New Hope Church

PAIN-KILLERS  Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish!   Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. —Proverbs 31:6-7             Alcohol has been the ruin of many lives. I find it interesting that with such a problem the State still builds State Liquor stores near very busy roads, seeking to pull in customers. In 2017 there were 72,558 alcohol related deaths, 2.6% of all deaths in the U.S.   One million people died from alcohol related deaths between 1999 and 2017. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/alcohol-related-deaths-increasing-united-states            Why do people drink alcohol? There…

NOW IS THE TIME! Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. —II Corinthians 6:1-2 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. —Proverbs 28:26             And so it is with salvation— the one who trusts his own mind is a fool, but the one who trusts the gospel of Jesus Christ is wise. The one who trusts in…

THE NEED FOR EACH OTHER A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. —Proverbs 25:27 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. —Proverbs 26:12 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. —Proverbs 27:2 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. —Proverbs 27:9 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. —Proverbs 27:17             What a picture of a man without self-control. A city without walls has no protection from the…

PRIORITIES Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. –Proverbs 23:4-5 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You will be…

OUR GOD DIRECTS IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. — Proverbs 21:1 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. —Proverbs 21:30             A king, a president— Pharaoh, David, Donald Trump… Let us not forget who is ultimately in control. Our Lord God Almighty works through any person to accomplish His desires. Our Lord will turn a person’s heart as He desires.   We need not fret over a Nero or Stalin, Hitler or any tyrant. Our Lord is working out His plan even through their lives. Let…

MY DESIRE! Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. —II Corinthians 3:5             Our only competence comes from God. In ourselves we have none and for ourselves we have none! Any ability that will be impacting for our Lord comes from Him.   He gives knowledge. He gives skill. He gives proficiency. He gives ability. He gives capacity. All this He gives and we are to be obedient and apply what He has given us. He is to get all the glory!             This is huge as we ponder what our Lord wants to do in and through our life.…

ISOLATION IS UNHEALTHY Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. Proverbs 18:1-2             We were not made to be in isolation but to be interdependent on each other. To only go by one’s own opinion is to be unteachable and is a lack of understanding. How true this is of the Church, the body of Christ. It is clearly stated in Romans 12:5 that “in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”               In your body your hand has a function,…

PLANS ACCORDING TO HIS WILL The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. —Proverbs 16:1 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. —Proverbs 16:3 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. —Proverbs 16:9 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. —Proverbs 15:22 Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. —Psalm 119:133 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that. —James 4:15              We are to make plans as we seek our Lord’s…

GRANDCHILDREN! Grandchildren are the crown of the aged… —Proverbs 17:6             There are three things that catch my attention in this verse. The first is “grandchildren.” It is hard to believe that Elaine and I have seven grandchildren. Seven! Not only seven grandchildren, but seven grand-daughters— Abigail, Jordyn, Caroline, Maria, the twins— Jose & Julia and Autumn! Each one is so precious and so loved. Each one is so unique and special. What a joy to have my own children, but now what a joy for my children to have children and to be able to see this! I am grateful for these blessed gifts.             The second thing that…

DEATH IS DEFEATED IN JESUS! The last enemy to be destroyed is death. —I Corinthians 15:26 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. —I Corinthians 15:54-58…