Psalm 39:7 And now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
Psalm 71:5 You are my hope, O LORD God; You are my trust from my youth.Now hope does not disappoint
Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord is.
Romans 5:3- 5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, charactier; and cahracter, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our heaerts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one LORD, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
1 John 3:2, 3 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
HOPE. . . . He Offers Peace Eternal
How blessed we are to know good times, and to know God and what His plans are for us. Well, I don’t always know His plans, other than that “they are good and to prosper me and not to harm me.” So that is a wonderful hope to hold onto tightly.
I have always enjoyed the benefits of being an American. During my growing years, we were the #1 country, and led the world as the country who would go in and help another country in its trouble, and most other countries turned to us, respected us. And, I did not know a lot about other countries then, but I remember being proud to be an American and wanted to do my part, whatever that might be as I got older and gained responsibility.
I was very self centered then and cannot imagine doing without as so many others throughout the world routinely do. It was a huge surprise to learn of the unrest and starvation of many—Ethiopia, Kenya, and the abuse within. It was then I realized there are many in this world who have little hope. That was an uncomfortable realization since I always had an abundance (even if parents had said no to things, I had plenty!). But there were horrible, terrible things causing people to suffer—hunger, no or little clothing, no real home protection, and certainly no hope. Guilt was a big part of the horror I felt looking at those forlorn children, suffering and hungry and getting little relief. HOw could we (as a neighborhood, a family, a community, state, country. . .) let this continue? And there were many who were trying to help these horrifc situations. But I was so thankful, but I knew hope. I knew hope in many various, but positive forms.
I wanted a new something—fill in any blank. I may have been told no, but knew I would eventually get something, not just materialistic; I would reach the age when yes, now you can start dating; yes, now you can go for your license and start driving with learners permit and parental assist. . . Always I had hope, and never experienced not having appropriate clothing—winter and snow gear, boots, a few paris of mittens and hats, and the knowledge of probably hot chocolate or soup, and warm clothing, hot bath, and snuggly jammies when you got in, with all the electricty working and the furnace on so house was toasty. I had never had to really hope for something intangible and life sustaining. My hopes were all self centered and mostly selfish.
Becoming a Christian, well, that’s been a process. Certainly, I found it hard to believe that by proclaiming sins and confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior and following His word was enough. I must have to never swear, never say another unkind thing, must never do . . . It could NOT be enough to believe, confess and then be saved. So, like most, I struggled to do better—failing and then guffering that guilt—then asking for help to succeed, failing again, and vicious cycle. Always having hope, but not fully knowing I was saved without working toward any goal to achieve my salvation. It was a done deal. I do strive to be better than I was, but now it is because I would love to be able to emulate His love to others.
In our country, although things are changing and many folks are criticizing Christians, there is still hope here. I cannot imagine a country like many, China and so forth who want to deny there is a God who has arranged our eternal salvation, and has blessed us. But there are countries where it is forbidden, and there are missionaries passing the word of HOPE to those residents. My hope and prayer is this country will never see the free word of God withheld from our residents. Our Lord is mighty and can smight this as He is always in charge. This country was founded by many who sought religious freedoms, the right to proclaim God is the only sovereign Creator, and there are no others; and He alone, with His Son and the Holy Spirit, the trinity of God are alone to be honored and glorified.
They left their native lands with HOPE for a new life and the ability to honor and serve and love Him as they believed was right. Lord, I am blessed I never really had to HOPE for anything that was not easily provided such as Your daily bread, Your living word and life giving Water, and Your directional Light and guidance. Thank You for the blessings You have heaped on me and ‘mybellaviews.’
1 Samuel 2:3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Philippians 2:3 So nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant that yourself {Pharisees}
James 4:16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
I think many of us believe we are in charge of our lives and our part of the world. We are educated and trained to get a profession, to work hard, to make goals and work toward them. Many look at marriage, joining personal and couple goals together and working toward an achievement committed by both for the greater good of both. Perhaps they work toward a home and maybe filling it with a couple of children. Maybe the goal is live and work hard, then travel frequently. We are each individuals with some similarities, but have different histories, different goals and dreams, different time management ideas, and we expect we will succeed. That’s the part many have issue with, I think. We are not always in charge. God is. We are supposed to be following the path He has set for us.
Our pastor thought he would study psychology and was all into it. God had other ideas, and let him know that the path he thought he should take was NOT the path God wanted him to take. And I for one, am very glad. He’s an awesome preacher/teacher/person.
