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Hope in hopeless times
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 10.14.2006
      I would have fainted unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. My hope is in Him, and He is an anchor that gives me steadfast hope not only is this life but for life after death. Yes, we live forever. Our body dies but we live on in one of two places - heaven or hell. Both are real places and what we believe determines which one we go to when we die. Everyone who puts their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior will have a sure hope of going to heaven.
     Three things last forever: faith, hope and love. Hope is the "glue" that keeps our faith and love strong. The greatest is love. Hope is like peanut butter that holds two pieces of bread together in a sandwich. Hope is an anchor for our faith and love. 
     Don't allow yourself to give up over troubles, pain or grief. Put your hope in God and He will sustain you.
New Year
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 01.01.2007
It’s here! Ready or not it came. New Year’s Day reminds me of playing hide and seek when I was a child. I bet you played the game too. “It” closes their eyes and counts to 100 while everyone hides. “Coming ready or not!” shouts “It.” Then the hunt is on to tag the “hiders” and beat them back to base.

Did you make a list of resolutions to live by? A start to accomplish what you failed to do in “06” gets us on track for awhile. Maybe if we posted our list where it would constantly remind us we would do better, but lets face it. We soon forget that sorry list and get on with life.

St Paul had a good resolution. He wrote, “...I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me….forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

Lets ask the Lord what His goals are for our lives. He has a plan and purpose for everyone of us. And He is good! We can trust Him. So ask and it will be given. That’s His promise.
Be Make New
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 01.15.2007
The way we thought and acted before we became a Christian is like “grave clothes” that we want to put off. Our attitude toward our old way of life will change as we read and study the Bible. In it we get to know the Lord and recognize sin in our life. That is a good thing because we confess our sins to Him and are forgiven. There is nothing greater than to be cleansed from our sims.

“Blessed is the one whose transgressions is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity and in whose spirit there is not deceit.” ( The rest of Psalm 32 describes more of sweet relief when we confess our sins. Read it and be blessed)

The old feelings of separation from God may creep back into our life. We know our weakness and failure to be a “good” Christian. The harder we try to change ourself the more we fail. We are changed by faith. That is by believing God’s word recorded in the Bible. Believing helps makes us strong in faith. This is why we need serious time reading the Bible. It is “soul food” that nourishes and makes strengthens us so we can put off the old sins that trip us up.

Decide today that you will start reading the Bible. The New Testament is the best place to start. Then read Psalms and Proverbs. When you go through these sections of the Bible you will want to know more about the first books in the Bible.
Where do I find hope
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 01.24.2008
Everyone has troubles and needs hope for a good outcome to problems. James opens his letter with encouragement for us. He wrote, "is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete" (James 1:2-4) This is Living Bible paraphrase, so if you need help read the whole letter written by the Lord's brother. It is very practical for everyday problems, and gives encouragement for our trials and troubles.

"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we pray for is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead." (The Living Bible) Faith and hope are two nearly identical phrases saying nearly the same thing.

So, give your patience a chance to grow and face you problems with courage for the Lord is near and hears your prayers.
The Greatest Thing
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 01.24.2008
There are three things that last forever: faith, hope and love. The greatest of the three is love. We can not live without love. If a man and woman didn't fall in love there would be no families. But we do "fall in love," get married and have children. Lasting love between a couple needs help from the Source of love.The source is God.

One of the greatest revelations in the Bible is "God is love." Think about it! God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son that we might be saved from the penalty of our sins! Just knowing this is only the beginning of experiencing the love of God. The one requirement of us is that we believe that Father God love us and that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. To express our faith we pray and thank God for the greatest gift ever given - eternal life - that we receive when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and come into our heart.

That is the beginning our knowing Father God. We get to know Him more and more as we "feed" on His words. And His word is the Bible. Reading, studying and memorizing it is like eating three times a day. If we don't eat we will die. Spiritually the same is true. We take into our mind the Word of God by reading, studying and meditating on the Word. Then our spiritual life and faith will grow stronger.
Encouragement and Hope
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 01.25.2008
If we only listen to TV news reports and read the news papers we loose hope of anything ever helping our country and the mess the whole world is in. We must read the Book God wrote so we can be free from fear, worry and anxiety. God is the God of hope who brought again our Lord Jesus from the dead, and He will raise our mortal bodies on that "great getting-up morning." If in this life only we have hope we are most miserable. The sure future of true believers is certain. We will be with the Lord forever.

In the meantime we have hope "through the blood of His cross." This certain hope gives us courage to keep on keeping on in our daily life. Our "hope of glory" is in the indwelling Spirit of Christ which is the guarantee to each believer of future glory. And He is here personally with each of us, encouraging, strengthening, guiding, and protecting us every moment of the day and night.

Keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Turn to Him at every opportunity. The only thing that makes us feel separated from Him is unconfessed sin. He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins when we ask. Always ask Him to be in control of your life after you have confessed your sin. On our own we will always fail.
Encouragement and Hope
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 02.01.2008
Everyone gets discourage about something in life that is not working out the way they hoped. We worry about our children making it safely through teenage years. There are so many wrong paths they might take and ruin their life. What is a parent to do? This was not King David problem, but he was discouraged and wrote, "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." (Ps. 27:13)

There are so many problems in the world that soon as we get one thing under control something else breaks down. None of us have as many troubles as Job did, yet he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."

I hope we all will be faithful to trust the Lord even as Job and David did when all our "toys" or loved ones who are taken from us.

Psalm 27 closes with this admonition: "Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD." We can encourage ourself in the Lord like David did.
A Resting Place
by Janie Buck
Topic: Hope
Date: 12.17.2008
Oh! Is there anything that is permanent! Something I can trust that will last forever! Do you ever feel this way? Most people do so don’t worry. Everyone needs a safe place. Home should be that place where one can shut out troubles and rest, but often it is not so. We all get weary and tired. Our body requires rest and sleep. Also our soul must find a resting place.

A song that you may have sung in church describes this place. “My faith has found a resting place, not is device or creed. I trust the ever living One….” That is the answer – trust the Lord. Faith in Him and trust in His care are bedrock to built our life on.

“If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (Isa. 7:9). The Lord said this to one of the greatest prophets, and we would do well to take it to heart. No one likes a “wishy washy” person who is blown about with every fad that comes along. Stand firm in faith! Trust the Lord in spite of what is going on in your life. He will see you through all you problems.


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