A Fragrance Much like Hope

"Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all."  ~Emily Dickinson

"God brings death and God brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God's; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle! God's enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. God will set things right all over the earth, he'll give strength to his king, he'll set his anointed on top of the world!"  1 Samuel 2:6  (The Message)

"Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don't have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God and know real blessing! God made sky and soil, sea and all the fish in it. He always does what he says— he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry. God frees prisoners— he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen. God loves good people, protects strangers, takes the side of orphans and widows, but makes short work of the wicked. "  Psalm 146:3  (The Message)

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."  Proverbs 13:12 (ESV)

"Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:30-31  (NIV)

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is."  Jeremiah 17:7  (KJV)

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."  Romans 15:4  (NIV)

"So reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! Jesus, staying true to God's purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them. As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God. Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! For instance: Then I'll join outsiders in a hymn-sing; I'll sing to your name! And this one: Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together! And again: People of all nations, celebrate God! All colors and races, give hearty praise! And Isaiah's word: There's the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope! Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!"  Romans 15:7 (The Message)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."  Romans 15:13 (ESV)

Dear Lord,  Let Your hope dwell within us!  Let this season bring us hope and not only to us but for the whole world.  Let us be ready to give account of the hope that we have in You today and always...

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Are You Ready?

^"But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.'  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."  1 Peter 3:14-16 (NIV)

^"If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God."  1 Peter 3:13-18 (The Message)

Be ready to give account for the hope that is in you!  Are you ready?  Do you know how to give your testimony?  Do you have a testimony?  Of course you do!  If you do not have one prepared or do not feel comfortable telling the story of how you came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, then you have work to do.  We are to be prepared.  It occurred to me as I was writing my testimony in the blogpost, "How did I get this way...", that the words I was writing were exactly the words I had been telling to whomever would listen for the last 32 years.  Somewhere along the way someone had told me to think through my testimony and even write it down.  This made telling it easier because I had already prepared in my mind what I needed to say.  If you have never done this, then you need to!  What is your testimony?  Think it through and write it down and then share it!  The more practice you have the better you will be at telling it...And in scripture it says,  "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'"  Mark 16:15 (NIV)

Dear Lord,  Thank You for the free gift of salvation!  Help us to be prepared and ready to give an account of the hope that is within us today and everyday.  Let us not shy away from the opportunities that present themselves to us for sharing that hope with a lost world.  Help us always to be courteous and gentle when we share.  Help us to keep a clear conscience at all times making sure that we makes thing right with anyone we may have hurt or offended.