Hope

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. Psalm 71:14

I was at church a few weeks ago and I heard someone use a word that I hear very often but have not given much thought to this simple word's meaning. The word was hope. People use the word hope when talking about a lot of things. They hope for a good grade, they hope for a good job, they hope for a great marriage, they hope to be successful, and they hope to always have hope. I think we often hope for things that we should be praying about and working toward. What happens to a person when they lose all hope? Maybe they turn to a life of drug or alcohol use to mask the loss of hope. Marriages end because a husband or wife has lost hope in the future with their spouse, and people commit suicide every day because they have lost hope. But we also see people who have lost everything except hope. Maybe they have lost family, friends, jobs, or money but they still have hope. People survive terrible illness or tragedy and all they have left is an ounce of hope.

Where do you find your hope? I am blessed because I can always count on family, but my hope should never be in humans. I have been fortunate to be successful in my job, but I should never put my hope in my career because it could change drastically tomorrow. Our hope should always come from and be in our Savior Jesus Christ. Our hope in Him comes from remembering the blessings we have in our life and from remembering what He has done for us. We have faith and a hope for a great future because He promises to give us a future and a hope. Our hope is not in the things we see every day or the people we know but in the promise that He is always with us, guiding each step of our life. When our hope comes from Jesus alone, we will always have a great hope regardless of the trials we face and the ups and downs of life.

I HOPE you have a great day,

Chad

Guard Duty

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.                       1st Corinthians 16:13

When I was little my friend and I went on “Guard Duty” almost every night of the summer and most weekend nights of the fall and winter.  We would dress in camouflage, carry our play guns, and wear Army helmets.  We would patrol the street and the alley guarding against burglars and enemy attacks.  We must have done a pretty good job because there were very few instances of theft on our street. My family did have cars stolen on two occasions and lawn furniture was stolen from our front yard however, those were also the nights that my mother made us come inside early.  The thieves obviously had scoped out the neighborhood and knew when to strike!  The neighbors never knew we were around because we did a great job of staying hidden because of the possibility of a sudden attack on 7th Avenue North.

When I read the verse from 1st Corinthians it makes me think about how serious my friend and I took our role as neighborhood protectors.  As the sun went down on a summer evening, one of us would call the other and ask if we were going on guard duty.  We would get our helmets, guns, and, if our moms said OK, even some camouflage face paint. We fully expected to catch a burglar and were always ready, well as ready as an eight year old can be, to take them down.  Now as a 48 year old, I catch myself walking outside late at night and just looking around.  I guess once a fake soldier, always a fake soldier.

Those were fun nights as a kid and I always took my job as the neighborhood guard very serious.  I think about those times now that I am older and I hope I am as serious about guard duty today as I was then.  Do I guard my heart against the evil thoughts and negativity that can so easily creep into my life?  Do I guard my brain against the words and images that Satan can use to take me away from the thoughts of my Heavenly Father?  Most importantly, do I guard my family against the evil in this world?  Am I on guard every day and never take a night off?  I pray each day that I am doing my best to guard you and I trust that you are doing your part to be on guard.  How do we guard ourselves and our loved ones?  I believe we can do this by first of all praying.  Pray each day and ask God to fill your heart and mind with His thoughts.  Pray for Him to increase your faith daily by reminding you that He is always present.  Pray for each other daily and ask Him to protect your family, friends, coworkers, and teammates.  Pray each day for God to not walk beside you, but instead to walk directly in front of you and lead your every step. 

Chad

Friendship

Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. 2nd Timothy 4:9-10

The verse from 2nd Timothy is short and does not at first glance seem to have much life changing information. However, when we know a little background information we will see how we face this same issue today in our lives. Paul is writing to Timothy from his prison cell in Rome and knows he will never freely live outside the walls of the prison. During his time in prison Demas had become a trusted friend who Paul could confide in and receive encouragement from while going through this trial. When Paul writes to Timothy in chapter 4 he is encouraging him to continue the fight and to continue in the work for the Lord. He also tells Timothy to, “Do your best to come to me quickly”. Paul knows his time on earth is very short and he hopes to see Timothy before he dies. I imagine he is alone in a dirty cell and is longing to see a trusted friend. He goes on to tell Timothy that Demas has deserted him because he loved this world. It was probably difficult to be friends with Paul during this time in Rome. I am sure Demas knew the persecution Paul would continue to receive until the time of his death for following Jesus. Maybe Demas knew, deep in his own heart, that he did not have the same faith as Paul. He could not be in Paul’s presence without feeling ashamed of himself. Earlier, being friends with Paul, was probably exciting because of the great things he would witness but, as the persecution became more severe, Demas was not truly committed to Paul, and more important, to Jesus. Paul could look to his future and see the reward he would receive for his suffering but Demas only saw the penalty for his beliefs. Paul knew he would be accepted into eternal life with his Heavenly Father but Demas only wanted human acceptance in his life on earth. Paul knew his life of suffering would soon end in a glorious triumph but Demas saw only defeat in a future of following Jesus. What would I have done if I was Demas? What would you have done? I hope and pray that we would all be like Paul. I am sure he was disappointed and probably thought about and prayed for Demas everyday until his death, but he did not let the loss of a friend change his mission. Paul never let the decision by Demas cause him to doubt his work for the Lord and he never allowed it to make him lose focus on who he was serving.

