Paul says in Romans 15:13, “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.”

I think this verse supports a view I have which is that hope helps strengthen our faith and our faith is demonstrated through expectation.

Think of a time where things felt hopeless. At that point it was very difficult to have faith in a positive outcome, and without faith it is much more likely we expect a negative result.

In contrast, when we have hope we can build our faith on that hope, and expect a positive result.

This is very true about hope, faith, and expectation of salvation, but I believe it is also true in the practical parts of our lives. When we can truly feel hopeful that a difficult issue will be resolved, our faith in God’s work in our lives grows and we expect a positive result. As Paul writes, God is that source of hope that sparks our faith which we demonstrate with the “confident hope” and expectation.

Dear Lord, thank you for being the source of hope so that we can live our lives with joy and peace trusting in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What does it mean to be mature? or What does it mean when we tell someone to “grow up?” It doesn’t have anything to do with their age, but is more about their behavior and judgment. One definition of maturity is the ability to accept delayed gratification; to work on something for an extended period of time before seeing the results.

In a similar way as we become more mature in our Christian faith, we can begin to accept the struggles and challenges of being a Christian with the joy of knowing we will be rewarded in time. We accept those challenges out of love for God, and our fellow men and women. Paul writes in Romans 8:18, ” Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.”

Dear Lord, Help us become more mature Christians to take our suffering and struggles in faith, knowing that our future reward will be the peace of trusting you, and ultimately our eternal reward in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I think we all can admit that it feels good to be better than someone else at something. Better golfer, smarter, richer, in better shape, our child’s school is better, company is better; there are an unlimited number of ways we can find to try to compare ourselves to others in order to pump ourselves up. Though it is great to work hard and strive to make ourselves better, boasting about our advantages shows that our focus is in the wrong place.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.”

There is only one thing we can rightly boast about and be proud in, and that is our Lord God.

Dear Lord, it is your awesome power that made everything we know, and all the while you care about each of us individually. Help us put our pride in you and be grateful that you called and loved each of us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Matthew 8:5-10, is the account of Jesus healing the Roman soldier’s servant. “When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”

The officer came to Jesus to ask for the healing miracle which demonstrated his belief and faith, but the significance that Jesus highlighted, is the Officer’s understanding of Jesus’ power. The officer described this understanding in his own terms, showing Jesus and those around that he understood Jesus’ incredible power, and accepted it.

How does that apply to us? Do we really understand and accept that God can do miracles in our lives and those we love?

Dear Lord, help us truly understand your unlimited power, and accept that in your love for us, you can do miracles in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Many personal development books and coaches emphasize the importance of controlling what we think about, because our thoughts influence what occurs in our lives. Some also say that if you dwell on your fears they are more likely to occur, and conversely if you focus on the positive, those things are likely to occur.

It is interesting that this idea has its origin in the bible. Proverbs 10:24 says, “The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.” This ties in also with Jesus’ words in several places including Matthew 8:13, saying “..because you believed, it has happened.”NLT

Dear Lord, help us keep our thoughts on the positive; our hopes, dreams and prayers, and help us avoid negative, self defeating thoughts that lead us to question your power. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.