Things happen, sometimes tragically, that change our path. It might be an accident, maiming in a war, some kind of crime you were exposed to and suffered, you may have never wished to marry and then meet the soulmate you did not realize you were looking for, but all sorts of things can happen in life that change our direction we have so arrogantly and confidently laid out.
God has a plan and a direction we are not made aware of until something happens to upset the path we have chosen. We are a cocky and arrogant bunch. At least here and in much of Europe, we believe we are in charge of our lives, our children’s’ lives, and we are rudely caught off guard when something unexpected happens and goal train is de-railed.
Sometimes it is this derailment which brings us to seek God and ask ‘why’ and maybe finally, ‘OK, so what now? Where do I go from here? What’s Your plan?’
Certainly, I can call myself arrogant. Although I recognize God is in charge, I make my plans and perfectly believe they will be carried out. But if something interferes with those plans, I can be cranky, confused, even angry. That is really beyond arrogant; it is being a spoiled brat, expecting to have my way for all time. But my way may certainly NOT be God’s way or direction for me. I need to seek Him daily; determine what He wants me to fulfill, and if it is different than my plans, I better smoothly alter my original; as God will certainly throw up interference. You do remember Jonah saying no? He ran a great distance but he didn’t escape. I would prefer to learn my lesson by absorbing Jonah’s tale than seeing what would happen if I chose not to do as God directed.
Adam and Eve were arrogant enough to think they could be just like God by eating of the tree of Knowledge. For them too, the choice to act arrogantly and against God got them into trouble, years of trouble.
Maybe because God gifted us with reason and a higher mental acuity, we think we can rule all in our lives. We can rule a lot. We set the acceptable and non acceptable rules for our household, and we can enforce those standards. But in the long run, we should be prepared to have our paths of arrogance interrupted and learn to seek God’s will, or just try to be humble and search Him for how He wants you to serve His kingdom.
Lamentations 3:31-32 For the Lord will not reject forever, for if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant loving kindness.
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
This has been a week fraught with some sorrow, some relief, and a lot of beauty. I love October and certainly the weather here and in eastern Tennessee has been gorgeous. I enjoyed some quality time with a good friend and her family, did some shopping, and had safe travels, but came home to some sad news.
My granddaughter battles with depression and anorexia. She had been home for a couple of weeks, and was going back into the inpatient program. This time when she got there, she fought her parents and it took an hour and a half to convince her to get out and to go into the place. Part of the thought process for her dismay and anger this time is that a long trip is planned for Disney in November, and they will be leaving in seven weeks. Generally, she is inpatient for at least three. Her parents think she was frightened she would not be able to go on the trip. When she is out of the facility, she has to “meet” with her counselors and teachers each day via ZOOM meetings from 8:30-2:30. Certainly, nobody would want to wait for her and just hang around the hotel until she was done. Normally, on these trips the kids run about fairly freely as long as they stay in pairs. It seems once she received the reassurance the pan was still she would go, she buckled down and is doing well.
I learned my childhood best friend was in the hospital with COVID and not doing well with poor oxygenation and trying her on different treatments. She initially was refusing to be intubated, but after struggling to get sufficient air in and becoming increasingly exhausted, she relented and has been intubated since Wednesday. Thankfully, she and her family know the Lord and celebrate Him regularly, and for that, I am grateful. Just as I finished the verses above for this, my friend’s husband contacted me that Donna had passed this afternoon, Sunday, Oct 24, 2021.
After bible study several of us went out to eat. We are not meeting for a couple of weeks as our leader is having surgery, so we wanted a get-together before the separation. I vaguely heard of a plane crash in the area, and although said a quick prayer for anyone to not be hurt, I was more surprised that we had an active, albeit small airport that close. Anyway, the next morning to my dismay, I learned that one of our church members had been on that plane and had not survived. I was familiar with this person and said hello, but never really spoken with him. But somehow that knowledge weighed me down. He has at least one son, multiple friends and people who care about him, and my heart ached for all those folks. Although the heaviness stayed, I knew in part I should be thankful since I know he was welcomed into Jesus’ arms on Thursday. And I am grateful for that. If one has to pass from this life, even at such a young age, and so suddenly, there is a peace knowing he is in heaven.
I wondered if that was just the last piece of breaking my peace for a day or so. Certainly, although familiar, I did not know this man. My heart ached at the loss; my thoughts returned to his family, and knowing one son was also onboard the plane when it crashed and had only minor injuries, thankfully. But I can’t imagine his devastation, confusion and loss.
