Various Articles
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” Psalm 43.5
The repetition of the words, “despair” and “disturbed,” sound like a needle stuck on a scratched record: “despair” … click … “despair” … click …“disturbed” … click …“disturbed” …
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Potwin Kansas, a small town near Wichita there is a little 360 acre farm.
It has been owned by the Voglemen family for over 100 years. Joyce, 82 now rents out the property. She remembers when the first bathroom was put in. She wrote Sunday school lessons from this house. The farm contains a pasture, orchard, two barns and an old two-story house.
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Have you ever heard of the Okapi?
It has been described as a horse/zebra/giraffe.
Scientists say it's closely related to the giraffe with a much smaller neck. Note the zebra stripes are only in the areas with thinner skin… for fly protection like we learned on an earlier devotion…
While it was known about for a long time, scientists said it wasn’t a real animal and called it the African Unicorn, meaning just a tall story.
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“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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