Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Where do you go for affirmation? We all want to be loved, accepted and affirmed. We look for it in all kinds of places, yet there's only one place it can be found and that place is in God. It's in relationship with him that we know we are unconditionally loved, accepted and approved.  Our search for significance, security and self-worth is found in knowing  who we are and whose we are. Who are we? We are children of God. He has adopted us into his family. He has chosen us. He loves us. He approves of us. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.   5  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:4-5  (NLT) Whose are we? We are God's, we belong to him. Not only did he created us, he also paid a high price for us. We are precious to hi...

Dear Friends,  When God Delays I don't know anyone who enjoys or finds it easy to have to wait. We live in a culture where we expect everything to be instant. Whatever we want, we want it immediately. We enjoy instant coffee. We send a text message and receive a reply within seconds. We email someone, knowing they will receive it immediately we press 'send'. Yet, in God's Kingdom, much of our lives may be spent waiting. It was true for the men and women of faith in the Bible. And it's true for us too. All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.   14  Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.   15  If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.   16  But they were looking for a...

Dear Friends, I was invited to be a part of Tanya Marlow's Facebook launch team for her new book "Those Who Wait: Finding God in Disappointment, Doubt and Delay". Tanya has been ill with M.E since 2007 and writes openly and honestly about her life, her weaknesses and her relationship with God. Her background is in theology and ministry. You can find out more about her on her website:  http://tanyamarlow.com/   Below is my review of her book: As the title of Tanya's book indicates, waiting can lead to disappointment and doubt. The book explores how it is possible to find God during those waiting times.   The book covers four Biblical characters - Sarah, Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary (the mother of Jesus) - and their experiences of waiting. I particularly enjoyed the creative accounts of their lives which brought a fresh perspective and understanding of these people, and how they really are very similar to us.   Tanya includes furt...

Dear Friends,  "You have collected all my tears in your bottle." Why does something always seem to go wrong and cause more work when you are already feeling under pressure from a full to do list? Last week I was greeted by the sight of a large puddle of milk coming from our fridge freezer. What was happening? I got my answer as soon as I opened the fridge door. An opened six pint milk bottle had been placed on it's side and somehow the top had sprung off into the shelf compartment of the fridge door and milk was leaking everywhere....and I mean everywhere. It had even got in the sealing around the fridge door through a small hole. When I pressed on the sealing, milk shot out!! When it comes to spilt milk I'm a little paranoid about getting every drop cleaned up, having learnt from experience the smell that comes from milk that hasn't been completely wiped clean! Now, on some days, I could have easily burst into tears (it doesn't take much)...