Experiencing & Explaining God's Hope

As we think about our hearts and the things we love and cherish, does God hold a special place? One that is set apart or set above everything else? Most of us will say yes to this because we have a place for God alongside of everything else we cherish. However, Jesus is to be set above everything else, not part of a group of cherished things. He desires to be Lord of all that is in our heart and when He is this, He becomes Lord of all that is in our lives. Once this has happened the natural result is that we are filled to overflowing with hope. It is this hope that others will notice and ask about.

When we are asked, we are to explain why this hope overflows from our lives all the time regardless of the situations and circumstances we are going through. Now there is a key to telling others about the hope found in Christ so that they will accept it. We must explain the source of our hope with gentleness and respect. Respect show that we value them as individuals and gentleness gives us the chance to work through any issues they might have. Does the hope found in Christ overflow from your life? Are you ready to explain the hope you have to anyone who asks?

Removing Barriers to Living Good Days

I love how God always raises the standards for us to live up to. We are not to do what everyone expects; instead we are to live to a higher standard. When others insult or give us evil we are to respond by asking God to bless them. This is important because by controlling our tongues in this way we will help insure we see good days. There are responsibilities we have if we want to see good days during our lives. We must leave evil behind by focusing on and making ourselves busy doing what is good. One of the good things we can do is invest our energy in doing those things that will bring peace to those around us. If we are doing these things they will help to make us live righteously and this kind of living removes barriers from between us and God. This allows God to be expectantly waiting for our prayers so that He may be quick in answering them. These answers to our prayers will also lead to us having many good days in our lives. Are we removing the barriers to experiencing the good days God has promised?

True Beauty

I love that God defines true beauty for us, giving the source and how to demonstrate or show off that beauty every day. 1 Peter 3:3-5 says, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. ⁴ Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,"


If only more girls and ladies would learn this Godly truth. True beauty come not from outward things but from what is on the inside. Beauty that catches God’s eye and should catch ours is a gentle and quiet spirit. Gentleness can be defined as power under control. Does this apply to your life? Do you have God granted power but you keep it under control. If so then you are on your way to becoming a beautiful woman/girl. The other part of this is having a quiet spirit. This is not referring to being silent and never voicing an opinion. It does refer to not being obnoxious or distracting. When I think of this I think of steam or small river. Within it’s banks you will find power and see it demonstrated in the rapids that are noisy and hard to talk to others around because of the distracting noise. The beauty of such streams is usually described in the areas where it runs deep and quiet, the surface is as smooth as glace. Those areas bring peace, refreshing and beauty into the lives of all who see it. Does your life have the same effect?