Various Articles
“Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24
Hope isn’t really hope unless it is our internal guidance system; our life GPS. It is hope in what is to come, but it first of all is hope in “the God of hope” Romans 15:13. Hope in the God of all hope, and hope in what He promises us in the future, filters down into the reality of our existence today. If that hope doesn’t affect us, then it is suspect as to whether it really is hope at all.
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They are obscure names that we know very little about. Names like Amariah, Iddo, Sallu, and Amok - names difficult to pronounce. They are listed in Nehemiah 12, and they made significant contributions in their day. Some were of a priestly line. Some were musicians and worship leaders. Some had helped rebuild a broken wall. All faithfully and wholeheartedly served the LORD God.
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February 5th. Hollywood Presbyterian declared an internal state of emergency.
It is believed the hospital got a malware infection called ransomware through someone opening an infected e-mail or from someone visiting an infected website.
Once it was on one computer, it got into the hospital’s network and went everywhere it could while it remained hidden. It would have found all hard drives, data and files that it could. It would have communicated back to the command and control server and then encrypted everything it could get its hands on. Then a screen would pop up explaining to the hospital staff that all their files were locked until a bitcoin payment is sent.
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A gospel song declares, "Joy real joy God's wonderful joy Is flooding the depths of my soul A joy that brings peace and contentment God's wonderful wonderful joy."
Not everyone can say they know the truth of these words. Even though joy is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5.22-23), it sometimes seems in short supply.
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O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
The lyrics of this song are haunting. Of all the Christmas music that we hear this time of year this one touches me more than any.
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"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast” Hebrews 6:19.
When the storms of life threaten to wrench everything from us that is solid and secure, hope keeps us solidly grounded. Even amidst the greatest gale force winds of adversity, hope prevents the underpinnings of our life from coming undone when we need it most.
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"Discovering and integrating real hope in uncertain times affects everything we do and are. It directs and redirects our talents and abilities, time and priorities, material values and investments. Hope infuses our lives with joy and peace, such as we have never previously known. Knowing how all will ultimately turn out brings peace that the process will take us there.
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If you had the chance to seek closure about a difficult situation from your past, is there anything that would cause you to pass it up?
I’m not sure where this idea of ‘closure’ even came from. Is it just a cop-out to avoid dealing with hurt, to escape taking responsibility for our own healing? Or could it be that, deep down, we just want to know why.
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Hollywood, an iconic landmark sign. It is on Mount Lee is the Santa Monica Mountains.
HOLLYWOODLAND was spelled out in 45 foot tall capital letters. It was created in 1923 as an advertisement for a local real estate development. The same type of sign had worked well in the past for them at Whitney Heights. It was meant to last a hear and a half, but became an international symbol, so was left up.
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"I remember, as a young college student, discovering a Bible verse that spoke to me about hope: “Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely.” Job 11:18. Hope, it said to me, was basis for trust and secure rest. Whatever the uncertain future held, it need not be cause for fear and sleeplessness. Hope offered certainty amidst uncertainty.
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When your wife gets home and you ask how it went and her reply is, “Terrible, I cried the whole way home.” … the right thing to do is hug her. Thank you, God, that I have a husband who knows this.
Have you ever stepped out to do something that was out of your comfort zone, hoping that you’d be rewarded for your courage only to be shot down? Yeah. That. I’m not talking about outright personal rejection, just something going in a generally sucky way.
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The men at our church have a monthly men’s breakfast and my husband is in charge of finding videos to watch and discuss with the group. Often, I get to preview them with him, and sometimes come across a gem like this that I end up using myself to teach with.
It’s called Black Genocide in 21st Century America. And this video was so thought-provoking and moving that I used it to teach a women’s class, showed it at the Family Camp we attend and it was the basis of the class I taught at the teen youth camp this summer.
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