New Hope Church

MY BREATH IS IN HIS HANDS If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. —Job 34:14-15             The power of God is inconceivable.  Man thinks he knows so much, but in comparison to God we know nothing.  At any time He could gather His spirit and His breath and that would be the end of every living thing on the planet.  Think about that.  In an instant the planet would be completely lifeless if that was God’s desire.  Earth would become a dusty planet.             “Man is like a breath;…

HE HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU! Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, —Job 29:2-4 You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. —Job 30:21             When we go through the midst of deep trials our thinking may be all over the place as we try to figure out why this is happening.  We try to make sense out of why difficulty is happening to…

FEAR THE LORD… IS TO HATE EVIL!  And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ —Job 28:28 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. —Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate —Proverbs 8:13             Do you and I have a proper perspective on Who our Lord God Almighty is?  If so, that is wisdom.  Wisdom is the proper application of knowledge and will “turn away from evil.”  Fools hate wisdom.  They…

TRUST! Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?  They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.  What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ —Job 21:7, 14-15             Do we look at our lives sometimes and wonder why the wicked are prospering when they want nothing to do with God?  We think, “Why am I having difficultly Lord?  I am following You.  Why am I cut down with health issues in the flower of my age when the wicked live to be old.  Why do I…

GOD’S CREATION! For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. —Psalm 139:13-16 Let’s contrast what our Lord says about a child in the womb and what the world says.  Remember, the world system is headed…

GOD IS IN CONTROL! In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. —Job 12:10  He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. —Job 12:23             Think about this— every living thing and the very breath of all mankind is in His hand.  Yes, He is in control of all things.  Whether it is an individual cell, person, animal or plant— He knows all about it and He is in control of it.  Whether it is one nation of people or all the nations of this world— He knows all about them and He is in…

EVER ASK “WHY?” Why did you bring me out from the womb? —Job 10:18 Job had a good understanding that he was a person in the womb and that it was Almighty God that brought him “out from the womb.”  This is such a basic understanding.  But today as down through the ages basic understandings are not understood.  Sin has so skewed people’s thinking that they “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).  These people need to “come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken…

BEWARE OF UNGODLY COUNSEL Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. —Job 5:17             Wow!  Truth is truth, but truth misapplied isn’t true!  Now that is something to think about!             Eliphaz the Temanite is “counseling” Job when this truth is mentioned.  And yet Job is not being reproved by God for wrong-doing.  Nor was Job being disciplined for some sinfulness in his life.  What was happening in Job’s life was a “scheme” of Satan’s (II Corinthians 2:11) and Eliphaz was being used as his mouthpiece.  This was also true of Job’s wife when she said, “Are you still maintaining your…

SERVANTHOOD IN/THROUGH ADVERSITY There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. —Job 1:1 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil. —Job 1:8   Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.  And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken…

REJOICE!  BE JOYFUL! Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. —Habakkuk 3:17-18             Do we trust God only when things are going well?  Will we trust Him when things are not going as we think they should?  Habakkuk concluded that this is what he would do.  Even if things were not going well he would “rejoice in the LORD” and “take…