Terri's Wellspring

Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.   John 8:12

We may see so much darkness in the world today; so many people existing in despair and in need of God’s love. Sickness in minds, bodies and souls seem so pervasive. Lack of peace, harmony and even concern for our neighbors in the world seem commonplace. God sent His Son, Jesus that we might have life, in every sense of the word. We seek full life in relationship with Him, growing and developing as His children representing His love to the world. We thank God for the transformative power of His love in our lives that can be extended to others. We can use our hands, our walk, our talk to show kindness and compassion. Showing our love we become bright lights that pierce the darkness and create more and more opportunities for the light and for God’s Son Jesus to shine bright. He is the Light which is Life.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

Many years ago, I described a situation as “hopeless” to my Grandfather. It was a term that I thought accurately summed up a set of circumstances that were not going to work out well. Even reflecting on it now, I don’t recall the topic or the situation. It was my Grandfather’s reaction to my carefree use of the word hopeless that has stuck with me. In strong terms, my Grandfather told me that I should never say something is hopeless. In a mournful tone, he said that if you don’t have hope you don’t have anything. It is advice and a truth that has stayed tucked away in my heart and mind, where my hope, faith and love are nurtured and expanded.

As God’s children, we can put our trust in the Lord. Hope or expectation that something will change for the better is a position of faith that all believers should walk in. We serve a God that has provided the ultimate victory for His children. No matter what our situation we can be filled with hope that our God is working things out on our behalf and for our good. We can walk in hope, faith and peace as we put our trust in Him. We pray for God’s hope to fill our hearts today as we look for victorious living and victory to be evident in our lives.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.     Ephesians 3:14-21

During this season of celebration of Christmas, we are reminded of the ultimate gift of the savior, His birth, His life and His resurrection. We are so thankful for the precious gift of salvation that is available to each of us. Paul’s prayer represents the high hopes that we have for each other – empowered with inner strength through His spirit, that Christ will make His home in our hearts as we trust Him, that we would be deeply rooted in God’s love, that we would understand the expanse of God’s love for us, that we would experience the love of Christ, that we would be made complete in His fullness. And praise God! that this work would continue in us for all generations. It is a powerful, complete wish that we can share with each other. It is my hope and wish for you.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:2-5

Hope can be defined as “to desire with expectation of obtainment”. My personal definition is describes hope as the expectation that things will be better. It is important to carry hope in our hearts and minds each day.  At different points, we may be tempted to become weary, tired and unsure about the promise of tomorrow, but we must never give up.   Our passage today is a reminder of the ultimate hope that we have in serving Jesus Christ. He provides eternal hope and expectation that comes with knowing and standing on God’s word. So as we manage the challenges of the day, we can be reassured that our suffering is making us stronger and we are increasing our endurance. It is also building our character which ultimately allows us to produce hope. I am so thankful for the hope we have in Jesus Christ. In Him, we know that things will get better.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13

It takes hope and courage to imagine a situation differently. We live in a world where many people have growing cynicism that creates a level of acceptance of injustice, unfairness and just wrong. We may sense that things could be differently, we may even hope that somehow change will come but it is a whole different level of courage that allows us to educate ourselves about what is possible, how to bring about change and to work systematically toward a higher level of living.

Our Heavenly Father can provide hope for the vision that He places in our heart. He can even give us the guidance about how to move our situation from vision to reality. Our responsibility is to stay in faith, following His word and working consistently toward the vision.

For this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father. It is from Him that every family in heaven and on earth has its name. I pray that because of the riches of His shining-greatness, He will make you strong with power in your hearts through the Holy Spirit. I pray that Christ may live in your hearts by faith. I pray that you will be filled with love. I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is. I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself.

God is able to do much more than we ask or think through His power working in us. May we see His shining-greatness in the church. May all people in all time honor Christ Jesus. Let it be so.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLV

We are so thankful that we are approaching a new year. It is a traditional time for thinking about accomplishments of the past and what we want to accomplish in the year to come. I am thankful that we have made it thus far and that God has been faithful to be with us each step of the way. This year God has shown Himself, strong as a Healer, a Sustainer and a Provider. He has provided peace and joy in the midst of storms and challenges. And He has continued to be a lamp unto our feet guiding us in our life’s journey. Our Father has been so faithful to keep His word and I am so thankful for His goodness and His mercy toward us.

In 2012, my hope is to be strengthened in my walk with the Lord. Standing strong and tall in His Word, I pray my words and actions to be a reflection of a steadfast faith and trust in Him. I pray that I am able to show His tremendous love for me with my love for others. I pray that I will be diligent in excellence in doing His will today and in the New Year to come. I will walk in health and God’s blessings of peace and joy. We thank God for new beginnings building on the strong foundation of His Word.

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21

I am so glad we have the gift of the Savior, Jesus Christ in our lives. As believers we have an opportunity to have a growing relationship with Him. As we celebrate Christmas and the coming of the New Year, my hope and prayer is that we will continue to grow stronger in the Lord. Our Father is all powerful and all knowing. We can fully trust Him with our lives and our situations. We can do our part, to do our best to follow His word and the leading of His spirit. As this passage conveys, God’s love for us is immeasurable and too great for us to even comprehend. He loved us enough to send the gift of His son Jesus. Let us continue to seek to serve Him even the more in the days to come fully trusting Him and knowing that He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask or think.

Hope and Happiness at Christmas!

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NLT

As we enter the Advent season, we are so thankful for the wonderful gift of God’s Son Jesus Christ. He brought light into a world in need of His Hope and His Love. It is hard to imagine life without knowing Him. We are so thankful that the source of our Hope is our Heavenly Father, who sent His Son that we might have life and life more abundantly. What a priceless gift that we can have a relationship with Him that can fill us with joy and peace as we put our trust in Him.