Hope-Full Living

... Through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13 My seven-year-old daughter proudly showed me the book she had made at school. “My mother’s favorite job,” she had written, “is changing my brother’s diapers.” When I asked why she thought I loved that task, she replied, “Because you always sing when you do it.” Only years later would she realize singing was my trick to make him hold still. As Chri...

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Hebrews 10:24 “You’re a good writer.” When I was ten, my grandmother made this comment. It had a big impact, increasing my pleasure in writing and giving me courage to share my writing with others. More recently, I told a fellow volunteer she certainly had a gift for organization, and she replied, “Not really. It’s just the way...

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 On this 4th day of July, the citizens of the United States celebrate a day of “independence.” We declared that we intended to be free of the tyranny of a monarchy from across the ocean. It was something we had to fight for. It came with a significant price. But ultimately, freedom was indeed achie...

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 July 3, 321, Emperor Constantine issued his second Sunday Law in the Roman Empire. Sunday would henceforth be a day of rest. Constantine worked to live out his faith in his Savior. Now Christians throughout the realm would not be forced to work on that day of the week in which Jesus rose from the dead. They would be able to rest from their lab...

... stir up one another to love and good works ... encouraging one another ... Hebrews 10:24-25 I always enjoyed visiting Betty, a retired kindergarten teacher. She had started a new group to help her fellow residents in assisted living to deal with the changes that came with their new surroundings. “It’s called ‘AAA Club’ and it stands for Acknowledge, Accept, and Adapt,” she told me. Betty expla...

... for Ihave learned in whatever situation Iam to be content. Philippians 4:11 Recently I told a friend that I was envious of her ability to sit at a sewing machine and make a gift or repair a piece of clothing. She laughed and replied, "That's funny! Last Sunday I thought to myself, I wish I could play the piano and make music like she does? God has blessed us with our own unique gifts and talen...

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17a I’m old, male, and German. I don’t like change. Yet change is the only constant in my life I’ve lived in many locations. Change. My first wife died, and I remarried. Change. My health is not what it was a few years ago. Change. The most important change in my life took place before I was old enough to remember it. At my baptism, God...

“Look at the birds of the air ... Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew 6:26 “I used to be a valuable church member, directing the choir every Sunday,” Emma recalled wistfully. “I was chairman of the congregation,” nodded Bill. “I cut the grass and trimmed the bushes,” “Baked pies for every bake sale and potluck,” “Taught Sunday school for forty years,” the other residents chimed in. “And...

... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus ... Hebrews 12:1-2 My friend Ralph died last fall at 84. He served in local churches as an educator and evangelist and at national and district church levels. He pioneered evangelism efforts in rural and small-town churches. He also served at his home church, supporting deaf ministry and other special needs families. Ra...

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 The board game, Tic-Tac-Toe, has been around for years. If you get three x’s or o’s in a row, you win the game. But if no one has three in a row, no one wins. In our lives, we experience another set of T’s. We have Trials, Triumphs, and Transformations. But the good news is this, you...

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble ... Psalm 27:5 Many years ago, a friend now gone to Jesus, told me she got on her hands and knees and went down her basement steps backwards to do her laundry. Not the best choice, but I couldn’t help admiring her determination. She made me think of the magnitude of daily tasks. While a crisis brings on the fight or flight instinct, what is...

Let your steadfast love comfort me ... Psalm 119:76 There are many ways to comfort others. A kind word of prayer. A meaningful greeting card. A gentle hug. These all show God’s love to those who need encouragement during dark times in their lives. One of my new hobbies is to crochet prayer shawls. Our church is part of a ministry that shares these colorful shawls with cancer patients. The shawls a...

... do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 Oscar tightened the last screw on the storm shutters protecting his windows and proclaimed, “Now all there is left to do is pray.” When everything else that is humanly possible is done, we Christians have another resource to lean on — prayer...

“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!” Psalm 132:7 I wasn’t familiar with “Holy closure,” a term that describes the process of closing a church. Although statistics reflect shrinking denominational membership, I never thought it would hit so close to home. After all, my sister, Dorothy, sang in the choir. She taught VBS. She and my brother-in-law even painted the front...