I will look at the place he always stood when singing or playing his harmonica, and feel the loss. I am thankful he was active in our church, active in one of the bands, and a believer. My heart grieves for his family and friends, and I will keep them on my prayer list for a long time. But I know he is home, and rejoicing with that harmonica! It’s his family and friends I pray for. But, we can all be thankful because he knew God!
So, my heart is heavy this lovely October day. I pray for my friend, (although she is now safe in the arms of our Savior, our hearts hurt) my lovely granddaughter and for this young man who was so tragically taken, and for Bill and his family. God has a plan and He always can make good things come from things that are not so good initially. Prayers for these families who are under stress, discouragement, loss, and hurt. I love and trust You, Lord. Thank You for the knowledge I have that You are in charge and have worked for my good, even when I have messed up. You are constant and loving and good for me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Isaiah 64:8 Yet you, LORD are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give you.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Many folks, including myself, wonder what we are doing here? You must have a purpose for me, Lord. What can I do? How can I serve? What specifically, did You design me to be, to do? Your word says, “I have a plan for you. A plan to prosper and not to hurt.” It’s straight out of Jeremiah. I have requoted it to You often; but have not heard back. Have I not heard back because I have something blocking Your voice? Is there a hidden sin, a continuous sin, I am not spending ANY time listening to You when I pray? What? Please what?
So long before we were created, God had a plan for us. He picked us out, designed us for His purpose and watched as we navigated through life, with our ability to make free choices, which He gave us, and made our mistakes. He knocked at our door, He placed people in our lives to plant seeds of His care and love, He made all sorts of things happen so we could see, He is the only safe and sensible choice to make. But that is not always the case. Many choose not see Him as omniscient, Creator, ever present, Deliverer, and Infinite. Because He is an incomprehensible entity, we cannot imagine His kind of love and forgiveness. He loves us so much, without us loving Him one iota initially, and yet He wants us. He gave His Son for us…with our independent and arrogant freewill.
How scary to not believe based on your limited misunderstandings. That grieves my heart.
But God has a plan for each of us. He designed us for His plan while living our lives. And that delivers the best of both worlds—His plan and design and our own wants, needs, and dreams blessed.
It’s amazing how different my views and thoughts are since I learned God loves me and sent His Son to accept all my sins and rottenness, to die in my place. He did WHAT? FOR ME? But, no, that can’t be. No one would die for me, how absurd to think someone would suffer in MY place!
So even though I felt the jump and awe of being chosen, I did not fully believe. Maybe this was like a carnival roller coaster and that feeling, that thrill would disappear. But, is this for real?
I enjoyed a euphoric feeling for a couple of days and wanted to learn more. But where to begin? I began reading the bible on my own; that was not so successful. I found much of the Old Testament to read as ‘blah, blah, blah.’ I truly needed some guidance and was not attending a church that offered any education or help. I began following a female tv evangelist who began successfully teaching me things and connecting some dots I didn’t even realize I needed to connect.
This was the start of an awesome journey for me. From this teacher, I found another church which offered biblical teaching via the sermons, as well as bible studies and small bible study groups. I initially was a green bud on a rose stem, then opened enough to see some color at the edges. Hmm, cream, pink, pale yellow or what? But slowly, the bud unfurled, more color was shown, and the bud fully opened to reveal a beautiful blossom. And because I was attached to a bush, suddenly there were more buds and blossoms in varying degrees of openness, and the bush was thriving. I was and continue to learn!
I needed to read and learn more. The more I read, the more I learned, sometimes questioned, and in all honesty, as I wrote various questions down that I did not fully understand, I often got answers in a sermon, in a small group, and in other ways—once it was in a dream, and looking up two verses, my question was answered. WOW!
One needs to read, attend a biblically based teaching church, spend time with a group of folks who are in varying stages of bible learning—new Christians, older, more read Christians, and those who have had many of their questions answered, their minds opened. . . but we NEED the teaching, the experience and testimony of others, the learning each and every time we open His living words. God wants to teach us, He wants us to know Him better, He wants a RELATIONSHIP, a sharing.
I believe everyone who finds the Lord, and realizes that Jesus agreed to sacrifice His life on a cross for YOU, for ME, for ALL, are humbled, grateful, and overwhelmed.
I have many verses I can quote, not always so I can state verse location, but in this day and age, that is easy to find by typing in the verse in my phone, it will spew out the results…some of my favorites are Phil 4:6, Romans 12:12, Psalm 27:14. . . the ones I love are pertinent to my needs.
