The Voice of Hope: 6 Mic-drop Messages

Maybe you are familiar with the voice of reason. The adage means a person’s communication toward a particular issue is level-headed and reasonable. 

Or, the voice of truth. Also a song title for the Christian band, Casting Crowns.

For believers, the voice of truth comes directly from God and His Word.

So let me introduce you to the Voice of Hope.  

Like every other guest who’s shared a message here, I pray we listen carefully to her words.

And we welcome Hope’s message into our heart to live forever.

Finally, let Hope’s voice override every hopeless thought.

Without further ado, here’s the Voice of Hope.

Unwavering Hope

God’s child, 

The heavenly Father gave me to you as a gift; a stable, certain, and secure hope. I never waver based on circumstances, people, or opinions. You see, in an uncertain world, I’m an undeniable hope, an unshakable anchor for your soul. 

But you possess the choice to hold fast to the confession of your hope without wavering, for God who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). Because Christ lives in you, a glorious hope also resides in you (Colossians 1:27).

Sincerely, the Voice of Hope

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25 Soul-stirring Journal Entries During Covid-19

Earlier this year, I shared life-giving thoughts from my journal. But many of the entries came from my own personal crisis, penned before Covid-19. 

Whether it’s a personal or world crisis, suffering, loss, or the unknown, journal entries stir our souls.

Journaling pens messages on our hearts.

So, I’m opening my journal again with entries for such a time as this.

Home and Church Entries

(1.) Staying home more reacquaints us with “home.” Such as, There’s no place like home. Or, Home is where your heart is. It’s an opportunity to spend quality time with people under our roof. And a reminder our eternal home is where our spiritual heart is.

(2.) While churches are not allowed to gather, Scripture tells us people are the church. Men have constructed breath-taking churches and cathedrals. But what if I asked the Lord to make my life a breath-taking sanctuary for Him? 

(3.) The Holy Spirit is moving among us, using our present situation to draw people to God. He’s calling the church out of complacency to a spiritual awakening. An opportune time to pray for revival. Rise up, church!

(4.) Social distancing is a must right now. But I’m keeping Jesus near through walking closely with Him. Christ is in me, with me, and for me!  

(5.) People are searching for real hope. Hope found at Calvary’s cross and an empty tomb. Because Hope has a name. Jesus. Am I pointing others to Him, the cornerstone of the church?

Suffering and God Notes

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The Sad Little Secret in Christian Circles

Please welcome my guest, Lori, to our blog community. We met at a writers conference in North Carolina. And Lori not only reveals the sad little secret in this article, but also discusses her new devotional book that released April 13.

Furthermore, besides telling us the secret, Lori’s new book, along with a fresh breath from the Holy Spirit, helps electrify our quiet times.

By Lori Hatcher

The sad little secret in Christian circles is that many of us are bored with our devotional time. We know we shouldn’t feel this way.

Because of the importance to read our Bibles every day. After all, it’s God’s Word, the source of truth, and life, and hope. 

While some successfully built the discipline of Bible reading into their lives, others struggle. Even those who regularly read their Bibles find it a bit dry at times.

Many of us also read devotionals, not to take the place of Bible reading, but to help us discover unfamiliar passages and stories and benefit from a godly writer’s perspective.

So I wrote Refresh Your Faith because I was frustrated by many of the devotionals I read. They seemed to focus on the same basic verses I’d memorized with my children twenty years ago. John 3:16, Romans 8:28, Psalm 23, Matthew 3:5-6. Same with the Bible passages and stories.

Don’t misunderstand me. I treasure the familiar verses and stories. I’ve held them close to my heart during some of the darkest times of my life. 

Help for this Secret

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Celebration of the Resurrection’s Not Canceled

Celebration.

A word wiped from our vocabulary as events wiped clean from our calendars.

Because events worth celebrating disappeared from our day-timers and lives with little warning. Like weddings, graduations, sports championships, family gatherings/vacations, and church worship services—in person with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Celebration canceled” hoovers over our present world crisis and maybe some of our own personal ones. 

While we live in unprecedented and downright scary times. Although life seems less than stable and celebratory.

Even though we all took a crash course we never signed up for on how to manage current life. 

There’s no better time to deeply celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Celebration: God Bankrupted Heaven to Send a Rescuer

Those daydreams of shining knights coming to save the day and us. The people we hope will swoop in as a hero over our difficult circumstances and life’s unexpected curve balls. They all have cracks in their armor or holes in their capes. 

But Jesus steps in and rescues us from areas in our life marked: Rescue needed. 

These are our real needs. These are the areas where a true rescue needs to take place. Such as forgiveness, mercy, and grace for sin. Like unconditional love and real peace only found in our Savior.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16 ESV.

Let’s celebrate how Jesus saves! 

Celebration: An Empty Tomb for Every Empty Place

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Why “Full” Runs Out at the Bottom of Human Buckets

Human buckets run dry faster than we keep them full. Why?

Even though we are wired for God’s filling, we learn to self-fill. Labor that never gets to take a break. Since humans are never able to keep buckets full. 

So to continue our theme from last week, Keep Going Back to the Source, we transform our thinking about long-lasting satisfaction. 

You see, the two main ways we fill our buckets is with life’s stuff and substitutes for God. 

But here are the problems with our bucket-filling techniques. 

(1.) There are expiration dates on life’s stuff.

Maybe you or your church collects non-perishables for local food banks. Items with a long shelf life for the underprivileged. 

Poor in spirit, we have intangible needs that never expire. Like grace, love, mercy, joy, peace, and hope. Although they seem abstract, we actually take hold of them when we go to God. Because unlike things that expire, God manifests these characteristics in our lives. And they never run out. 

Yet, when our silent screams for attention remain unnoticed, we turn to life’s stuff to fill our buckets. Stuff with expiration dates such as the perfect body, aspirations, accolades, or material possessions. 

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