New Hope Church

THIRST FOR GOD As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. —Psalm 42:1             Picture a dear panting and thirsting for water. You might even remember a time when you were panting and thirsting for water. Think of someone who had just finished a race in a day of burning heat. They sprinted with all their might, giving everything they had until they crossed the finish line. Then they collapsed, huffing, puffing, gasping… panting. They are in great need of water. Their body is screaming out for water. Is this how my soul longs for God?             Reflect on your life? How thirsty…

BLESSING The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. —Numbers 6:24-26             Today may our Lord bless you in a special way. On the one hand He has blessed us greatly already. Just being able to spend time with Him is a huge blessing.   He has blessed us in being able to get out of bed, to write this or to read this, to think this… Yes, He surely and definitely has already blessed us today. But I ask that He would bless you in a…

WAIT ON THE LORD! I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. —-Psalm 40:1             Do I wait patiently for the Lord or do I go on ahead on my own? Am I taking the time to understand He is hearing me and will respond or do I get impatient and do what I think is best? Is my impatience a sign of unbelief? Patience in waiting for the Lord to answer implies an expectation that He will answer!             What is it that you are crying out to the Lord for? Wait patiently… He will answer in His time according to His purposes…

MY HOPE! “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” —Psalm 39:4-7             How is it that I will soon be 66 years of age? How is it that I am already 4…

MY HELP AND SALVATION Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! —-Psalm 38:22             Who is there that is a better help than our Lord? So if we need help why is it that many times He is the last one we turn to? People get sick and who do they first turn to? People lose a job and who do they first turn to? People have a conflict of any kind and who do they first turn to? What do you need help with? Have you turned to the Lord for help? He is the first place we should be going? So go to Him for help.…

WAIT ON THE LORD… HE WILL DO IT! Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! —Psalm 37:4-7             Am I delighting in the Lord? Then He will guide my heart with the right desires.   Have I committed my way to the Lord and trust Him with…

OH, HOW HE LOVES US! How precious is your steadfast love, O God! —Psalm 36:7             God’s love for us can be counted on at all times. He does not give up on us and stop loving us. Now don’t take for a moment that God does not discipline His children because He does. Just take a look at, among other places, I Corinthians 11:23-34 where some followers of Jesus were sick and others died because of their disobedience. Love does not mean lack of discipline. Love includes discipline. Only a permissive parent will not set boundaries or keep them.   God is not like that. He knows what is…

THEY CALL EVIL GOOD AND GOOD EVIL They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved. —Psalm 35:12 They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship. —Psalm 109:5 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. —Isaiah 5:20             There are those who are doing evil and calling it good. When this happens it leaves one mourning like they would if a loved one died. It is painful for those who do good to have others to evil to them. This is a form…

REDEEMED, NEVER TO BE CONDEMNED! The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. —Psalm 34:22             Those who have called on His Name have been redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot. He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake” (I Peter 2:19-20). And to all “of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”              Fellow follower of Jesus— our sin is gone. We are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14).   “Whoever believes in him is…

STAND IN AWE OF HIM! By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.  He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. —Psalm 33:7-9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO77-m4SS3M Mankind as a whole should be awestruck at our Lord who made the heavens and this world. Not only did He make all that we see and don’t see, but He also holds it all…