many other big cities. Interesting in that all of those cities are run by Democrats.

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So, should we forgive those who are rioting? If so, how many times should we forgive?

Jesus told a parable about forgiving. It started when Peter asked him how many times should he forgive? Seven times? (That was four more times than the Jewish acceptable number.)

Jesus rebuked him and said, “No! 70×7!” That is 490 times. (Matthew 18: 21-34.)

Some things to remember:

  1. As longs as there are issues, there is an opportunity for forgiveness.
  2. Our God is a forgiving God. (How many times have you asked Him to forgive you?)
  3. Forgiving others is a must to be a part of God’s Kingdom.
  4. We must mirror God’s love and forgiveness.

Some other thoughts:

  1. God has help mend any hearts that are broken.
  2. My sin was great, but God’s love was greater.
  3. For God so loved the world that He sent his only son, so that we may have eternal life.
  4. Pray for our leaders in the nation, and in your home state, to make decisions that are for the good of the people, and not themselves.

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Think on these things, and be at peace knowing that God is watching over you and protects you.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forskaen.

You are never unloved.

And above all, never, ever, give up!

Garbage in Garbage out, or God in God Out

It seems like our country is on a pace of complete disarray. Rioting, shootings, burning buildings, people getting beat up.

How did we get to this point?

As retired teacher I can say that as each year went by, the students became more aggressive. I would talk to their parents about it and they would say, “They are just being kids,” and shrug it off.

If children aren’t disciplined properly at home. They grow up to be those who are on the streets causing havoc.

They have lived their lives with garbage in and garbage out. All they hear is garbage, and it is planted in their brains. Therefore garbage out, is what comes from them.

How do we turn this kind of problem around? We need to start in the homes. We need to teach what is right and wrong.

If there is a Godly home, the family will have a God in and God out. They will teach their children about God. Make sure they grow spiritually, and get them involved in a church.

As they grow, they will see that their lives are much more acceptable to others, and keep growing.

How about you? Do you talk garbage in, garbage out, do you have God in and God out at your home.?

I look at it this way. It is the monkey see, monkey do theory. If you guide you children and the proper path and be a good example. Your example will have then saying, “I want to be like them.”

But if you do drugs, drink heavily, and use bad language in your home Your example will have your children also wanting to be like you. Garbage in garbage out.

Take inventory of your life. See if your path is the right path for your children to follow.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Finding Encouragement in Discouraging Times

We have had a rough road to ride on for the last several months. The COVID-19 virus is causing havoc on our country. It seems to be getting worse then getting better.

The rioting, burning of businesses, shootings, beatings, that are going on in our big cities is not only frightening, but very sad.

It seems the all these cities are run by democrats. Don’t know if that means something.

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Encouragement for the discouraged.

The Pastor of my church had a message on this. The title was From Brokenness to Blessings.

He said he understands all of us who are fearful, and frustrated. We have battles every day, and to have this be on top of it all is hard, at best.

What are his answers?

  1. God guarantees victory. Pretty simplistic right? However, we often forget that. We forget that God is in charge and He won’t give us more that we can handle.
  2. The best is yet to come. Hard to see that right now, but I bet we look back at this a few years from now and feel we are so blessed at that moment.

Do not go into hiding.

We do not need to hide in our basements. We need to be out there helping those who are overcome with fear, and depression. This is the perfect time to show our love for them.

We have the love of God in our hearts. We need to let others know how that feels.

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How do we hold on?

How are you doing? Are you having trouble getting up every morning because the world is crazy right now? Do you dread turning on the TV, because there is so much negativity? Are you struggling because the virus is closing down your work?

You certainly are not alone.

I feel your pain.

I am in total lock down. Haven’t been in retail store in four months. No restaurants. Only drive up, and take out. Can’t see my children. I text them and call them a lot.

Why am I in lock down? I am afraid I have three underlying problems with my health. If I was to get the virus, I am gone.

Am I crying and frustrated? At times I am close, but I am suppose to be the father figure, and show strength and perseverance.

Again, God is with you. Jesus is with you. They are just a prayer away.

Lean on them for your strength. They are you fortress. They are your protectors.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

We Need to Spread Love, Not Hate

How can we exist will all the turmoil going on around us? The Pandemic is growing fast again, with even other strands coming with it that are much more contagious.

We still have huge unrest in our country. Rioting, arson, tearing down statues, killings, Looting, and terror.

Where do we go for help? What can we do to overcome this?

We have a ugly new problem raising in our country. It is the “Karen’s,” that are causing it. They verbally attack black people with hateful words and even have pointed guns at them.

They have no concept of love. They only know hate.

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What the world needs now is love, sweet love! Where do they get it?

Well… it is simple to figure out of you are a Christian. We are suppose to be the poster child’s for love, right? Unfortunately that is not completely true. There are people right in my home church who seem to love to degrade others.

I am very saddened by this. I can not understand how someone can hate so much. They must hate themselves.

