Hope For Today

God blesses those who work for peace.  We all want to live in God’s blessing so let’s give ourselves to working for peace today. 

On our own, without God, we are sick and in need of healing.  We are weak, sinful, and often crazy.  We need to be forgiven, cleansed, and enlightened by the truth of God’s word. If we are to live from a pure heart, we need to let the Bible be our handbook and do what it says without compromise.

Mercy is the act of being compassionate or kind toward someone who does not deserve it.  God showed mercy towards us by sending Jesus into the world, not to condemn us for our sin, but to save us from it. This is the source of true and enduring peace. It’s our model in responding to others in a way that brings peace to all of us.

As we move through Jesus’ list of the kind of attitudes we should have and act on we come to the one that says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Whenever we become conscious of our failures and the harms we have caused others, whether that’s through an inventory of our character defects or just the to and fro of daily life, then a well of deep sorrow may overwhelm us. The only question to ask ourselves that really matters in that moment is, “Am I saddened enough by the painful mess I am in to be willing to come before God and admit that I am powerlessness over my self-willed ways?”

To be “poor in spirit” means that we come to an honest understanding of who we are without God in our life.  We recognize that we are powerless to do life on our own. We no longer deny what we have done in the past, but humbly admit the exact nature of our wrongs to God and ask for His forgiveness.

Who of us doesn’t need strength, today and any day.  Isn’t it wonderful to know that God answers us as soon as we pray?  He encourages us, gives us strength, and cares for us.But I take note of the one condition – God does that for those who are humble, admitting their need and asking for His help.  Those who are proud and think they don’t need help are on their own.

God is giving us another chance today to humbly acknowledge our shortcomings and ask Him to remove them. I’m grateful to live today in the care of God, the God of another chance, aren’t you?

God tells the truth and helps us to get ready for what we will face. Doing the right thing often isn’t convenient.  Sometimes we put a vision in our minds of hardship and overwhelming pain and decide we did not want to deal with it, at any cost. But God has a good way forward for us.

It’s not uncommon in our society these days to have our character shaped by isolation and getting our own way in whatever way we can. It's challenging to live in agreement with people who have ideas and ways of doing things that are different from our way.  For healthy relationships to be formed and maintained we need to develop the character quality of co-operation.

Jesus teaches that the most basic hunger in life is the need to know and live as God intends. Whether we admit it or not, the guilt and shame that comes from living life out of sync with God's purposes leaves us feeling edgy and dissatisfied.  We know something is wrong but we're not sure what. God can help us make things right.