March 29, 2024

False Hope

SHhopeadvent

I pray that God, the Source of hope,
will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him.
Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Hope is a good thing. Hope means ‘to trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future‘. I’ve also heard it said that hope is a confident expectation of good.

We know that hope is good because Romans 15:13 tells us so!  And we know that “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17).

Hope is

  • what pulls you out of bed in the morning when you are going through a depression
  • believing that things are going to turn out okay when you do something that seems impossible or crazy, but you are certain that God told you to do it
  • what motivates us to not give up
  • a powerful tool

False hope is a powerful tool, as well. I would say that false hope is hope in something that either is not real, distorted, (but most clearly) not grounded in God Almighty. False hope is putting your trust in human beings and believing that they have the ability to do what only God can do.

Listen to me carefully as I tred into this territory….

It’s okay to have hope for a positive future.  And it’s okay to hope that God can turn a horrible situation into a good situation.  However, when we fail to see the signs or choose to ignore them and still hope for the best, this is false hope. For example,

If God said that your friendship with a person needs to end because there is no repairing it, for you to stay in the relationship and hope for the best,  would not only be in direct disobedience to God but would not have a solid foundation.

What is (and is not) false hope is something that you have to speak to God about.  He will guide you in your situations.  Remember there is no reason to place your hope in something or someone that is not trustworthy. (Regardless of how much you want things to be a certain way.)

*   ♥  ~  ✝  ~  ★    *  

Lord, keep our hearts and our minds clear so that we trust in Your will and Your will alone.  Please help us to see the truth in our lives, and not just what we want to see. Help us to see through the lies and the schemes of Satan.  You are an all-knowing God. Please share Your knowledge with us.  Amen.

Girls with Swords: Chapter 13 Weekly Review – “Sword of Forgiveness and Restoration” (Contest Included)

 Welcome to Campground USA

Log Cabins, Nature Trails, Canoes

Paddle Boats, Bikes, Fisher

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For the last few weeks, I have felt like a kid on Christmas morning as I unwrapped each gift God has literally placed in my hands.  He gave me a:

  • Sword of Harvest

  • Sword of Light

  • Sword of Song

  • Sword of Silence

  • Sword of Forgiveness and Restoration

My thanks to Lisa Bevere for helping me realize just how much God loves me.  Oh, you got the same bag of Swords?  Well, of course you did!  I feel a song coming on.  Sing it with me.

“Oh, how He loves you and me. Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give.
Oh how He loves you, Oh how He loves me, Oh how He loves you and me!”

But, He did give more.  Not only did He give His life for us, but He gave us a bag of swords to join with Him on the battleground in which the enemy rages war against us.

Let’s go on down to the bonfire, and learn more about this Sword of Forgiveness and Restoration from my four girlfriends.  And BTW, don’t be in such a hurry to leave the bonfire tonight.  It is Bible Sword Drill Time.  You don’t want to miss it.  You will see the quiz questions below this review.  Answer the questions to the best of your ability, without using your Bible.  Submit your questions; we will announce the winner on SUNDAY, June 23rd!  

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Teresa

The concept of “stooping beneath” someone else is seen as subservient and undesirable.  Pride is prized above personal relationships.  Grudges are held until the reason for the anger can no longer be remembered.  Stubbornness and pride are not virtues in God’s economy; humbleness and forgiveness are.

Quoting Lisa:

  • We have to be devoted to a greater cause than our individual rights and opinions.
  • Though we are entrusted with a Sword of the Spirit, we are not armed to harm.
  • We do not fight to tear down, but to build up.  The authority heaven lends to us on earth is to destroy evil by doing good.

Someone will eventually need to “stoop” to show love.  Make 1 Corinthians 13 your guide as you break down family curses.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3:23)

Jennifer

During a visit with her father, who was in a facility due to dementia, Lisa relates a story about God’s faithfulness. Lisa sensed that her father was fully cognizant of who she and her children were; and she prayed asking God what she should say. Here is the exchange:

  • Heavenly Father, what should I say?”
  • The response was:  “Tell him he was a good dad.”
  • I countered, “That’s a lie! I am not going to lie to himespecially not now! He was not a good father.”
  • I heard a firm assurance: “He was as good as he knew how to be.”

If you are nurturing hurt from a broken relationship and God is prompting you to move toward restoration, listen to what He has to say and then act.  His timing is always perfect and He knows just what we need to say and do every time.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.  (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Tonya  

As a Bereavement Counselor I have seen unforgiveness

  • lead to children not visiting their parent as they die
  • breed words of hurt and hate, open wounds that were thought closed, and cause those wounds to go unhealedopportunities gone.

I have also seen forgiveness

  • build bridges, heal hearts, create new beginnings, new opportunities relationships restored and mended.

We don’t know what will happen after we pick up that sword of forgiveness and carry it with us on our journey. But what we do know is after we forgive, after we lay the issue at God’s feet and allow love to fill the space where the unforgiveness lived, that God will take over.  He will fulfill the promises He made regarding relationships before they were even formed.

Forgiveness – -whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Kim

What is your story, dear friend?

  • Do you have deep wounds that still need healing?
  • Perhaps you have overcome and you are in a good place, but someone in your family is struggling and you are just at your end with it. The ripple effect is reaching everyone including your children.
  • Did your daddy love you and tell you how beautiful you were, or are you still begging for his attention?
  • Was your childhood stolen by someone who had no right to do so?
  • Maybe something happened in your life as an adult and you’re ashamed of the way you dealt with it.

Your story is full of opportunities to help someone else struggling. Only when we have let go of resentment and forgive can we be free.  As Lisa said:  “How might God use you as an agent of restoration?”

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others when they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.  (2 Corinthians 1:4)

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Let’s Pray:  

Father God, we are so thankful that You gave Your life for us so that we might have a home in heaven with You.  But, we are also so thankful that You did not leave us stranded as the enemy tries to wage war against us here on this earth.  Help us look to You for guidance as to how and when to use the Sword You have given us.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

 

 DON’T LEAVE YET!!  IT’S QUIZ TIME!!

 

QUIZ TIME