GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

November 15, 2015

STOP AND THINK – If you would create something, you must be something. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 19th-20th century German writer and statesman)


Most often artists and inventors do not create something merely from external influences and ideas. There seems to be some inward source that compels them to create or invent. Those who produce great works—whether artistic or inventive—are reflecting, to a large extent, their own character and essence.


The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being (Proverbs 20:27). For in my inner being I delight in God’s law (Romans 7:22).

November 14, 2015

STOP AND THINK – “Truth” without love is pride, not truth. “Love” without truth is enabling, not loving. (David Gable)


When you are really sure that you know truth, you may fall into a sense of pride, because you know something so certainly and there are others who are less sure. On the other hand, you may have such an emotional attachment to someone that you refuse to see the truth related to him or her. The Bible encourages us to always speak the truth with love.


For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

November 13, 2015

If you live in the river, you should make friends with the crocodiles. (Indian Proverb)


Our first reaction to this proverb might well be: “Better to move out of the river.” No doubt the proverb is intended, however, to encourage people to learn how to get along with others. From time to time, we all have to interact with someone—maybe several someones—with whom it’s hard to relate. Learning how may be the key to survival.


If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).

Keith Sampson: It’s My Life – Part 6

By: Keith Sampson

 

This is the part where I get to do a fun, “connect-the-dots” kind of thing…The third big lesson I learned through my experiences was that God knew what was on the horizon and had prepared me for it.

Bridge over Water



Many times we don’t get to look back and see/understand the possibilities of why we go through hard times in life. I had written previously about how God is bigger and has a plan; this is where I can see how He was preparing me for His plan.

 

When I was going through the upheaval of my professional life, I had to put my faith in God in ways I had never done before. I often used work to define me. But when that’s gone, then what? I had to trust, give up my expectations, and be fine with affecting only what I could affect. In the scope of things, work is work—it is not life. But it was preparing me for an upheaval in my personal life. If I hadn’t gone through the work pain, I wouldn’t have been as well equipped or in the right place with God to face what would eventually lead to a divorce.

 

I was going to be a single dad with two-year-old twins to take care of. As the divorce process was taking place, I went to my boss—because being at work at seven in the morning was no longer going to be a reality. His response was, “Don’t worry about it. Take care of what is more important. I know you always get your stuff done.” And that is what I was able to do: get the kids to daycare, go to work, pick them up, and then work in the evenings after they went to bed.

 

In a situation that would normally have been very stressful, the flexibility was an incredible blessing. Months later, I was having lunch with my friend and former boss. We talked about how, because of the different environments and business types, I would have never been able to do that if I had still been working there. God not only took me out of a job that was unhealthy for me and taught me a ton of lessons, He also put me in a better place to take care of my two incredible kids.

 

While you are in the midst of life, both the good and the bad, there is no way to know how your experiences will come into play down the road. This is where trust and faith in God must prevail. We can choose to exist in the present, or we can choose to plant ourselves in the hope that God brings, and that it may positively affect our future.

 

Today, I am engaged to an amazing woman who I’ve known for 16 years (a college crush, actually), and those two amazing toddlers are now kindergarteners. God prepares us for the future…

 

Keith Sampson
Executive Coordinator – God of Hope

November 12, 2015

STOP AND THINK – Nothing repels like a frown—or attracts like a smile. (Charles Swindoll, preacher and author)

It’s a simple statement but one which can be verified by almost everyone’s personal experience. When someone begins to frown while you are speaking to them, you begin to wonder what’s wrong with what you said or how you said it. When they smile, however, you feel like you are communicating well with a friend. It’s heart-warming.

When I smiled at them . . . the light of my face was precious to them (Job 29:24).

November 11, 2015

STOP AND THINK – Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed. (Storm Jameson, 20th century English journalist and author)

Note Jameson’s five requirements to be happy: feeling, enjoyment, reasoning, risk, and being needed. Perhaps the most important component is to be needed. When you can serve someone else, it not only helps them, but it also gives you a sense of joyful accomplishment.

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them (Hebrews 6:10).

November 10, 2015

STOP AND THINK – This is the true joy in life—being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. (George Bernard Shaw, late Nobel-Prize-winning Irish playwright)


Shaw continues: “. . . being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap.” No doubt, all of us would like to be involved in something we consider to be a “mighty” purpose.


If it is recognized by others as a worthy objective, all the better. The real issue, of course, is whether the project will have lasting value for others in the community.
It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good (Galatians 4:18).

November 9, 2015

STOP AND THINK – It’s not a case of magic. It’s a simple fact. What I see, and hear, and speak, I become. (Gordon & Gladis DePree in The Gift)


What we are physically is a combination of our DNA, the food we consume, our exercise, and other purely material elements. But what we are internally (the real us), as the DePrees suggest, is the result of what we take in mentally and emotionally. That fact emphasizes the importance of what we allow our minds to feed upon.


Whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body. But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. (Matthew 15:16-18)

November 8, 2015

STOP NAD THINK – The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one. (Marianne Williamson, author and lecturer)


That’s Williamson’s conclusion after writing, “Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us.” While we often long to see change in our society, we too often expect the changes to come from some organization or government. In reality, of course, change always begins with individuals—with you or me.


[The Good News] that came to you . . . changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace (Colossians 1:6).

November 7, 2015

STOP AND THINK – It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow. (Robert Goddard, “the father of modern rocketry.”)

 

Whether it’s in the science laboratory, the inventor’s workroom, or in ordinary life situations, sometimes what we are working for seems to be impossible. That’s when it’s good to recognize that almost everything we enjoy today is the result of someone’s chasing a dream until it became a reality. So, work hard and keep pursuing your dream.

 

We remember . . . your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

November 6, 2015

STOP AND THINK – [There’s a] risk . . . if you change: that people you’ve been involved with won’t like the new you. But other people who do will come along. (Lisa Alther, American novelist)

Maybe you’ve had the experience Alther alludes to. You’ve made a significant change in your lifestyle or your perspective on life, and some of your friends have responded negatively to your change. Perhaps, on the other hand, you’ve found others who are content with the change. In any case, be sincere, persistent in rightful change.

If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly . . . then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever (Jeremiah 7:5, 7).

November 5, 2015

STOP AND THINK – It ain’t no use to grumble and complain; it’s just as easy to rejoice. (James Whitcomb Riley, “the Children’s Poet”)

 

Riley illustrates this principle: “When God sorts out the weather and sends rain, why rain’s my choice.” If we all were to follow his counsel, life would certainly be different, wouldn’t it? Or, at least our attitudes would be different. Accepting what we can’t control is a way to contentment and satisfaction.

 

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation (Philippians 4:12).