GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

March 12, 2017

When something needs to be done – don’t wait for someone else to do it for you—donate your time and pitch in. (Charles Wickers)

When we see an obvious need in our community or around the world, we sometimes say, “Somebody ought to do something about it.” Wickers encourages us to be that “somebody.” Surely, if we can, we ought to. It may involve the sacrifice of time and effort, but if it really needs to be done, perhaps we are the ones who should step up and do it.

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. (Titus 3:14)

March 11, 2017

If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents–start charging for it. (Kim Garst, business consultant and author)

Sounds like good advice for someone who is working hard to share his or her ideas. Garst suggests that you should establish a fair fee for your time and effort. Time is valuable, as we note when most of us set our clocks forward tonight for Daylight Savings Time. It’s a good time to reconsider the value of time, even just a single hour.

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

March 10, 2017

Only those who do nothing make no mistakes. (Church sign board)

Because we dislike making mistakes, we might fail to pursue one venture or another just to avoid an embarrassing slip-up or the possibility of failure. Yet, deep down we know that errors happen to all of us, and the fear of failure will likely lead to failing to achieve. Work hard to avoid mistakes, but give your best effort at work.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

March 9, 2017

Stick with the optimists. It’s going to be tough enough even if they’re right. (James Reston, 20th century American journalist)

Are there too few optimists around? Many of us often respond as if we are expecting the worst. We can say that if things don’t go well, we were right to be pessimistic, and if they go well, we’re pleased that it turned out all right. But, as Reston reminds us, even at its best, life can be hard, so we must continue to work at making it rewarding.

When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)

March 8, 2017

Dreams are lovely, but they’re just dreams. … It’s hard work that makes things happen. (Shonda Rhimes, TV producer and author)

Dreaming, hopeful imagining, is a good practice. But, as Rhimes suggests, “[Dreams are] fleeting, ephemeral, pretty.” She says, “Dreams do not become true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that creates change.” So, don’t criticize dreamers or hesitate to do some dreaming yourself, but remember it’s hard work that makes dreams come true.

All hard work brings a profit. (Proverbs 14:23) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. (Colossians 3:23)

March 7, 2017

What you learn from pain you don’t forget. (Dick Dahlquist, retired college professor)

All of life provides multiple opportunities to learn, and we are always learning or else we will become stagnant. Learning can be fun, of course, and when we learn from happy experiences, it’s all the more fun. But, as Dahlquist suggests, we may remember longer those lessons we learned from painful events. They may hurt but also help.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

March 6, 2017

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. (Marcel Proust, 19th-20th century French novelist)

Often we don’t see clearly what is right around us. Residents who live in tourist areas often fail to appreciate the wonders around them. Others miss the opportunities available to them because they don’t see them. What’s worse, we often are so focused on the material and temporal that we miss the significance of spiritual values.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

March 5, 2017

You don’t build endurance on the path of least resistance. (Christine Caine, motivational speaker and author)

When things get tough on the road to achievement, it’s easy to slow down or stop. No one enjoys hardship and work that becomes drudgery. As football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” That sounds so easy, but it really requires perseverance, which may be developed only by overcoming resistance.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:4)

March 4, 2017

It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart. (Mahatma Gandhi, 19th-20th century India national independence leader)

Whether it is in moments of extreme ecstasy or deep distress that you cannot express yourself in clear, meaningful vocabulary, it’s comforting to know that God hears and understands. As Gandhi suggests, that is so much better than the offering of eloquent speech without a heart of humility and worship.

[The Holy] Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26)

March 3, 2017

Reconciliation is forgiveness in action. (Sue Knight, pastor’s wife)

Do you have a broken relationship that needs to be restored? Has someone hurt you and you just can’t get over it? Do you find it hard to forgive and forget or forgive and move on, as some might advise? Knight suggests that “Forgiveness is the prelude to reconciliation.” So, it begins with you and a heart that wants to restore a broken relationship.

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-25)

March 2, 2017

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. (Soren Kierkegaard, 19th century Danish philosopher)

Many have quoted Kierkegaard, and we all can recognize the truth of what he wrote. Life is often bewildering, and we struggle many times to figure out what is happening to us personally and in the world at large. Surely, that’s where faith plays its important role. Be sure to put your trust in one who can walk with you through and beyond life.

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. (Isaiah 26:4)

March 1, 2017

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want. (Zig Ziglar, late motivational speaker)

Is Ziglar’s comment paradoxical? How can I achieve my goals if I’m helping others achieve theirs? First, it’s always good to be helpful. It not only aids another person to reach their goals, but it helps you grow in character and community awareness. Besides, by helping them, you may very well learn something that causes you to rethink what you really want.

For I know your eagerness to help. (2 Corinthians 9:2)