I feel we should all have verses we pull when we need. Those are some of my favorites, but again, I usually have to type in the verse to find the location, or pull out my 6 page list that I’ve typed my favorites on. My knowledge continues to grow with reading each year. I follow a plan to read the bible in a year’s time, and use several different methods—chronological, reading OT, Psalm, Proverbs, and NT. Reading chronologically has made my history understanding more prevalent. But I find each time, I discover more and deeper words to further my relationship. It took several years for me to realize He CHOSE me, I didn’t choose first. l do believe He calls many, but many choose not to follow. That’s sad. But free choice…
So, I want to thank You, Father, for choosing me, for pre-ordaining me to be one of your chosen and Your loving words. Certainly, they have thankfully, changed my life and that of ‘mybellaviews.’
Genesis 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning–the first day.
Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
Proverbs 13:9 The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
John 8:12 Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 12:46 “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
It amazes and pleases me how my understanding of the bible grows each time I read it. For the past several years I have read the bible in a year’s time. I have used various methods, initially reading a section from OT, Psalms, and a couple Proverbs, and then sections of the New Testament. However, last year, I found a plan that had you reading it chronologically, and I found my understanding of the history of the time period increased, made more sense, and it was easier for me to find other information to increase my understanding. For me, the chronological read has helped me find better correlation, better comprehension. Even though the books, say 1 Kings compared to 1 Chronicles has been written by different people, the versions are dealing with something happening in Israel or Judah at the same time, so I can see the sameness and gain a better, more clear perspective. Jeremiah is credited with authoring 1 Kings, while Ezra was originally thought to write 1 Chronicles. Basically, the same time period and circumstances, but I find it wonderful that both authors stress the disobedience and no longer honoring and revering God. So different perspectives slightly, but the same messages.
I did not correlate the light being made in Genesis with the Light of Christ, the never ending Son/Sun–he is always shining. He is the Light, the Truth and the Way. Then once God was finalizing, after He had separated the land and waters, the sky and earth, he then further created the bright light for day and the lesser for night, as well as the stars. It was awesomely put together and I didn’t fully grasp it even reading it on my own over the years, but am in a bible study now on the first several books of Genesis, and presently, on our third week, we are still reading and studying the first two chapters. And I love it. But certainly, am realizing that light truly defeats darkness, and Jesus is the Light that has beaten Satan’s darkness.
There is SO much in these chapters, these verses, these words inspired by God the Creator for us, His chosen people. He loves us and wants our understanding and to have us realize He wants to have a relationship with us. I want that too. My eyes discover new lessons each time now that my brain has been opened. I am so amazed that so many people authored these books, all inspired by God, and therefore one runs into the same messages, by different speakers, sometimes many years apart.
For instance, there are many verses stating that the Israelites, the persons He chose to love and care for, and gave rules for them to obey, and to serve Him only as God, not idols, not handmade talismans. He alone is Creator. But those verses on He chose the ones, BEFORE we were born. For years, I did not see that He CHOSE us; I thought I chose to follow Him.
Wow! Must be true since it is repeated often and in several different books, but several different authors. And what of all the prophecies of Jesus coming, a Messiah would lead and free them. And He did, but certainly not in the manner us blood-thirsty people thought. He freed with love and with sacrificing His life to atone for OUR sins.
How often is Jesus referred to as Shepherd, and then explains how a good shepherd loves and cares for His sheep, and he knows each of them, and they all know their shepherd. It’s repeatedly commanded to not fear, have courage, and go forward. (Is 41:10, Joshua 1:9, 11:6, Numbers 13:20 to list a few) How many references to not being angry and holding grudges and judgment on others is mentioned? (Psalm 37:8, Prov 14:29, Prov 15:18, Ecc 7:9 to list a few). God repeats the same things because it is important for us to know and realize these things; it is important for us to know and realize He remains steady for always. God doesn’t change, He does not bow to pleading, begging or bargaining. What He says and has commanded these various authors to say is important. It helps us realize the message does not change; none of it has changed in 2000 years. He loves, He chose us, He wants us to be free of chains and to follow Him wholeheartedly. Only doing some things, obeying some of His commands, is not obeying. It must be fully obeyed, or it is disobedience.
But His word becomes clearer to me each time I read it, each bible study I take, and eventually my mind is cleared to answer questions I may have as I read. But they get answered after a time.
I am so happy I continued reading even when I did not understand much in the beginning. God lead me in directions where I learned more, found bible based teaching churches, encouraged me to attend bible studies, and things opened. I’m so grateful for Your words, my salvation and all the blessings for me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Hi, I'm Kathy. Welcome to my website!