It is disappointing when a friend, who we believed would be faithful to us throughout our lives, suddenly decides it is not popular to be called our friend. Maybe we had spent many years sharing our beliefs together to find out they were only our beliefs and not our friends. When a person we have considered a friend suddenly no longer speaks, avoids interaction with us, or treats us like we are a stranger we feel a sense of loss. We may also even begin to question ourselves about what we may have done in the past to ruin a friendship. We also begin to doubt the value others may have placed on our friendship. Were they really our friend before or was it just for convenience until they found someone better? We do not know how Demas lived the remainder of his life. Did he regret that he deserted Paul? Did he ever think about Paul or did he erase him from his memory resigned to the belief that Paul was a radical? Did he live the rest of his life quietly for the Lord, obeying all the rules, but making little impact in the world? Or did he realize the opportunity he missed and devote the remainder of his days to living like Paul and for his Savior?

Thankfully we are also told in Proverbs that we always have a friend and He sticks closer than a brother. Even when we feel as though all the world has deserted us, we always have a friend by our side watching over us, protecting us, and loving us. Jesus will never desert us because He is our brother.

Chad

Faith

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

In Matthew 17 we read about Jesus healing a boy possessed with an evil spirit. As Jesus approached the crowd a man came to him and asked Jesus to, “Have pity on my son.” He tells Jesus that his son suffers a great deal and he had already brought the boy to the disciples, but they could not heal him. Jesus in one command healed the boy immediately. The disciples came to Jesus later and asked Him why they could not heal the boy. They had probably tried but they doubted whether they could do anything without Jesus beside them. Jesus told them why they were not successful, and it is probably the same reason we often fail. Jesus told them, “Because you have so little faith.” He did not say, “You tried your best or you almost healed him.” Jesus even goes on to tell them that it only takes a little faith. If they had only had faith as small as a mustard seed they could have healed the sick boy, but also could have moved a mountain. Jesus tells the disciples that it would have only taken a very small amount of faith to heal the boy, but all of them together did not have enough.

The disciples had been witnesses to many of Jesus’ miracles and had even been able to heal other people before. What was different about this child or this moment in time? The disciples had been with the crowd and a group of men who were teachers of the law had been arguing with them. Maybe the disciples had become frustrated with the teachers and their arguments had made them doubt what they believed. When they were confronted with the sick boy their faith had become replaced with doubt. After all, the smartest people in the town had told them they were foolish for following a man that was a scam. They let a few words by the teachers create doubt in the faith they had built through witnessing the miracles.

I think the same thing happens in our world today. We have seen the miracles that God causes to happen in our lives and built a great amount of faith but, when confronted by someone with opposite views, our faith begins to weaken. We are also told by the world that a faithful person is also a foolish person. After all, according to many, only a foolish person would trust what they cannot see. I think God knows our faith will be mighty at times and weak at others. We may ask "why?" on many occasions and on others we can see His works. But in Matthew 17:20 He tells us to have faith as small as a mustard seed and nothing will be impossible, even moving a mountain.

Chad

RIP 007

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 1st Timothy 6:17

As I was driving to work a few mornings ago I heard a report on the news about the death of Roger Moore. Mr. Moore was 89 years old and is known all around the world as James Bond or simply as 007. I was sad to hear about the passing of one of my childhood and adulthood heroes. By the time I arrived at work I could feel the weight of the world on my shoulders as I realized that I would be alone to save the world from all the evil villains! I was relieved to know that Jaws, the guy with the metal teeth, had already been defeated by 007 so I would not have to fight him. Bond, James Bond was a fictional character from movies but maybe we can learn a few things from his life in Her Majesty’s Secret Service and generally saving the world from evil.

First of all, James Bond was ready for any situation and was never caught off-guard by his attacker. Maybe it was the army of assassins who tried to kill him while he was skiing in “The Spy Who Loved Me” or the beautiful woman who appeared to be in love but suddenly turned on him in every movie. He always seemed to know what was about to happen long before it actually happened. In Matthew 24:44 we are told, So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Our Savior will return in an instant at a moment we do not expect, so we must be constantly ready and prepared to greet Him. We also already know our attacker and we have the weapon of prayer to defeat him.

The second quality we can learn from 007 is to be daring. Mr. Bond always decided on a course of action, acted immediately without hesitation, and adjusted his plan as the circumstances changed. However, he never regretted or doubted his original plan. We should also search for God’s plan for our lives, go about that plan with full commitment, and be willing to adjust as God directs us. But never regret or doubt the original course He had for you.

The third quality we can learn from James Bond is to always finish what you started. When 007 set his mind to a mission, saving the world from annihilation, or defeating an evil villain he always finished the job. He never worried about the lengths he would have to go to complete the job or the toll it would take on him personally. In 2nd Corinthians 8:11 Paul tells us, “Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it.” We are also here on a mission and each of us is expected to complete the mission regardless of the circumstances presented to us or the personal toll it takes from us.

Last, not least, but maybe the most important quality we can learn from Bond is to go when called and don’t worry about minor things. The James Bond movies are filled with scenes of 007 arriving to a fancy hotel and checking into a beautiful room with no luggage. Soon after arriving he would be in a fight for his life with an assassin sent to kill him. Of course, Bond would win the fight but would have several cuts on his face and his expensive suit would be bloody and torn. However, Bond would appear very soon in a new suit, clean from the brutal fight, with no sign of damage to his face. 007 did not worry about packing for his missions but relied on his survival skills, resourcefulness, and charm to get all he needed. After all, he is James Bond, 007! We are told in Matthew 6:34 to not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself and each day has enough trouble of it’s own. We do not have to rely on the magic of television because we have a Heavenly Father who promises to provide all we need and He proves himself to us daily.

"Maybe I am not too old to be a double-nought spy!" Jethro Bodine-Beverly Hillbillies

Chad