“Don’t expect God to use you as a lighthouse somewhere else, if  He can’t use you as a candle where you are.”

“Watch out for temptation – the more you see of it the better it looks.”

Lifting Spirits and stirring Hope!

“There are a few things in this issue that should lift spirits and stir hope.”

The editor of the DIRECTIONS Keeping New Zealanders moving magazine is writing that. (Summer 2010)

Lifting spirits and stirring hope!

I am reading a lot about that theme in the Bible, the Word of the Living God. In fact reading the Bible lifts our spirits and stirs our hope!

Right at the beginning of the Gospel of  Luke we find the Song of  Mary. Mary begins her song with:

“‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior….”

My spirit is also rejoicing in God my savior. Is your spirit also rejoicing? I hope you don’t mind me asking that. Here the Bible teaches that God created man a tripartite being. Body, soul and spirit are the three  component parts of man.

Lifting spirits and stirring hope!

The Bible is full of hope:

Our hope is in God and we will never be put to shame.  (Psalm 25:3) Our hope comes from God. (Psalm 62:5)

Find more hope – verses in the Bible, the Word of the Living God!

Psalm 146:5; Isaiah 40:31; Jeremiah 29:11; Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 2:12.

“READING IS COOL”  it says on one side of the bookmark, I picked up today at the Kaitaia library. It continues with “Duffy Kids regularly visit their local library.”

On the other side  I read “A good BOOK is a good friend. Find your friend at Kaitaia library.

The dictionary says that GOOD BOOK is one of the names for the Bible, the Word of the Living God. Other names are “the Scriptures and “the Writings.”

In a very old book  am reading what a Japanese officer said to a seller of Bibles. He said, “Yours is a good book, but it disturbs the spirits of my men. Yes, there is power in the Word of God. The Bible is a sword, a hammer, a seed, a mirror, a fire, a lamp and the Bible is food.

The GOOD BOOK , the Bible, is not only the “Book of Books” and a good friend, but in the Bible I am reading about my best friend, the Lord Jesus Christ.

READING THE BIBLE, THE WORD OF THE LIVING GOD IS COOL!

“The first key for usefulness and power for Christians today is humility.

The second is the realization that sanctification is only in Christ.

The third is reliance on the Holy Spirit.” – Billy Graham

“Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and  failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.” – Brian Adams