"Hope Sticks Around"

"This I had, because I kept thy precepts." (Psalms 119:56)

  Seven words of wisdom! If we give up on God, we give up on hope; there is just no other way to look at this. If we are still focused upon the law of hope, as with faith, it is measure by placement; Where does your hope hang out? If it is in anything that you can touch or see, it is in the wrong place. Peter put it like this: "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved: what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness." (2 Peter 3:11) Seriously, are we living in the right direction? We are either expecting Jesus to come back soon, or we are are those that say, "The Lord delays His coming, live life as you will." I pray that I will be found ready! "Precepts" are the commandments of God. As simple as that might sound, it is something that we live out in our daily lives; and if hope has a law attached to it, then it also must be lived out. We cannot live out hope being double minded; it is like taking one step forward and three steps back, there is no progress: Every pilgrim must make progress! Whether or not you realize it, your life really does matter in the Body of Christ. Without a doubt, every single one of us are just as important as the other; so we should never say that we do not matter, because we all play a particular part. What is your part in all of this? If you don't know, ask God to show you what it is. To know your part and understanding your purpose are two totally different things. We only see the canvas from the canvas; we only see the very small portion that surrounds us. It is easy to have God show you your part, because part is only a small portion of the big picture...

"Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we don't feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and we must love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God's Commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us." (1 John 3:20-24) NLT