ALL IN with Stephanie

"Where were you when...?" This is the question started that God spoke to Job after Job made the assumption that his circumstances were an indicator that God had left him. And God responds with correction - when he asks Job where he was when God created the foundations of the earth.  This passage pushes back on our tendency to assume or presume that we know God's intentions, we know why things...

Whirlwinds. They can. take us down, or remind us of our strength and where our strength comes from. When life get's hard we have 2 choices. Follow after our our strength, solutions, fears and fixes or we can fall into the arms of our loving and gracious God. He gives us just what we need. He is our strength. Join me today on Cup of Hope. Get out your Bible, grab a pen and let the word of God trans...

Last episode we talked about how the fear of the Lord is the foundation of knowledge. Today, we take it a step further, as the scripture further explains that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Wisdom acts as the focusing part of the lens, where knowledge is the lens. Wisdom helps us fine tune and get crystal clear on truth. Without a right understanding of who God is, we will strug...

Life is build on something. It's built on a foundation of self-trust or God-trust. Storms of this life are the foundation stability check point.  What is your life built on? We are told in Proverbs 1:7 that the Fear of the Lord is the foundation of knowledge. Knowledge that God is above all, He is Lord of all, He holds all things together. When we have a right perspective of God, everything e...

Did you know that you did not choose Jesus, but he chose you? He not only chose you, he has given you everything you need to bear fruit right where you are planted. Bear the kind of fruit that lasts. Since He chose you, let it sink in that He is with you, you BELONG to Him. You belong to the family of God. Read with us John 15:16, let the words of this verse saturate your heart. May the words of t...

Jesus showed us the ultimate expression of LOVE because he laid down his life for us. In doing so HE is the foundation we get to build our faith upon. The foundation of the truth put into action - the greatest demonstration of LOVE.  Watch, read, meditate on the WORD of GOD today! John15:13-15 Be encouraged dear friend. Jesus loves you. #cupofhope @ascenttohope #inspirehope #illuminatetruth #...

Welcome to Cup of Hope! If you are wanting to grow in your faith, get unstuck, and learn how to live a life of significance you are in the right place! Today on Cup of Hope we continue to navigate the topic of building our lives on a Firm Foundation by delving into the promises of Ephesians 2:19-22. Come and learn with me. Come and grow with me! Come and experience the love of Christ Jesus, our Fi...

Welcome to Cup of Hope! If you are wanting to grow in your faith, get unstuck, and learn how to live a life of significance you are in the right place! Today on Cup of Hope we explore the topic of building our lives on a Firm Foundation by taking a deeper look at Luke 6:46-48. Come and learn with me. Come and grow with me! Come and experience the love of Christ Jesus, our Firm Foundation! Cup of H...

Welcome! It's time to get started with Season 7!! Today we will dive into God's word and learn about what life is like when we build our lives with Christ as the foundation. God promises to strengthen us. perfect us, to establish us and to give us solid ground to stand on! What wonderful promises!! No matter what we are going through in this life, with a foundation built on Jesus Christ, we will n...

In the story of Joseph we meet his brothers who are so jealous of him it drives them to sell Joseph into slavery and then deceived their dad, making up a story about Joseph being mauled by a wild animal. This deception comes back to haunt them years later as they meet Joseph face to face in their greatest desperation - food - and Joseph is the one who holds their future in his hands.  We see...

Jacob deceptively stepped into receive the blessing that belonged to his brother. There are layers upon layers that we can glean from this story. Lessons about God, and his grace amid our shortcomings and taking matters into our own hands. He is indeed faithful to keep his promises.  We see how deception can destroy a family, ripping it a part from the inside out. Join with me today as we lis...

Greed makes us take what doesn't belong to us. We see this unclose in the story of Ghazi, Elisha, the prophets servant, who witnessed Elisha turn down gifts and blessings from Naaman. The prospect of Naaman's gifts was too great for Gehazi to pass up. So he took it upon himself to go get them, and get even more for himself. His greed drove him to his own demise.  We are heading back into the...

