Develope a Palate

Develope a Palate
Daily intake of the Word nourishes the Spirit. Jeremiah's Menu is an exercise in recognizing God's Word made flesh in and around me. Eating the Word in a way that supplies the spiritual nutrients needed to grow. The Menu is offered with the hope of inspiring you to taste and see that the Lord is good. Bon Appetite!

Quote Du Jour

Quote du Jour
Christians may differ on a variety of points, but they have all one spiritual appetite; and if we cannot all feel alike, we can all feed alike on the bread of life sent down from heaven. At the table of fellowship with Jesus we are one bread and one cup. As the loving cup goes round we pledge one another heartily therein. Get nearer to Jesus, and you will find yourself linked more and more in spirit to all who are like yourself, supported by the same heavenly manna. ---Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Sunday, October 2, 2016

The Journey Readings: Week 144... and... the power of hope...

Thinking I haven't had much lately...
I'm learning about hope...
several pieces coming together...
from several different places...

The word itself... hope...
catches my attention of late...
so I looked more closely...
when it appeared in Colossians...

In the first chapter of Colossians...
we see the power of hope...

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you, since we have heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for the saints,
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Colossians 1:3-5 ESV

Do you see it...?

The Colossians' faith in Jesus...
their love for the saints...
was because of the hope laid up in heaven for them...

So much was their faith and love evident...
Paul and his fellow workers thanked God for them...
always...

Hope fuels faith in Jesus and love for the saints...

Hope laid up in heaven...
the coming of His Kingdom...
the waiting we're doing in the here and now...
fuels our life of faith and love...

It's like I've been blind to the reality of what's been going on inside me...
but now the light is beginning to dawn...

I even asked a question recently...
wrote it on a sticky... a prayer of sorts...
regarding desire... and hope...
both of which I thought I'd lost...

Is my current lack or loss of strong desires in the flesh... and feeling loss of hope in this world... a transition to fully shifting my hope... onto Him...?
For years now... I've felt as if I've had no real desires...
not like I used to...
and hope... well... so many have not come to pass...
I prefer not to...

But at the same time... I've not been one who is hope-less...
despair... 
depression... 
despondency... 
do not define my countenance...

I have not felt hope-less... even though I might've told you I was...

In these last weeks of learning to lean on Him...
wait on Him...
I've found something I didn't know I had...

Something hidden from me...
either by my own preconceived ideas of what it means to hope...
or by the enemy...

I'm beginning to see... at least I hope...
that my desire has been coming in line with His...
my hope... moving fully toward Him...

Being blinded to the truth of hope has left me feeling I had none...
but now I'm seeing... I think... that it's already shifting...
and joy begins to rise...

The hope stored up for me in heaven...
has all these years... been fueling my faith...
and my love for others...
but I didn't recognize it...
until now...

Do you see it...?
Are you blind to what's been transforming you...?

Ask Him to open your eyes... to the power of hope...
the hope He's blessed you with through the good news of Jesus...

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles
are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27 ESV

This week's readings...
Monday          Philippians 2
Tuesday          Philippians 3-4
Wednesday     Luke 1:1-38
Thursday        Luke 1:39-66
Friday             Luke 1:67 - 2:21

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