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Scripture Readings:"Mark 1:1-4, Isaiah 9:6-7" HOPE and Wait,  WAIT and Hope The first Advent reading each year is usually about hope. Have you ever stopped to think about HOPE, what it means, what is required?  Hebrews 6:19 calls hope an anchor saying “ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hope is an anchor for our soul. Hope is what keeps us going when things are tough. Hope is the engine that makes us want to persevere. But hope requires waiting.   Hope is the anticipation of a future something. Without waiting there is no hope. We wait for visits from family or friends.   We wait for test results from the doctor. we wait for the birth of a new grandchild.   And we hope. For fun times, good outcomes, a beautiful baby. We have hope in our waiting. But waiting is required . Wait a minute. Wait a month. Or even years or lifetimes. We don’t like to wait, whether it’s in traffic or the waiting room, or in line at the store....
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My Psalm 51

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Merciful God, You are gracious and merciful.               You alone are fully righteous and holy. I am lowly and sin-stained.               I am deserving of your wrath. Be patient with me. Be merciful to me.               Mete out Your judgment in Your mercy                              Not the wrath I deserve. When I close my eyes and try to cover my shame,               Remind me of Your holiness. When I struggle to admit my failings to follow You as You deserve,               Rebuke and correct m...
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Consider the Source

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When I was very young my mom told me many times to "consider the source". I always took it to mean that the other "source" was somehow less than me. I don't know that is how she meant it, but that is how I took it. He or she wasn't worth my hurt feelings because they weren't as good as me in some way, or worth as much as me in some way. Of course as an adult, I completely understand how my childish understanding was skewed.  However, I do believe in the statement "consider the source".  Let me give a few examples why "considering the source" is helpful. A person who has never had a cavity requiring a dentist to fill it may not understand why another person doesn't look forward to going to the dentist.   A person living in California may not understand why a person from the Midwest might have reservations about visiting the San Andreas fault area. The person in the Midwest might not understand why a person from California might...
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Refine gold in me

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Several things today popped up about being refined. I listened to a sermon this morning about digging deep into your thoughts and motivations then got home and started reading devotions. The first book I picked up is called Everyday Life in Bible Times .  I haven't picked up this book for months. It is a beautiful book of pictures and rich descriptions of things, terms, and concepts in the Bible. I started where I left off last time I read it. The word was smelt (to refine metal). Next, in my chronological Bible , I am to a grouping of Proverbs full of verses about examining motives and the heart and references to refining.  Proverbs 16:2   All a person’s ways seem pure to them,      but motives are weighed  by the  Lord . Proverbs 17:3   The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,      but the  Lord  tests the heart. Proverbs 27:21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for  gold ,  ...
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Hope Anchors

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I often say that I hope this happens or that happens. Sometimes I get corrected. "Don't you mean you'll pray about it" or some other correction. People want to call my faith into question when I say "I hope". That is wrong thinking. To have hope is to have faith. I hope because I have faith. Hope is part of my faith.  Hope anchors my faith. We have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure .  Hebrews 6:19a NIV What is hope? How does it anchor our soul? For me, hope bubbles up from my faith that God is good, that God knows best, that God has everything under control and that He loves me and desires all good for me.  In fact, He works all things for the good of those who love Him. Sometimes good has to be worked through. To get good, we have to strain and struggle. The butterfly won't fly if it doesn't work to get out of the cocoon as nature intended - I mean chrysalis, not cocoon. A toddler doesn't learn to walk unless allowed ...
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