Good Morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the windy, warm day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! When I stepped outside this morning, the wind was blowing and the air felt like a warm blanket. A few stars were faintly shining, but the dawn was slowly dimming them. It is light much earlier now, than just a couple weeks ago.
On our way in to the park yesterday, we watched three peacocks, strutting about the two houses they seem to like. Then I saw a turtle sunning himself on the weir, but the anhinga was not in his usual place. However, an egret swiftly pecked into the water and came up with a fish! His timing was excellent! I am wondering what has happened to the gopher tortoise that I used to see regularly in his spot behind the fence, because I haven't seen him lately. Mike has an Earth Google photo that clearly shows the tortoise holes grouped very close together in their area. Amazing!
From Quiet Moments with God:
"He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 1:6 NKJV
A sign in a hotel lobby that was being remodeled stated, "Please be patient. Renovation in progress to produce something new and wonderful." Perhaps we all need to wear a sign like that! We are all unfinished projects under construction, being made into something wonderful. Being mindful of this, we might have greater grace and patience for others, as well as for ourselves, while the work is underway.
Hope is the anticipation of good. Like the hotel lobby in the disarray of renovation, our hope is often in spite of our present circumstances. What is the basis for our hope?
For the Christian, hope is not simple optimism or a denial of reality. The Reason for our hope is Jesus Christ, the solid Rock of our faith. As the hymn writer wrote, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." We are never without hope for our lives if we know the Lord Jesus.
The focus of our hope is to be like Jesus. This goal may seem too great and way beyond our ability to achieve, and it is.So how do we reach it?
The Scriptures tell us it is "Christ in you" that is our hope. (Colossians 1:27) The transformation of our lives into Christlikeness is a goal that is larger than life. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, to have hope only for this life is to be miserable. The Christian hope is for this life and for eternity.
A little chapel in the hills of the Scottish Highlands has a sign chiseled in Gaelic on the front door. Translated into English it reads: "Come as you are, but don't leave as you came." When we come to Jesus, we can come as we are. But He will not leave us the same. That is our sure hope."
Our hope lies not in the man we put on the moon, but in the man we put on the cross.
Don Basham
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
