The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Tag Archives: Faith
“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” (Matt. 6:9-13)
In last week’s blog, I talked about seeking forgiveness from God. But the prayer…..
Share:
Picture this: you are driving in heavy traffic in an unfamiliar city. You see your destination but there is not an empty parking space anywhere. You drive farther along, then circle around each block in between. Still no vacant parking space. What do you do now? Get angry? Circle the blocks on the other side of your destination? Have you ever thought about praying for a parking space?
This may seem an event too small for God to be concerned…..
Share:
God of All Comfort
There are a few items I have been batting around in my brain regarding God’s comfort. In John 14:26-27, Jesus promised the presence of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter in His place: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I…..
Share:
Jesus Never Changes
Fifteen years ago, Dan was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Seven months of treatments involving chemotherapy and radiation followed. The year before I had developed a digital “Change Management” file, in the face of my own three surgeries in seven months, that was very helpful in dealing with the 180° turn-around that cancer brought into our lives. In those documents are ideas about change, like the human circumstance of constant change (as in, there are three constants…..
Share:
What God’s Grace Teaches Us, Part 1
Throughout the Epistles, biblical writers greeted their readers with the desire that they receive grace and peace. Since Scripture is clear that salvation is an outcome of God’s grace, how would the believers who were addressed in the New Testament letters not already have grace? Like most aspects of our salvation, there are multiple meanings for the biblical term “grace” and they relate to differing tenses. In the past, the Grace of God…..
Share:
Faith in God Who is My Rock and Strength
Metaphors of God’s strength appear throughout the Psalms: my Salvation, my Strength, my Rock of Refuge, my strong Refuge and Guide, my Strong Habitation, Shelter, and Tower, my Shield, Help, Maker, and Deliverer. During weeks such as this one, in which my husband was in the hospital from Monday through Thursday during Covid when there are no visitors (even spouses) allowed in hospitals, those metaphors become very real to me. God…..
Share:
Planted! (originally published Dec. 29, 2017)
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain you: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” The New Testament version of this is found in 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.”
Websters dictionary lists at least ten synonyms for the word “move”. They include proceed, persuade, activate, drive, impel, start, stir, act, budge, and…..
Share:
Psalm 27 is one of my primary go-to passages when I can’t see past the chaos and need encouragement.
Share:
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 22-23).
Share:
Christianity in the Long Run
Acts 6:31 tells us “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” At that point of belief through which we enter into Salvation, we are redeemed, adopted, and sanctified. Our lives don’t freeze in that moment. Except in the case of eleventh-hour deathbed conversions, we generally aren’t carried to Heaven in that moment. We continue to live on this earth as spiritual newborns in Christ growing in the knowledge of God.
Scripture…..