GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: June 26, 2023

Forgiving

Know what happens if we don’t forgive? We’ll be chained to bitterness and anger every day of our life. And that’s no life. (Former pastor)

Novelist Anne Lamotte put it this way, “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” Of course, when you’ve been hurt deeply, it’s difficult to forget the pain and overlook the offense. Our human nature urges us to expose the offender or to seek revenge and get even. It would be so much healthier to pray as the Lord taught us. . .

Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us (Matthew 6:12).

Stop & Think: June 25, 2023

Down to Earth

Sojourners who think the most of the next world are usually those who are doing the highest good in this one. (Joni Eareckson Tada, disability advocate author)

It used to be said, perhaps in a rather mocking tone, that some people “are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.” Tada argues just the opposite. Rather than seeing such people as incapable of thinking rationally, she sees heavenly thinking as the motivation for down-to-earth practical, helpful living.

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking (Colossians 2:8).

Stop & Think: June 24, 2023

Anger

There are two things a person should never get angry at, what they can help and what they cannot. (Plato, ancient Greek philosopher))

Life is full of errors, faux pax, and just plain mistakes. They will happen, so how do we react to them? We could get mad, but Plato suggests if we could have helped it, we shouldn’t be angry. It would be better just to correct the error and do better. If we couldn’t help it—it wasn’t our fault, then why should we be angry, we’ll not be blamed? That should help us avoid a lot of anger.

And don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Stop & Think: June 23, 2023

Living Truth

Those who teach by their doctrine must teach by their life, or else they pull down with one hand what they build up with the other. (Matthew Henry, 17th-18th century Bible commentator)

“Do what I say, not what I do” may be the clearest expression of hypocrisy. People who put on an act, talking one way but living another, may be among the least liked in the crowd. Henry states the obvious: teaching one thing as authoritative loses its impact when the same person is teaching something entirely different from the way he lives. Don’t just speak truth, live it!

Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Mark 7:6).

Stop & Think: June 22, 2023

The Best

Life is a series of choices between the bad, the good, and the best. Everything depends on how we choose. (Vance Havner, 20th century revivalist)

There was a time when most American homes anticipated with excitement and received with joy the next Sears Roebuck catalog. It offered the option to choose between good, better, and best, depending upon the quality of the item. That is fine for choosing merchandise, but in life we should never settle for anything less than the best and work hard for it in every endeavor.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce (Proverbs 3:9).

Stop & Think: June 21, 2023

Valuable Living

We have but one life here…It pays . . .to try and do things, and not merely to have a soft and pleasant time. (Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. president)

Retirement seems to be the goal of most working people in America. Everything points to that—estate planning, savings accounts, even purchasing “forever homes” to be ready for the momentous day of leaving the work force. Roosevelt advises us not to look forward to “a soft and pleasant time” but to make good use of our time, even in retirement.

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom (James 3:13).

Stop & Think: June 20, 2023

The Witness to God

Nobody talks so constantly about God as those who insist that there is no God. (Heywood Broun, 20th century American journalist)

It is an interesting observation, isn’t it? If there is no God, why work so hard to build a case against him? There are many evidences of a supernatural being (God). The precision of the creation itself and the incredible human body are among the strongest. Those two alone point to the existence of a creator God. Furthermore, the Bible says we are created in his image.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them (Genesis 1:27).

Stop & Think: June 19, 2023

Family

Have you allowed fame, career, success, or time to get in the way of … family responsibilities?

Many have echoed this important concept. Even Israel’s great King David failed in this responsibility. Speaking of his son, Adonijah who sought to steal his throne, the Bible says, “King David had never disciplined him at any time.” What a sad comment, and the result was a threat to the kingdom. It’s a very present danger today. Parents, train your children well.

Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them (Proverbs 13:24).

Stop & Think: June 18, 2023

Father’s Day

There’s no teacher equal to mother and there’s nothing more contagious than the dignity of a father. (Amit Ray, Indian author)

With so many single parent homes today, Ray’s comment seems out-of-date and almost meaningless. However, it offers a solution which, if it were only followed, would go a long way in restoring our families and neighborhoods. Raising strong families takes two: a mom who teaches her kids how to live and a dad who inspires dignity.

Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise (Ephesians 6:2).

Stop & Think: June 17, 2023

Hospitality

Hospitality is a matter of the heart that is revealed in our actions and in our words. (Source unknown)

These days, welcoming people into your home is almost a lost art. We find it much easier to meet up for coffee or have dinner at a restaurant. Whatever the reasons we’ve stopped entertaining, let’s find ways to bring back the blessings of showing hospitality. You’ll be as blessed as your guests.

Always be eager to practice hospitality (Romans 12:13). Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:2)

Stop & Think: June 16, 2023

Relationship

When you have an opportunity to deepen a relationship with a truth-teller in your life, take it! (Christian Unity Ministries)

Here’s a searching question: “Who is friend enough to speak the truth to you in love?” Do you have a friend like that? It may be difficult to “speak the truth in love,” but it is often necessary. Someone wrote, “We need to be iron to one another and allow others to be iron for us so we may be shaped and sharpened throughout life.” It would be healthy to find such a friend and to be one!

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend (Proverbs 27:17).

Stop & Think: June 15, 2023

Focus

Focus in on each shot and don’t worry about the outcome. (Jim Sheard and Wally Armstrong, golf writers)

They continue, “When you do this, the rest usually will take care of itself.” Don’t think about your iron play while you’re just teeing off. And don’t worry about putting until your ball is on the green. That’s good advice for all of us. Focus on the immediate. In this hectic world, it’s hard, but it will help if we just focus on what’s at hand now.

I focus on this one thing: . . .   I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God . . .  is calling us (Philippians 3:13-14).