GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: January 9, 2022

Leadership 

Leadership is the ability to enlist, equip, and empower others to fulfill the vision. (Peter Senge, systems scientist)

Successful leading is more than just developing a strategy to accomplish a certain purpose. As Senge puts it, you have to recruit the right people, give them the tools and opportunity to do the work, and then give them the authority and power to do the job. That kind of management will make the leader successful as well as his team.

If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. (Romans 12:8)

Stop & Think: January 8, 2022

Keep Learning

Effective leaders, at all levels of leadership, maintain a learning posture throughout life. (J. Robert Clinton, leadership writer)

Paul Vance, a current writer made an even broader observation: “The people who really know the most are still learning all the time.” Whether in a leadership role or, simply, as a member of the group, we will grow and be effective only as we continue to increase our understanding of life and our particular place in it.

Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15)

Stop & Think: January 7, 2022

Choices

Choices have consequences always. Always. Consider consequences before you act. (Tim Kight, leadership coach)

Kight continues: “. . .  because you will experience the consequences after you act.” He adds, “Do not equate the delay of consequences with the absence of them.” This is certainly good advice. Unless we carefully consider our choices, we will certainly make some decisions that will cause us—and others—great distress. Choose well!

A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one (Ecclesiastes 10:2). Wise choices will watch over you (Proverbs 2:11).

Stop & Think: January 6, 2022

Good and Evil

Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either. (C. S. Lewis, late British scholar)

We’re living in a frightening time when Lewis’ comment rings true as we observe the rise of crime across our country. Every day we read and hear about robberies, physical assaults, murders, and political deceptions that have become almost commonplace. The guilty simply don’t recognize their deeds as evil, but as their right. We must restore a sense of good and evil.

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (Matthew 12:35)

Stop & Think: January 5, 2022

Money

Wealth is the slave of the wise. The master of the fool. (Seneca, first-century Roman philosopher)

Whether it’s earned, inherited, or granted, money is a big issue in life. We can’t live without it or, at least, what it provides for us—housing, food, clothes, etc. When hard times hit, we might really struggle to have enough of it. But others never seem to have enough and crave more and more. The Bible warns, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

Stop & Think: January 4, 2022

Work, Work, Work

We’ve been programmed to think that fatigue is next to godliness. (Chuck Swindoll, pastor and author)

More and more people seem to be suffering from “Workaholic Syndrome.” They don’t have time for a leisurely weekend or annual vacations. Their work schedule is not 8:00-to-5:00; it’s more like 6:00 to midnight- especially if they’re working from home. They may accomplish a lot on their jobs, but they very likely are losing out on good relationships with family and friends.

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones. (Psalm 127:2)

Stop & Think: January 3, 2022

Encouragement

You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. (A.A. Milne, 20th century English author)

“Promise me you’ll always remember,” said Christopher Robin to his favorite bear, Winnie-the-Pooh. And his words could be an encouragement to one of our real-life friends in a time of discouragement. That may be all someone needs to help them rise up to overcome the disappointment of their day. This year, try to be an encouragement to someone every day.

 The words of the godly encourage many (Proverbs 10:21). So encourage each other and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Stop & Think: January 2, 2022

Act Now

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. (Alan Cohen, inspirational author)

So often we’re stymied in our plan to start a new project because we think the time isn’t right. It begs the question, then, when is the right time? Cohen suggests that just starting the project, getting it going, may be just the right time. We can’t know what tomorrow will bring, but if we don’t get going now, we may just miss the “perfect” time to start.

At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Stop & Think: January 1, 2022

Happy New Year!

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. . .. The book is called opportunity. (Edith Lovejoy Pierce, late American poet)

Pierce continues: “We are going to put words on them ourselves. And its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”  2021 with all its joys and many disappointments is gone. With memories of the good days and ignoring the bad ones, we take pen in hand to write our journals for 2022. We begin with hope and expectation and endless opportunities. Let’s make the most of each one.

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on. (Philippians 3:13-14a)

Stop & Think: December 31, 2021

New Year’s Eve

Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous New Year by believing. (Sarah Ban Breathnach)

Faith and believing—now there are two words worth thinking about on New Year’s Eve. What are we expecting in 2022—world events worsening, taxes and inflation rising, and other unhappy events? Or are we putting our trust—a good synonym for faith and belief—in Someone who already knows the future and wants to guide us into it?

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

Stop & Think: December 30, 2021

End of the Year Thoughts

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning. . . (Hal Borland)

He continues “… but a going on with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” The 12 months and 365 days of 2021 have surely taught us something. The gains and the losses, the ups and downs, have all contributed to our growth, and that won’t stop with the turning of the calendar in a couple of days. So, let’s move into 2022, remembering the lessons of last year.

When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Stop & Think: December 29, 2021

Smiling

Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart. (Anthony J. D’Angelo, education writer)

The holidays often bring sadness and loneliness. So, it’s a good time to be intentional in sharing the joy of the season. You may meet someone who is having the end-of-the-year blues. 2021 hasn’t been as good a year as they had hoped. Perhaps offering support with an encouraging word of hope—accompanied by a warm smile—may be uplifting and helpful.

When they were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them (Job 29:24) What a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! (Genesis 33:10).