GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: May 21, 2024

Listening Well

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. (Kary Oberbrunner, author and motivational speaker)

To be helpful to others, we need to know how they are doing and what their needs are. That information can be gained most clearly when we ask them to share their experience and thoughts. Then, it is most important to listen carefully, withholding answers until we understand what their questions and needs really are.

Understand this: You must all be quick to listen [and] slow to speak. (James 1:19)

Stop & Think: May 20, 2024

Work or Pray?

Work as if you were to live a hundred years; pray as if you were to die tomorrow. (Benjamin Franklin)

Franklin was probably not the first to emphasize the importance of both work and faith, but putting it into a time frame does help understand the importance of both. Having the long view in mind as you work on worthy projects helps you value the importance of keeping at the job until it’s completed. Praying, however, is how you keep up to date with the God both of time and work.

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. (James 5:16b)

Stop & Think: May 19, 2024

Get to Work

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. (Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet and novelist)

Perhaps Atwood is merely urging people to take advantage of warm weather to get their garden projects underway. You can’t enjoy the flowers or the fruit of your gardens until  you’ve planted them, and that begins with turning the soil, getting your hands dirty. It’s so easy just to rest and enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperatures. But that will never bring a productive garden.

For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. (Deuteronomy 16:15b)

Stop & Think: May 18, 2024

Truth

A half-truth is also a half lie. (Allistar Begg, author)

No doubt, many others have stated this obvious truth. But still, we characterize half-lies as “fibs” or “little white lies” as if they’re okay. Our senses of honesty and character have been de-sensitized, and the result is that we lose our integrity. Who is to be trusted if we can’t always be certain that we’re hearing only the “full truth”?

Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed. (Proverbs 12:19)

Stop & Think: May 17, 2024

Best or Worst?

Today is not the worst nor best day of your life. (Chris Suitt, pastor)

How can you know that for sure? Maybe you’ve had a terrible day at school or at the office. It was just awful. But you didn’t fail a test or lose your job, so things could be worse. Perhaps you got engaged or married today. But there may be the birth of a child in the future, and all other days will pale in comparison. Don’t see today as an end, but move on with purpose and hope.

Neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. (Romans 8:38)

Stop & Think: May 16, 2024

A Lesson from the Sky

I can see how it might be possible for man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say, “There is no God.” (Abraham Lincoln)

Lincoln, of course, had no real idea of how one might respond when looking down on earth from the sky. The three-man crew of the Apollo 8 mission actually read the biblical creation account as they viewed the earth from above, and Astronaut Jeffery Williams said, “To look out at this kind of creation out here and not believe in God is, to me, impossible.”

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . . On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, . . . This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1; 2:2, 4)

Stop & Think: May 15, 2024

Storms

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain. (Vivian Greene, late British writer)

In stormy times, some people will deny that there is a storm at all or at least ignore it altogether. Others will curse the weather. A large group just accepts it, realizing there isn’t much to be done about it. Another smaller group, perhaps, will find some way to enjoy it; It’s a part of life, so instead of just biding the time, why not live in it with purpose?

When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation. (Proverbs 10:25)

Stop & Think: May 14, 2024

Enough

Some people are content that enough is enough, until someone demonstrates that even more is not enough. (Kenneth J. Brown, author)

We may have been happy with what we had until we saw how much more our neighbor had. It’s the “Keep up with the Jones” syndrome. Some of us never seem to get over the idea that more is always better—whether it’s the size of our homes, the balance in our checking account, or the toys we play with. The sooner we get past the search for more, the soon we will be content.

Jesus: “Be careful to guard  yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

Stop & Think: May 13, 2024

Gratitude

The magic of gratitude is that it improves everything it touches, especially the person who offered it in the first place. (Seth Godin, American author)

Haven’t you found that to be true? Just the mere saying of thank you can be heartwarming to the donor whether it is a matter of serving or an act of giving. Rather than taking a service provider’s work for granted, your  kind word of appreciation can make that person’s day so much richer. A constant attitude of gratitude is a wonderful behavior to see and experience.

Let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. (Hebrews 12:28)

Stop & Think: May 12, 2024

Mother’s Day

A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. (Tenneva Jordan, author and mother of former First Lady Barbara Bush)

In some places motherhood is not as highly regarded as it is in others. For those of us who had mothers like the one Jordan speaks of, we honor them today. This kind of behavior, however, should characterize all people who are not self-centered but who see the value of putting others first and honoring their needs and desires above their own. That’s a  mother’s kind of love.

Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:4)

Stop & Think: May 11, 2024

Words 2

Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of words that don’t mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime. (Rachel Wolchin, author)

Do you remember an expression or idea you heard a long time ago that keeps popping up in your mind? It’s amazing how such things stick with us, but it’s a reminder that anything we say may be brought back in someone’s memory years later. So, we must be careful of what we say, because our words may have a long, though untended life.

Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (Ephesians 4:29)

Stop & Think: May 10, 2024

Words 1

Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder. (Rumi, 13th century Afghan poet)

As children we may have thought that the louder the voice, the more important the words. That may be why we yelled so much; we wanted to be heard, and we often did not get the attention we wanted. But not much worthwhile is accomplished by yelling. We communicate more clearly and successfully when we use softly spoken words filled with meaning and good intention.

A fool’s proud talk becomes a rod that beats him, but the words of the wise keep them safe. (Proverbs 14:3)