Purpose Of Hope

I'm Not A Random Act Of

Mathematical Improbabilities

But Rather A Precious

Created Human Being

That Has A Purpose And A Life Beyond The Flaws

Of Humanity And Understanding.

God Created Me With A Purpose

And With His Amazing Grace

And I'm Loved Beyond My Mistakes,

Beyond My Accolades

And Far Beyond

My Present Understandings.

Whatever This Life Holds,

It's Like Shifting Sands That Suddenly Fade

With The Winds Of Change.

The Beauty Is Knowing The Life You Have

Is A Tremendous Gift

And The Time To Invest In

The Joy Of That Very Blessing

Is Now.

                                                               By Ernie Kasper

Run The Race

As I was training yesterday, I had the most difficult time running after cross-training, though I'm sure it was me testing my limits physically, it really felt like a mental battle. I knew that in the back of my mind, the stroke was playing a big part, I had bouts of sudden weakness (stroke symptoms) and word finding was a definite fight. I paused along my run and just took a deep breath and realized this was a good battle, this was a victory I was searching for.
I wanted to tell this stroke again and again that it had no place inside my mind for limitations. I prayed quickly and thanked God for every little ounce of blood, sweat and many tears along this massive uphill battle with my stroke over the years. It had taught me the greatest things I know in life. First off, I train with a purpose both in physical goals and in spiritual goals, for without purpose people perish; people wander and lose their way. Life isn't about how easy it should be but rather how will you overcome it despite the adversity. I trust in God and it is well with my soul and whatever I face I face it with confidence, with a heart after His glory and His purpose and whatever my lot is in life, I will do it well.

Lions Den

When I faced my stroke,

there were many times I couldn't speak,

express my thoughts,

move or understand

but I knew one thing,

I was facing a circumstance for which I could only simply be still and let God do what He does best, turn hungry circumstances of potential great loss into a victory for which only God can be glorified. That is truly what He has done for me :) Just trust Him and keep on praying, keep on living the gospel message and let God do the impossible.

Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.

My Treasure

     We so often get sucked into the rat race, the desire for wealth and prosperity. It either is coming from the media telling you to buy this car and you'll feel important to even some churches speaking about "The Prosperity" message. The problem is that Jesus, who was the most influential person in history, didn't have all the wealth in the world, though He could have had it. His goal was to save the world not His wallet. We are called to reach the lost and to speak to the hurting and to reach out to those seeking. Now the flip side is to understand that we deal with money in our everyday lives and Jesus knew this and in fact he spoke about money 11 out of 39 parables, so it was and is important. It's all about the focus, what is the real goal, is it to give God the glory or ourselves. Do we hide behind the "I'm doing this for God" card or are we actually doing it for God and not ourselves.
     Do we know who is our provider and do we lay everything at His feet, do we trust in Him when our wealth is great and when our wealth is scarce. Jesus walked in total reliance on God's provision but it was done in wisdom, prayer and in trust. Let's remember who really is the composer of our lives and for whom we really play the song, the symphony of praise. Lay everything at God's feet and take each day as it comes and pray in all things. God always has a better plan than what we could ever imagine.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

                                                Philippians 4:6

Morning View

     I woke up and looked at the drapes and thought what a dreary day and of course I was half asleep and feeling groggy. I went through my regular morning routine and prepared my coffee and came to the computer only to realize I hadn't even looked outside. I assumed it was dreary because I could only see dimly through a pair of drapes. I quickly pulled them open, only to see a beautiful sky of so many colours and a brilliant dance of light. How could I have almost missed the view!
    
 Life is like that at times, we assume something is nothing when nothing is actually something wonderful ;)

     We come so close to knowing the truth and yet we walk away because maybe it's easier to just assume but the problem in the end is that it's not the truth and it leaves you in the same place, no opportunity for change, a healthy change.
     God has so many things planned for our lives and yet we want our own way and we want it to be comfortable, routinely fixed and we just want to go through our day but the problem with that is that it's so short of what God truly has planned for us. There may be suffering and trials along the way but eventually there is a beautiful sunrise of change and a brilliant dance of colours filled with faith, hope and love.

     For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
                                                                              Jeremiah 29:11

In His Righteousness

We often think that somehow God's desire is to be the super genie in our lives, that somehow the unfruitful things we do will never be trimmed from our walk in Christ but the bible says the following

John 15:2
2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

What God does with our lives is maximize the potential for bearing fruit for His kingdom and He is the farmer over the fields of harvest. The amazing thing is in God's righteousness, His love and yet firm hand of truth. A farmer goes through his field and he looks at his vineyard and his farmland and he prunes what must be removed for the sake of the harvest and for the joy of our lives in Christ Jesus. 

Psalm 1:1-3 
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

The righteous are blessed continually, yes there is hardship, changing of season, drought, cold, heat waves etc. but they are planted by streams of living water and their fruit is in every season and that is worth rejoicing over! Remember that though you may be going through hardship, there is pruning and things are changing around you, don't forget God has a plan that is far greater than what you can see and He knows just how to make you bloom and produce fruit that will bring Him glory and you victory in Christ Jesus :)

By Design

Psalm 139:16

You saw me before I was born.

    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

    before a single day had passed.

That is the beauty of knowing God, knowing that He knows everything, past, present and future and yet with all that information, all that knowledge of our rights and wrongs, He loves us deeply and with such devoted grace through Jesus Christ his son. Never forget that He has everything perfectly planned out and what He sets in place, no one can silence, smother, crush or destroy...

#TeamJesus #suffering #courage The real character of anyone is truly seen when they're at their weakest, their worst of hours; watch them in the seasons of despair and if something shines in those darkest hours you know the truest of characters, the rawest of integrity, the grit and if they pray, praise, rejoice and trust in that season you have met a hero of faith. 
By Ernie Kasper