Friday, October 24, 2008

Hope is based on believing in One who does not change

We've all been victims of being told one thing by another person, only to find out later that it is not true. That kind of duplicity makes it very difficult to have faith in that person. And in a relationship, if that trust has been broken, it is very tough to have any level of hope for the future.

My husband and I were talking this morning about what it must be like right now to be part of the uncommitted group that doesn't yet know who to vote for.

With all of the he said/he said (as well as a little he said/she said thrown in for good measure) in the media and in the candidates' own commercials, I suspect the decision at the polls for the undecideds will all come down to fundamental values that separate the basics of the Democratic and Republican party platforms.

The proof of the pudding as to the voracity of their claims and campaign retoric will be in the behavior of the victor in January when the new President takes office.

Although campaign ads can be very confusing and the lack of birth certificates and association with known terrorists can be scary, come January it is a fact that we will have a new President and we are called to support those in authority, even if we don't support all of their views.

I take heart in knowing that as sure as the laws of gravity will not change, neither does the nature of God and in the end, His control is really all that matters.

James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” And the meaning of Numbers 23:19 could not be more clear, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” No, God does not change His mind. These verses assert that God is unchanging, and unchangeable. I am SO glad.

While I do know who I am voting in just 11 short days, at the end of the day, my hope is not in him for our economy and the safety of our country, but in the God that made heaven and earth.

Joshua 24:15
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Chicke Fitzgerald
One who seeks His face in all that I do

Monday, October 20, 2008

Woman of Worth - WOW



I just got back from the latest women's weekend of the local Tres Dias community here in Tampa. The theme for the weekend was Women of Worth. All I can say is WOW.

There were 30 women that attended and nearly 100 of us that served them on the weekend.

Imagine those service ratios in a hotel or on a cruise or in a restaurant. That service model can only thrive in God's economy.

Those 30 women left the 3 1/2 day encounter totally transformed. The bold became meek and the mild ones left courageous. It is impossible to be in the presence of Jesus and not be changed by his amazing grace.

While this may have been just a favorite hymn before the weekend, these women left truly understanding the unmerited favor - unearned gift that they have received and their worth does not come from WHO they are but WHOSE they are.

They were set free in ways that would be hard to imagine if you do not know his unending love and amazing grace on a personal basis.

Monday, October 13, 2008

I have plans for you!

Did you ever have someone approach you with that line?

Perhaps it was a spouse asking you to pack a bag for a surprise weekend trip, or an employer who asks you to have lunch and when you look worried, they say "I have plans for you!", you know that you are not facing a pink slip.

Jeremiah 29:11 says

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If there is anything better than knowing that someone has plans for you, it is knowing that those plans are for prosperity, hope and a future!

Especially in these troubled times when it would appear that there is anything but hope ahead, it is just wonderful to know that there is One that not only has a plan for you, but that loves you more than you can ever know.

Hold fast to His promise. Ask Him to guide your every step. He is waiting.