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COUNTDOWN TO THANKSGIVING #3

~ truehopeminvod

2 Corinthians Chapter 4 Verses 15-18

For all things are for our sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 Let us remember to count our blessings – daily.  Not only during this season of “Thanksgiving”, but in every season.  The good times and the bad times.   As the old hymn says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings see what God has done!”

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries. 

Countdown to Thanksgiving

~ truehopeminvod

Psalm 95:1-7

O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,  let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods, in Whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Today if you would His voice, do not harden your hearts . . .

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries. 

Perfect Peace

~ truehopeminvod

Isaiah Chapter 26 Verses 3 and 4

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You?    Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.       (NLT)

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries

Grace, Peace, Blessing

~ truehopeminvod

Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 2 – 4     Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.     (NASB)   

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries. 

JOY! JOY! JOY!

~ truehopeminvod

Isaiah Chapter 12     

Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”

3 Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
[a]Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
5 Praise the Lord in song, for He has done [b]excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.      (NASB)

Please click here to hear Christ Tomlin’s “Joy to the World – Unspeakable Joy”.

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries. 

~ truehopeminvod

Mark Chapter 6 Verse 50     Immediately He spoke to them and said, “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”

Today’s verse comes from the well known account of Jesus “walking on the water”.   Scripture tells us that Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He was walking on the water and about to pass them during the “fourth watch of the night” – sometime between 3am and 6am – the darkest part of the night.   The disciples, many of whom were experienced fisherman, were in a boat struggling to cross the lake and had already been at it for several hours when Jesus showed up.    When they saw Him, they “cried out”, which is when Jesus spoke these awesome words of encouragement:  “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”!

What is it that you have been struggling with? 

Are you in the “darkest part of your night”?  

Do you feel like you can’t go on?   

If so, follow the example of the disciples and cry out to JESUS (Mark 6:49).    Know that HE won’t pass you by.   Just wait on HIM, listen to HIS Voice and “Take courage”!   The Lord is near those who call on HIM (Psalm 145:18).   Do not be afraid!

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries.  Thank you.

Choose Carefully

~ truehopeminvod

Proverbs Chapter 12 Verse 26 – The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.    (NIV)

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries.  Thank you.

No Good Thing

~ truehopeminvod

Psalm 84 Verses  11-12

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;  The LORD gives grace and glory;  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.   O LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!         (NASB)     

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries.  Thank you.

How Absurd!

~ truehopeminvod

Matthew 18 Verse 28-30   But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 

So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’

The first slave mentioned above is the one we discussed yesterday who had just been forgiven 10,000 talents and now he purposely went after another one of his fellow slaves for 100 denarii!?!?    Remember from yesterday that 1 talent = 15 years wages for a slave, so the first slaves debt was astronomical – a debt he could never pay.   This second servant owed only 100 denarii.   The value of 1 denarii is equivalent to 1 days wages for a servant, so in total the second slave owed 100 days wages to the first slave.   The servant who had just been forgiven an unfathomable amount was now unwilling to extend the same forgiveness to his fellow servant.

Seems ridiculous, doesn’t it?   Yet, how many times do we do the same exact same thing?

Remember this is a parable that Jesus was using to illustrate the importance of Forgiveness.   The King represents the Lord, both slaves represent Christians.   We see a Christian who was forgiven by the LORD of a debt he could never pay (our sin) who was then unwilling to forgive someone else of something far less significant.   Jesus used this illustration to point out the absurdity of an unforgiving heart.

Are you harboring any unforgiveness today?   If so, forgive from your heart and release that burden to the LORD.  Forgive so that you too can live in the freedom and peace that comes from forgiveness!

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries.  Thank you.

 

But he was unwilling and went and threw his fellow slave in prison until he should pay back what was owed.           (NASB

Ten Thousand Talents

~ truehopeminvod

Matthew 18 Verse 23-27   For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.  When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 

But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.

 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’  And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.   (NASB)     

This past Sunday our Pastor continued with the “Forgiveness” theme in the Gospel of Matthew.    Did you know . . . One talent was 15 years of wages for a servant?   Did you know . . . The tabernacle was overlaid with 39 talents of gold?   Did you know . . . Solomon’s temple was overlaid with 3,000 talents of gold?   10,000 talents  was astronomical!   In today’s terms it would be “zillions of dollars!”  That slave could never repay the debt that he owed even though he asked the king to have patience with him so he could repay it.

The king had compassion on him, released him, and forgave him the debt, even though the slave did not deserve it. Wow!  What a burden to be lifted off of that slave.  Released from paying a debt that was impossible to pay!

Keep this parable in your mind and we will continue with it tomorrow.

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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NOTICE: The advertisements on this and referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries.  Thank you.

God Pleaser

~ truehopeminvod

Hebrews Chapter 11 Verse 6

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

1 John Chapter 3 Verse 22b-23

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.  This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another just as He commanded us.       (NASB)

The next two suggested resolutions for 2015 are to live a life pleasing to GOD, love God above all and your neighbor as yourself.   It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to do this.

Is your faith waning?   Ask God to help your unbelief.

Is GOD not first in your life?   Ask GOD to help you put Him first.

Do you find it difficult to love others sometimes/all the time?   Ask GOD to help you.

In Christ,

Stephen and Mary

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 NOTICE: The advertisements on referred to sites are neither published by nor subject to True Hope Ministries and as such the content expressed does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of True Hope Ministries.  Thank you.