What we need to do is put God first in our lives. We need to try to live a life like Jesus. He never sinned. He never was mean to anyone. He loved everyone.

Speaking of posters child’s. We should be a poster child that shows love to everyone. What a difference that would make in our world today.

If you are struggling with thinking about wrong things, take an inventory of your life, and see where it is coming from. Push the negatives out of your mind and feel it with love and understanding.

Love is not just a four letter word. It is the word that changes the world.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

So many Problems Attack us All At Once

I had a great message online from my church on Sunday. I also was on a phone conference with a dynamic young man who is on fire for the Lord.

From the phone call I wrote down two of the quotes from Taylor Wilkens, area leader for FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes.)

  1. Everything can be chaos around us, but God will help us through the storm.
  2. There are so many bad reports coming from TV and newspapers, when will the good reports start coming in?

He is spot on, and we need to realize that. We are never alone in this world. God is always there for us through the good times, and the bad times.

We are overwhelmed with negative TV, and news in general. When is the last time you saw a feel good story? We need to be strong and block out all of the negativity.

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Referring to the protesters, My Pastor said, “Fireworks are exciting. The start is good, but then it is just a pull of smoke.” This reminds me of all the protesters who think what they are doing is right, but in the end they are causing more harm than good.

My Pastor also said, ” You have a house that you have built. You worry about room sizes, where to put the windows, the paintings, etc. Did you think about the foundation? Most people don’t.” Our foundation is the Bible. We get all our guidance from it. If we live by the Bible, our foundation will be strong.

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We were told that in reality we are just apprentices for God. We are still learned and growing. You never out grow being an apprentice. I am up in years and I am still learning much.

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There is an abundance of fear in our world. We can help others with fear. Reach out to those around you. See how they are doing. Help them if they are struggling. It may be right in your own neighborhood.

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We read the story about Peter wanting to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus. We need to get out of our boat and help others. What fear is holding you back from getting out of your boat? Ask yourself, “Why can’t I get out of my boat? Remember, God is not done with you yet. He needs you out of your boat. If we walk with Christ and not towards Him in the water, we are at the safest place to be. I realize that stepping out of a boat right now with all the storms around us is hard, at best, but we Have Good on our side. We win!!

Sorry for the many different topics here, but they were building up in my head, and I was getting a headache. :0

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never every give up!

Have You Ever Lost Something Precious to You?

Had a wonderful message this morning from my online church. The theme was not to forget those who are not saved.

Pastor Chris started out with a question. Have any of you lost something that was precious to you?

He shared a story about his three year old son who went missing while they were at a restaurant. The Pastor panicked when a waitress asked them if they were missing a child. They realized that they were. She said “There is a boy out in the drive through in front of the cars.”

Pastor Chris leaped over a barrier to the drive through and sure enough. There was his son, with not a care in the world, admiring the flowers along the drive through.

He ran to him grabbed him and held him his arms. He kissed him and was too relieved to be angry.

What if a driver was looking down when they pulled out and didn’t see the boy???

They saved their precious child.

I have had not one, but to things have I lost that are precious to me.

The first one was my four year old son. We were at Disney Land. We were walking through all the hundreds of people when my wife said “Where is KC?”

He was gone! I couldn’t see him in the mass of humanity. We panicked and rushed to the “lost child,” center. They put out a plea to our son that said, “KC, your parents are lost. Please come to the center.” They gave him very clear directions. Nothing! We felt the fear of losing our son.

I told my wife that I was going out to our car to get something. (Forgot what it was.)

KC was only about four years old at the time. I couldn’t imagine him finding us in that mass of humanity.

I got near the car and there was KC. He was sitting there and waiting for us! How my son found our car out of the thousands that were parked, I do not know to this day, but we had our precious one back. I picked him and told him how much I loved him. I too was too relieved to be angry.

The second precious thing that was lost was my wedding ring. It, of course, means a great deal to me.

I woke up one morning. Walked to the den where I always put my watch and ring, and the ring wasn’t there. I did the whole house search routine. Nothing.

I remember that I had stayed at a buddies house after a late football game. I called him and told him about my ring. He told me he would look in the room where I slept. Nothing.

I have been searching for that ring ever since. I have never found it. When I do though, there will be great rejoicing like when I found my son.

What the Pastor’s message told us about, was the parable about the one sheep that was missing out of the flock. The Shepard left all 99 sheep and hunted for that one sheep. When he found it he rejoiced. He even went back to his town and told everyone about his blessing.

Yes, we have to think…leave the 99 and try to find one?

What is taught here, is that we may have some lost sheep in our neighborhoods, at work, even at church. We need to reach out those few and try to save them.

Then we can rejoice, and be blessed, because that one person has become one of the flock.

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If you are down and out. Reach out for help. Don’t wallow in your own self pity. None wants to come to your pity party. Seek help. Pray to God for His love, and His guidance. He will be there to see you through your storms.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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