Hope For Today

If you would like to listen to today's devotional, please click  here Dear Friends, My Verse and Word for 2019 As has been my practice over the last few years I like to choose a verse and a 'word' for the coming year.  I think I said in my blog post for 2018 (you can read it  here ) how choosing a word for the year has become more and more popular. There are now quizzes you can take to provide you with your word for the year. Some may find this helpful but I prefer to take the time to seek God and ask him to reveal the 'word' and verse for the year. I wait for one to resonate in my soul. One which I sense is right just for me. My word for this year is FAITH . Lawrence Richards writes this in his book,  "Encyclopedia of Bible Words": "Faith is a personal response to God and a complete commitment of ourselves to him...faith calls for a continuing relationship of response to Jesus' word...faith transforms human beings,...

 Dear Friends, A friend was telling me recently that a big tree with many roots had been blown over, uprooted by the recent strong winds we have been experiencing.  I voiced my surprise that this had happened if it had many roots but my friend explained that it was because the roots had been just under the surface rather than going deep in the soil.  The deep roots are what helps a tree to withstand storms and keep secure.  Do you know that the bible likens us to trees?  It says in Psalm 1:3 that "Those who meditate on God’s word and delight in it are like trees: They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.  Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do." (NLT)  The Amplified Bible puts it like this: "And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall...