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12/1/2025 0 Comments Day ThreeWhat were the magi hoping for as they travelled to find the king they had been studying? They had many desert filled days to think about it. They could have asked for riches, or trade with their countries, or at least a place to stay and food for the camels. They had travelled a long way; didn’t they deserve that? Did they know what to expect? What were they hoping for? What was the point in travelling so far and investing so much time to find Jesus?
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 They wanted to worship Him. They hoped for the opportunity to worship Jesus. That’s all. We have so much more reason to hope than the magi, because we know how the story ends! We know we have an invitation to become a child in God’s family, to learn how to be fathered by a perfect, loving Heavenly Father. We can begin to move from hoping in something, to hoping in the perfect Someone. Can we take a step towards Jesus today? We can enter His presence as His child, coming up to our Father to raise our arms to Him and cry “Daddy!”. Father, create in me a hunger to know You more deeply, to seek Your face more regularly and to respond with a heart of worship more readily.
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11/30/2025 0 Comments Day TwoHope and trust intermingle like soil and seeds. I can plant a seed in the ground, but I need the nutrients of the soil to help the seed grow. The soil also holds water and supports the roots of the seed as it begins to sprout and reach for the sun. Take the soil away and the seed is in trouble; it may even die. As we learn to follow Jesus, and hear our heavenly Father’s loving voice, following His plans for our lives, we can begin to learn that God, our Father, is a good loving father. This is choosing to plant that seed of trust into our relationship with Him. By taking that first step towards Him, we begin to relax, a little bit at a time, because His character is faithful, trustworthy and full of love. God will never force us to trust Him. And as we realize He knows more than we do and that He wants to use that knowledge for our own good, our trust begins to grow. Sinking our own roots into His character more and more, our hearts learn that His plans are good and He is a perfect, loving and capable Father. The Father’s character is the soil in which we plant our seed of trust, it is His faithfulness and love that supports us as our trust grows. This is where the beauty of soil and seeds occurs. Because as we grow in trust of the Lord, and this takes time, as all growth does, we begin to relax. We start to trust His process and our heavenly Father’s heart for us, let go of our fear, look ahead.... and hope. Father thank you for being faithful and true! Help me to take a step towards you today, teach me to hear your voice as I read your word and spend time with You. I invite you into my decisions today Father, teach me to follow you. 11/29/2025 0 Comments Day OneIt is a powerful choice to decide what we will put our hope in. Have you ever hoped in someone or something and been let down? It is a very real truth that hope differed makes the heart sick. Disappointment can be heartbreaking, causing us to close off our hearts rather than be disappointed again. Trust is hard to restore, and trust is needed for hope to grow.
So, what should we put our hope in, what or who is worthy of our complete trust? We can have all the success or money in the world and still suffer from anxiety and loneliness. People, including ourselves if we are honest, are imperfect, incapable of bearing the burden of being completely trustworthy. Wealthy homes still house unhealthy marriages, and parents with successful careers still grieve over children who struggle. What can we put our hope in that will not disappoint? Ourselves? How lonely and exhausting it is to only trust yourself; your entire life is a lot to carry on your own. What do we do? Enter Jesus, and His invitation to be part of God’s family. Jesus, who offers a way to come close to His Father, the Creator of the universe. who wants to call us HIs children and who gives us the right to call Him Father. A heavenly Father who promises to never leave us, who is infinitely capable of handling everything we deal with, and whose love is surer and more dependable than a sunrise. The benefit? As we move more towards a relationship with the Father, our hearts begin to trust and hope in the Father to intervene in our lives, and to desire for His love to take root in our hearts. Why? Because we have begun to learn who He is and have taken the first step in the the journey of learning to trust Him. If you haven’t accepted Jesus’s invitation to become part of God’s family, and His invitation to follow Him, this is good news! You don’t have to live life alone; there is a safe, loving, heavenly Father waiting to do life with you! If you have already decided to become part of God’s family, when was the last time you came to the Father with your heart, and spent time with Him, raw and real, crying “Daddy!”, sharing with Him your current fears, hopes and stressors? It is in this place that our hearts can begin to move from fear and distrust to learning that our heavenly Father is capable, trustworthy, loving, and faithful. Learning this takes time, and it begins with the simple yet powerful acceptance of who Jesus is, the Son of God, who died for everything we could ever do wrong, so we could come to God, as our heavenly Father and cry “ Daddy, here I am!”. Scripture tells us that hope in the Lord does not disappoint, because of His love for us, poured out into our hearts. "And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" Romans 5:5 Everything else is an added blessing, because He is a good Father, who does not abandon His children. We can put our hope in Him, HIs love and His perfect Fathering. Take some time today and share with God, your heavenly Father your current thoughts and feelings, questions and concerns. He wants to do this life with you! |
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