GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: November 24, 2023

Smart or Wise?

A smart person knows what to say. A wise person knows when not to say it. (Source unknown)

We can all remember times when we couldn’t think of what to say. In a lively conversation or a private one-on-one counseling session, sometimes the words just don’t come. How frustrating! What’s even worse, however, is having a good answer in a given situation but not realizing that it’s not the right time or place to say it. That’s practical wisdom.

The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly (Ecclesiastes 12:10). The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking (Proverbs 15:28).

Stop & Think: November 23, 2023

Struggles

Be thankful for all the struggles you go through. (Source uncertain)

Really? I should be grateful for the difficulties I face? Well, listen to the rest of the quote: “They make you stronger, wiser, and humble.” Those are qualities worth working for even in difficult times. Those hard times will come, but our response to them can help us and others whom we may influence. There’s even more counsel: “Don’t let them break you; let them make  you.”

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you (Isaiah 43:2).

Stop & Think: November 22, 2023

Satisfaction

The human heart can bear neither good nor bad. (Martin Luther, 16th-century Protestant Reformation leader)

Luther explains: “When we have money and possessions, we have no rest; in poverty, no peace.” This truth has been proven in human experience for centuries. Luther’s conclusion: “In the middle is correct, that is, to be satisfied with one’s fortune.” That isn’t to say that we shouldn’t work for more; rather, we must learn to be satisfied with what we have today.

I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation (Philippians 4:11-12).

Stop & Think: November 21, 2023

Religion

Genuine religion is shown by its power of persistence. (F. B. Meyer, late British author)

Religious practices, sects, and cults seem to come and go. Only a few have persisted over the years. One of the tests for the sincerity and value of attempts to reach and please God is the endurance of the practitioner. But that’s not enough in itself. Practice may make permanent, but it doesn’t guarantee the perfection God demands. That is to be found in the only way to Him.

Jesus: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Stop & Think: November 20, 2023

Where Are We Going?

Men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to who, and why. (James Thurber, late American humorist)

In the hurry and scurry of modern life, it may sometimes seem that we are either running from something or to something. Without knowing what those somethings are, life can be confusing and unsatisfying. Slowing down seems impossible but if we could determine the goal we’re striving for, we no doubt could move forward deliberately and confidently.

Let love be your highest goal! (1 Corinthians 4:1) . . . our goal is to please him (2 Corinthians 5:9). Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God (Galatians 1:10).

Stop & Think: November 19, 2023

The World

Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is ‘finding his place in it’. . . (C. S. Lewis, late British scholar)

When someone has achieved “the American Dream,” he likely feels that he has arrived. Prosperity has made him king, at least of his own little world. But Lewis continued: “. . .while really [the world] is finding its place in him.” The Bible warned against just such a prospect. Things of the world are temporary; keeping them in perspective in view of eternity is essential.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you (1 John 2:15).

Stop & Think: November 18, 2023

Growing Up

It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then. (Lewis Caroll, English writer and poet)

Have you ever gone back to your childhood neighborhood? What was it like? Did it conjure up memories from those days long past? Did you find that things seemed much smaller and less exciting than your memories of them? Of course, the biggest change was not in the past memories but in your present status. You’ve changed—hopefully grown in personal maturity.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Stop & Think: November 17, 2023

Legacy

What you do now becomes your legacy. (Barbara Ridley, businesswoman)

We often don’t think of our legacy until we begin to consider end-of-life circumstances and what we might leave to our heirs. Even then, we’re mostly concerned about material possessions. What are more important, however, are the intangible assets we pass on: shared memories and experiences, lessons of integrity and incentive. What legacy are  you leaving your children?

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold (Proverbs 22:1).

Stop & Think: November 16, 2023

Wisdom

Wisdom is shown by its results. (Jesus)

Webster says that wisdom is “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” The biblical writer James describes four kinds of wisdom: “earthly wisdom, intellectual wisdom, devilish wisdom and the wisdom from above,” James 3:15-17). And Jesus explains that the “proof of the pudding” is in the outcomes. True wisdom has good results.

Wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it (Luke 7: 35).

Stop & Think: November 15, 2023

Self-Image

You are what you think yourself to be. (Stephe H. Bashor, late 19th & early 20th century evangelist)

People who feel that they are less important than others may have what we call an inferiority complex. Just the opposite is true of those who consider themselves better than others. As Bashor suggests, such people usually behave in keeping with the way they see themselves. But to think realistically about what God has made us to be is to be satisfied and productive.

Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves (Romans 12:3). Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too (Philippians 2:3-4).

Stop & Think: November 14, 2023

Being a Crusader

The humblest citizen of all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. (William Jennings Bryan, late 19th and early 20th century political activist)

Bryan was a noted orator and politician, running in three US presidential elections. He is noted, also, as a witness for the prosecution in the so-called “monkey trial” in Dayton, Tennessee, opposing the teaching of evolution in public schools. He was a devoted Christian whose witness encouraged others who are less well known to pursue just causes fervently.

Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper (Proverbs 11:11).

Stop & Think: November 13, 2023

Self-control

Greater is he who controls his spirit than he who takes a city. (The Bible)

We celebrate winners with awards and accolades—even parades for a victorious military leader or a championship sports team. Stars in sports, literature, and the arts are honored and sometimes idolized. But the lives of some “stars” reflect a lack of control of their attitudes, speech, and behavior. Fame fades quickly, but a life of self-control and selfless sacrifice is long remembered.

A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls (Proverbs 25:28).