Possessions. We all like to be in control of things...and if we are honest people and circumstances. But our things, what we buy and own is often hard to hold with an open hands. It's hard to be willing to share what we see as rightly ours, especially if we are asked to give it ALL away. Today we read and study together the story of Ananias and Sapphire who withhold the proceeds of sold property d...

Money. It's one of the churches least favorite topics - but one topic Jesus talked about most. Why? Perhaps it's because money is a temptation that Satan uses to distract us, to lure us, to draw us into a false sense of not needing God. Today we will read the redemption story of a man enslaved to money. Zacchaeus experienced freedom from the entrapment of money as the end all be all of life, throu...

I can only imagine that the story-telling of Abraham telling Pharaoh and Abimelech that Sarah was his sister made it through the camp. I can imagine Sarah even complaining to her maid-servants that Moses made her tell others she was his sister. Do you think Isaac would have known these stories? Or maybe it was even a lesson he was taught -for their own protection, of course- as they were venturing...

Abram now named Abraham, falls into the same habit of lying to protect. In Genesis 20, we find Abraham and Sarah moving to the Negev. As a part of ensuring safe passage through the land Abraham again tells that Sarah is his sister - ignoring the fact that she is his wife. Again a plague was on the land and the people feared the Lord, but many were harmed because of Abrahams decision to repeat the...

Abram convinced that Pharaoh would not allow him to live if he knew beautiful Sarai was his wife, lied to try and save his own hide, causing Sarai to be caught in the middle and a great plague to come to Pharaoh's home. Half-truth about his half-sister caused a ripple effect of issues. Let's read together and find out more about this interesting dilemma in scripture. Open your Bibles and turn to G...

David's sin led to Nathan's rebuke. Nathan's rebuke led to David's repentance. David's repentance led to God's restoring power and the blessing of generations. Let's read together from 1 Kings 15:1-5 and thank God for His restoring power. Join us as we read together and study! Learn and grow in confidence in God's saving grace this week! Cup of Hope: A gulp of God's word to produce greater faith a...

Today we sit with David, in his heart breaking repentance. The raw and real, the reckoning of mistakes and yet the praise of God's mercy and forgiveness. David gives us an amazing example of moving forward when the truth is brought into the light - darkness is exposed.  Let's read together from Psalm 51, let's read and soak in the reality of true repentance. Join us as we read together and st...

David, the man after God's own heart was not immune from sin. In fact, he slept with another man's wife. Bathsheba became pregnant. And David assumed because of his position, he could cover up his sin. Instead, he was confronted and rebuked by the prophet Nathan. Today we look at Nathan's rebuke. Today we will study and look at the truth both David and Nathan had to accept.  Let's read togeth...

Jesus, in the lineage of Ruth and King David, is the ultimate example of staying when it's easier to run away. He could have fled the scene on many occasions throughout his life.  We learn from Jesus that staying and allowing God's plan to unfold in us , through us and around us take a lot of trust. We can follow Jesus' example of trusting in God's plan. Let's read together from Mark 14:40-42...

David came from a strong line of faithful people. He learned the importance of staying. His life was a training ground for the calling God was placing on his life - to become the King of Israel. David was trained as a warrior-shepherd. It was his willingness to stay, even when there was a predator, and face the predator head  on. He trusted God's presence with him.  Let's read together f...

Ruth, daughter in law of Naomi. Naomi was widower and bereaved mother. Ruth was given an out, since her husband died, to go back to her own land, to her own people. Yet instead, Ruth chose to stay. She chose to stay with her mother-in-law in her grieving, in her bitterness, in her heartache, in moving and finding a new life. Ruth's story and her choice to be faithful to her commitment to mother in...

Jonah, was a prophet called by God to draw the hearts of lost men and women back to God. Jonah's reaction to God's request - to run, flee to another city, believing that God would not find him amid his running. Yet we know God finds him - and eventually Jonah makes the choice to say YES to God's calling. Today we study together part of the life and story of Jonah and uncover how Jonah ran, and how...

Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. He was called to prophesy to people who were prone to wander, and to turn their back on God, seeking other Gods. Idol worship was rampant throughout Israel, God's chosen people. In Jeremiah 2, we read of Jeremiah pleading with the people of God to stop running to other God's and turn back to become reunited with the one true God.   Today we will stud...