Proverbs 31:1-9 David refused to hide God’s love and faithfulness to him. In the years before he became king, he was mistreated, rejected, and hunted. He could have emphasized the stories of his trouble. Instead, he focused on how God showed up. He testified to the faithfulness and power of God. How much do our […]

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Proverbs 31:1-9 People become voiceless in many ways. Some become silent because speaking is painful. Some fear retribution, even death. Proverbs tells us to be the voice for those who have none. You’d be surprised how many voiceless people you know. They are the parents raising a child with developmental challenges who can’t find the […]

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Proverbs 15:1-5 In the book, The Help, Abileen cares for five-year-old Mae Mobley in a home that doesn’t have many good words for a five-year-old. Abileen fills that vacuum by repeating three phrases. “You are kind; you are smart; you are important.” Mae Mobley grows up with those gentle words that have the power to […]

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Proverbs 10:27-32 How do you recognize a Spirit-filled Christian? Proverbs reminds us that one way is by the words Christians use and how they use them. Make no mistake, our words either come from God or they come from our own ideas, hurts, misunderstandings, and anger. Proverbs says that we can tell the difference. We […]

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Proverbs 10:17-23 Lisa, who was physically and mentally challenged, wrote her mother a valentine. Her handwriting was poor, her spelling atrocious, and her phrasing awkward. However, her words nourished her mother’s heart even years after Lisa’s death. Contrast it with the hate speech we have in news and social media. These words not only starve […]

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Proverbs 10:11-16 Words. They’ve started wars, ruined relationships, ended marriages, betrayed trust, destroyed confidence, robbed identity, and caused more catastrophes than Mount Vesuvius’s eruption. The gift of words should come with a warning: Handle with care. The problem with words is that we use them without thinking. We need a gatekeeper for our words. That’s […]

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Proverbs 10:1-9 The resounding gong of infomercials proclaiming the possibility of getting rich can be appealing: to partake and finally take a load off and rest. Get-rich-quick ideas provide the fantasy that the easy way is the right way. The road less traveled, however, is paved with integrity, honor, and faithfulness. The Christian life takes […]

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1 Timothy 6:13-21 During the pandemic, life changed in dramatic ways for most of us. Some of us were lucky enough to still have jobs and a steady income. We learned to work from home, attending events digitally, learning to use tools like Zoom for the first time. Still, the unknowns of the virus making […]

The post God Is Our Hope first appeared on Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living.

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 What is it we hope for? Hope is that longing we lean toward, waiting in anticipation of a future-oriented event. People hope for such things like a new job, a raise, a new home, or life circumstances to change. It is difficult to be content, and many of us hope that something […]

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Matthew 6:25-34 We all worry. We worry about jobs, retirement, children, aging parents, and marriage, to name a few. What motivates your worries? God does care about what we care about. This passage reminds us to keep the main thing the main thing. At times in life we need a course correction; this can come […]

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