Gripping Hope Requires us to be in His Presence

Did you ever play Truth or Dare as a kid? I did once in the woods of our property in Minnesota. That one time was enough, because the “not knowing what would be asked of me“ was enough to send me running scaredy-cat through the woods away from my would-be tormentors. 😂

That memory came to mind as I read Jeremiah’s words in Lamentations 3  today:

“Yet, I still dare to hope...”

Another versions says, “I keep a grip on hope...”

His entire world had gone to Hades in a hand basket. He warned the people over & over, yet their stubbornness led to his persecution & their captivity.

Some say that Psalm 102 was written during the same time of captivity. It’s titled, “A prayer...for all the discouraged who pour out their hearts before the Lord.” It makes me wonder if the cry was written by Jeremiah himself?  Over & over again, the mourner cries for help & yet, recalls the generational, unending faithfulness of God.

He writes, “the fame of your name will be revealed to every generation!”

There will be moments in life that dare us to fear, causing us to run naked & afraid away from our Father, but God...

When we dare to believe that His faithful love never ends, that His morning mercies never cease, we can proclaim like Jeremiah did when he was in exiled captivity, “The Lord is my inheritance, therefore I put my hope in Him!”

Regardless of what we face, we can let the Presence of our faithful Father shed light on the dark places. He is our living Hope! He’s always the same & His Word promises that our children’s children will THRIVE in HIS Presence. (Ps. 102:27-28)

The challenging question is this: 

Will we dare to believe Him, will we keep a grip on the Personhood of Hope, Jesus Christ?

Here’s the thing 👉🏽 “Gripping Hope” requires us to BE in His Presence! It is IN HIS PRESENCE alone, that we AND future generations will THRIVE!

Will we make His Presence a priority? Priority  determines capacity. What changes can we make that will free up our calendar to make time with Him & the Body of Christ a priority?

Our hope & the hope of future generations depends on it! I dare you to believe how much He loves you & desires to be your Father whom you can dare to hope!

#OneYearBible

October 30th One Year Bible Readings

💡LAMENTATIONS 3:1-66

💡HEBREWS 1:1-14

💡PSALM 102:1-28

💡PROVERBS 26:21-22

This is That

THIS which is happening in our world, is THAT which was prophesied. That’s the nutshell of a series our pastor is walking through. It’s based on Acts 2:16: “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.”

This morning as I read Lamentations, my heart ached alongside Jeremiah as he mourned for the forsaken city of Jerusalem. He cries out in first person on behalf of his people,

“The Lord turned me over to my enemies. He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity.”

Israel allowed sin dominion, which gave her enemies full access to plunder & take her into captivity. The city walls lay in ruins & the gates stood silent.

What was once a place of bustling commerce & community suddenly became a tumbleweed town marked by mourners.

We are in a “This is That” moment in our nation! It is time for the remnant to rise & repent.

The prophet Amos predicted that a time is coming when there’ll be a famine in the land👉🏽not a “shelves are empty at Christmas” kinda famine, “but a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord.” Amos 8:11

Jeremiah tells the people to rise during the night & cry out, pouring her heart like water before the Lord, “Pleading for her children, for in every street they are FAINT WITH HUNGER.”

There is a famine-like starvation unlike anything we’ve ever experienced happening right now. Youth are searching high & low for a safety & security that can only be found in the Word of God.

Many of you know that I’m passionate about the Bible because I know first-hand of the transforming power held therein!

I do not have a huge platform nor a big following, but I do have a burning urgency to share the satiating Word of God with whomever will listen!

His Word transforms, guides, directs, disciplines & protects. It feeds starving people with sustaining manna that only leaves them longing for more Truth (Jesus), unlike all other forms of counterfeit security.

Father, I fear that our city gates may soon be silent. We are in a famine & the only fix is feasting on Your Word. It is the only Truth the satiates & sustains. Forgive us for thinking “We’ve got this.” Awaken your people, O God! We are starving sinners In need of You & Your Word!

#OneYearBible

October 29th One Year Bible Readings

💡LAMENTATIONS 1:1-2:22

💡PHILEMON 1:1-25

💡PSALM 101:1-8

💡PROVERBS 26:20

Meddle Not With Idle Questions

Although Satan cannot read our minds, I often wonder if he can influence our thoughts.

I recently experienced a battle in my mind after I prayed out loud. During my prayer & immediately afterward, thoughts flooded in that were not Truth👉🏽accusing thoughts of unworthiness.

I don’t typically battle with this so it felt like it flew in from left field. I left the gathering early to process through the garbage that littered my thoughts. It felt like the enemy flooded the moment with darkness & I chose to remain in it...not only did I remain, I came into agreement with the deception.

Paul tells Titus to not get involved in foolish discussions, because they are useless & a waste of time. Even though he was referring to divisive arguments with others, I believe the same exhortation is true of our thought life.

When the enemy assails us with deceptive accusations, we can remain in the dark shadow of his presence or immediately step into the Light of the Lord.

And we can actually make the enemy impotent by proclaiming like Paul in Romans 7:24-25. He confessed, “What a wretched man am I, but thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ!’

Yes, without the blood of the sacrificial lamb, we would be all of the wretched things the enemy calls us, BUT THANKS BE to the LORD Jesus Christ!

Psalm 100:5 says, “God made us & we are His!”

Just like he did with Eve, the enemy asks idle questions to tempt us to question Truth, but as sons & daughters of God, we have a responsibility to let our response be praise & thanksgiving! When Jesus became our Savior, our old self died & our new identity simply became, “His”!

When we remember what He’s done, we can fall out of agreement with shame, guilt or even self imposed laws that God didn’t intend! He loves us so much that he died to set us free from sin, even the sin of self imprisonment.

Father, help us to meddle not with idle questions. Bring liberty over every area of captivity, especially in the unseen realm of our thought life. Turn enemy accusations into intel, informing us how to pray. Guard us from falling into agreement with lies, & instead proclaim, “But thanks be to MY Lord Jesus Christ who conquered death so I might be free!”

#OneYearBible

October 28th One Year Bible Readings

💡JEREMIAH 51:54-52:34

💡TITUS 3:1-15

💡PSALM 100:1-5

💡PROVERBS 26:18-19