Partners in Hope

As we prayerfully review our lives with God, He will reveal where we have caused harm, and when we need to make amends with someone. He will also teach us new ways to live in relationship with Him and others.

This love recognizes the gifts that God gives each person, and our need for one another, so we can be complete

One of the best ways to overcome temptation is to stay as far away from what tempts us as we possibly can.

The best invitation we will ever receive is the one to follow the way of Jesus and to allow His grace and character to be more and more reflected in all we do and say. God invites us to leave all manner of ugliness behind – which is a good thing to do in itself – I mean, who wants the ugly dirty bits?  But, then on top of that God describes so many promises of blessing that will result. 

How deeply are we longing to be in close fellowship with God?  How willing are we to put aside things that we like to have, activities that we like to do, people we like to be with, for something that is greater?  To what degree are we willing to inconvenience ourselves on behalf of helping others? These are fair questions at any point, on any day, but they are so appropriate in our times when everyone seems to want and fight for what works for them and sometimes fail to see the impact of our wishes on others.

Sadness is one of the most common human emotions and can be difficult to deal with.  The feeling itself brings a burden and often the memory of the event that caused the sadness presses down on our hearts.  It's interesting that the Bible talks about both a bad and a good sadness. How are we to know the difference and how are we to deal with each of them?