Overflowing Hope

Recently during the morning as I was spending time with God, this verse stood out. Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Think about it, God who is hope, wants to fill each and every one of us with joy and peace. Now it's not just a bit of joy and peace, it's to be filled with "ALL" joy and peace. If we are filled with 'all joy and peace' it will change everything about every day. Life will be different. First of all, we will bring joy and peace everywhere and to everyone ... does your life reflect this? If not simply ask God to fill you with His joy and peace. Secondly, do we see and are being hope in every situation and to every person? Again, if not then ask God to fill you with this. In asking God, the best request is not for hope and peace, but for more of Him. Just look at the end of the verse. It says that we will overflow with these by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you are not overflowing then you need more of God. Ask daily for more of the Holy Spirit in your life and watch wat God does.

We will know we are being filled by God when we see that we are world changers, changing our personal world and watching the ripple effect spreading out. Make this one of your life prayers and verses, study all of chapter 15 and let it change you to become your world's changer. Let "all hope and peace" overflow as you are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

 

What is Your Standard for Success?

Taken from Acts 23:1, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day." 

As we go through life, what is our standard for success. All to often we tend to adopt the standards of society around us or the standards of those we respect and want to be like, or the standards of those we want to like us. Unfortunately these are the wrong standards to judge success by. 

This verse shows is what the right standard is. Paul reminds us that the right standard is always and only God’s standard. We cannot water it down or change it. As we look at this verse we see that there are two parts to God standard and we must consistently do both. 

The first part is found in our duty to God. What is it that God requires of us and are we doing it completely. There are two things that come to mind here. First is our relationship. How is your relationship with God today? A indication of the health of our relationship with God is seen in the overflow from this relationship as we relate to others. As we interact with other are our actions saturated with love, patience and grace? Do we see the Fruit of the Spirit growing every day in those relationship. Take time to read Galatians 5:22-23 so you can evaluate if this is growing in all your relationships. This is also explained in Micah 6:8 where God states what He requires of us … to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Part of all of this is sharing our relationship with God with everyone we meet. Remember we are to be witnesses. 

Now the second part is equally important. We must not fulfill our duty but we must do it with the right attitude. This attitude is not one of obligation but of love. Is our heart motive behind obeying God correct? Why do we do the things that we do? The why is what makes the difference between religious activity and loving obedience (relationship). Not notice here in this verse there is a little word that has huge impact. It’s the word all. It says, “in all good conscience to this day.” This means that our motives must be consistent and not at certain times or in spurts. It means that it must be our always, not just when others are watching us. It means that this must be our lifestyle. So what is your standard and how are do doing at living it out?