What will bring hope where you dwell?

Have you ever felt the weight of a mental pit? Or the oppression of a location and situation that put you in a pit of despair? Or dealt with the cloak of gloating by enemies around you? David knew these well. 

Yet, David chose to focus his mind on higher things.  In Psalm 30, David reminds us that praise places us in high places. David shows us how hope rises in those who dwell in thanksgiving. 

It is my choice in how I dwell. It is not a location or the people but my heart and what I bring to the space. If I choose to exalt God and acknowledge all He has already done, I will know hope rising in me. 

How can you praise God today? I get it. Sometimes it is so much easier to focus on the ugh, but choose to speak praise and acknowledge the goodness of God even when you really do not want to. It will lift you up.

Jesus Honored His Mother

Jesus & Women: John 2:1-11 Jesus & His mother

Heaven's Hospitality: Genesis 18:1-10 Abraham & Three Visitors

Heaven's Hospitality: Genesis 18:1-10 Abraham & Two Visitors

Heaven's Hospitality: Genesis 19:1-26 Lot & the Two Visitors

Our hospitality will reveal our character in the small moments. 

Heaven's Hospitality: Genesis 19:1-26 Lot & the Two Visitors

Do you ever feel afraid?

Do you ever feel afraid?  Do you ever feel like your enemy has the upper hand? Psalm 27 is David's Psalm of Hope in the face of enemies. Notice that David only spent a few verses declaring what his enemy was doing, but spent the rest of the Psalm focused on holy soul talk. David spent more time reminding himself about the character of God. 

Do you see how David speaks often of God as His dwelling place? Why? Hope knows where to dwell. Hope does not dwell on the enemy. It acknowledges the reality before God and then focuses on the character of God. Hope is a choice of focus. 

What character traits of God do you need to focus on today? Which ones do you need to lift up in praise? Will you choose God confidence? 

I sure hope so because this the sacred place where Hope is born.  

Shalom y'all!

Have you ever felt forgotten by God?

Have you ever felt forgotten? Have you ever felt forgotten by God? In Psalm 13, we can see the very real and raw emotion of David, the man known for being after God's own heart, as he expresses the emotion of feeling forgotten by God. Yet, as we read David's Psalm we discover a pattern that we can follow in our place of despair that will transition us to hope. 

David's transition takes place when he begins asking God for help. He knew he needed to be real about the pain, feeling, or emotion, but he choose not to stay there. He chose to seek God, proclaim God's character, and give God his praise and worship.

I love learning from the Psalmists. I learn that it is ok to be authentic about our suffering. But, I realize that in order to move from despair to rejoicing I must choose to seek God and choose hope.

Have you ever felt that despair? What helped you to transition to hope?  Are you willing to use this Psalm of Hope to give you a pattern to pray through? 

I know in my life that it has been the habit of choosing to praise God's character that has moved me from despair to hope. This prayer pattern has been one of my core strengths. I figured if it was good enough for David then it is good enough for me. Shalom y'all.

Heaven's Hospitality: Welcoming someone who is not like me. Genesis 18:1-10

This series has had a tremendous impact on my life and my family's lives. As I did the research for the one not like me I discovered that the LORD actually provides us with an ethic we should live by as we serve those around us. I found that the Bible Dictionary stated that there were five ethics of hospitality that the people were expected to live by in the ancient biblical middle east. What surprised me was that when I studied Bible stories using these five ethics as my lens, I saw that blessing came to those that honored and did not to those that did not. It was quite profound. I am seeking to grow in my gift of hospitality. This is born from the reality that I had much to learn. So, please do not think that I am an expert. I am far from it. I am merely a student in the journey of growing and seeking to hold sacred that which God does reveal to me. I pray this series blesses you as much as it has blessed me. Shalom y'all.