Good morning to you and I hope your day is filled with Peace and Joy that is found in the Lord; the grace and hope that you need; and the faith to abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit! What is hope? If God put a hope in your heart, then He also gave you the faith to accomplish what it is that you hope for, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whom is a gift from God through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord!
God loves you my friend! And, this is what the Spirit gave me to present to you as a light to your knowledge and encouragement to your faith!
In the Morning …
The question come to me: “Why is it easier in the world to believe the worst about your situation; than to HOPE? That is called doubt my friend! What is the definition of faith? Open your Bible to the book of Hebrews Chapter 11 and read out loud Verse 1:
Now, Faith is the confidence, substance, conviction, assurance and evidence of things hoped for!
What is faith to Hope?
Faith is: (The assurance of things hoped for ESV] [The substance of things hoped for KJV], [The conviction of things not seen ESV] [The evidence of things not seen KJV]. Now, the Bible tells us God’s word to us; and it further says,
“Now the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
in believing,
that ye may abound in hope, through
the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Romans 15:13(KJV)
Good morning! What is hope? Hope is the first word in Hope in Today Ministries, and I am still seeking God’s definition of hope! There is something powerful God is revealing to us today about the things we hope for! And, I believe the Holy Spirit is teaching us our confidence in hope revolves around our faith that is based on our trust in God and trust also in His Son! And, the Bible says to “build your self up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit” (see Jude 1); and faith pleases God; without faith it is impossible to please God. Can you find this verse for me? Thank you Robert Glenn! It is Hebrews 11:6.
Because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and He rewards those who seek Him (NIV version)
Hope is a desire that is accompanied by an expectation or belief. As for an example of hope by definition in the dictionary, “he looked through his belongings in the hope of coming across some information.” The key word is he “Looked”. He didn’t just sit and hope he would find the information he hoped to find, he applied his faith and “looked” to find what he had hoped for!
Open the Bible and seek!
If we are to build our self up in our most holy faith, then we also are to know how faith comes! Faith comes by hearing; and hearing by the Word of God!
Welcome to this day! Today is by God’s Grace, that I have this hope in me; and it is my faith to offer this up to you. We can learn about this topic, “What is the difference in hope”; and the answer is faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord!
Faith in what we believe about God’s Word is the difference in hope; Faith without works is dead, but faith makes hope alive!!! Hope is based on trust in God; and trust in God is what the devil has attacked! Hope and trust is the choice: What are the things you hope for? Faith is the ingredient of things hoped for; and once you choose hope; all things become possible through Christ who gives us strength.
What perhaps is misunderstood is that even though all things are possible, not all things are permissible.
Look at Jesus, who prayed, Father if it is possible, remove this cup from me; nevertheless your will be done! Jesus had a high calling!
By faith, they (those mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 11) hoped for the greater things not of this world; their hope was of the things promised to them by God!
I remember when I faced cancer, I didn’t know what to pray, but Christ in me did! I trust God; and by faith I trusted the prayer Christ gave me to pray that particular day, Father if it is possible, remove this cup from me; nevertheless your will be done. You see I went through something, but I didn’t stay there. I trusted God and because of my faith I got to see the evidence of the things I hoped for!
And, I only went through the portion according to that that was according to my calling. I learned to trust God even greater, when I experienced His presence carry me through; and then there were those around me that got to see a glimpse of hope with the light of Jesus radiating from the peace who dwells within me. The attendee kept going to the break room and telling those around her, “I don’t know what it is about this patience, but she just brings me peace.” I told her, it was Jesus in me; and so it was the Christ!
Jesus is the truth, the way and the life.
Jesus is where “HOPE IN GOD” is found; (the Kingdom Come that is not of this world, but of the things hoped for); and this is where (hope that is accompanied by faith) is found; peace, joy and assurance of what we hope for is possible by our faith (which is the substance of things hoped for!
The God of all hope is powerful; and God is God! Certainty in hope (faith in things hoped for) is found in our relationship with God the Father; and knowing God is love; and understanding the Word of God which does teach us (and remind us) how to abide in the love of God. God is a JUST God. Please don’t confuse God: God is just and God is love too; and God is the God of all hope!
So we can’t improve our hope, God is the God of all hope; instead we grow in our personal relationship with God and gain knowledge of hope! Through Christ, we can build ourselves up in our most holy faith; Now, faith is the substance that makes hope alive. God is the God of all hope!
When we come to know and believe the love that God has for us; abiding faith, hope and love is a good place or position to know in our heart and soul. Believing faith is in a resting place for our soul, and is possible by faith in Jesus Name, knowing and trusting in the truth that God is God!
Our hope is NOT in the situation, but our hope is in God; the God of hope. So now then, please open your Bible to Psalm 42:5 (KJV), which we can hear to the voice of the Lord say to us:
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
There truly is a duck named Quacker; and this series began with the Title: Why is it easier to believe the worst about your situation; than to HOPE? Inspiration: “What is the difference in a Duck?” I hope this is a blessing to you, in Jesus Name.
What do I mean by, “What is the difference in hope?” In the form of a parable, this little duck can represent God’s relationship with man [People and hope]; and I am comparing hope to [Hope].
“You cannot compare two things and state they are the same when you are only dealing with one item.”
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:4-6 (KJV)
There is one hope, God [the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit], and the difference in hope is found where your faith is. The answer the Spirit of the Lord has been teaching Hope in Today Ministries is, “Faith”. HOPE IN GOD is the one true hope. Sometimes, when I get weak, I can hear my dad say, “Where’s your faith?” And, I am made strong again!
Hope without faith is doubt, but when we apply our faith to our hope, our hope becomes alive in Jesus Name; renewed and full of confidence in God’s Grace, God’s Ability and the essence of that wonderful Peace and Joy that is only found in Jesus!
This morning I woke in prayer about how to share this revelation; and the Lord showed me his world through a raindrop. I hoped I could take a picture of this incredible raindrop, so my faith ran outside; and it was still there!
God gave hope to the world; to all who will believe in His testimony in Jesus Name. Don’t delay, by faith we believe for hope! “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).”
The air is invisible until light is shined into it and we can see the dust. Our hope is invisible until God shines His light into our heart (the world) that we can see and to understand that Jesus is the One True Light (hope), yet hope requires faith to believe.
Just as we can open the windows to let the air come in, and we can smell the freshness of spring! So also, can we open the window of our heart to welcome Jesus in and believe –then His Peace fills our soul with the sweet aroma of God, because God is in the midst of our heart, when we choose to trust God.
We can look into a morning Horizon and see the beauty in the air. The air is invisible, but there it is the light of the morning that declares morning has come; and we can see the horizon! Jesus has come!
There is an essence of beauty in the fragrance of the air. A place of calam; and when we seek, we find God is there. Jesus is the One True Light!
More than a hope, when we seek by faith what we hope for, we will find what it is that we are so seeking. God is painting a picture for you to have hope, but more than hope that sits and waits; a hope that believes to go and seek; to find what it is that you hope for!
Hope with faith is like waking up in the morning and looking out the window to see what God has done!
Hope alone is like a doubt that just sits and hopes, but never applies faith to seek!
Faith is a confidence in what you hope for.
My son said, mom hope is like you can hope that door will open, but it won’t open by itself.
Hope is like a doubt. Faith is confidence! Faith is the substance that makes hope a reality!
We can hope the door will open, but until we apply our faith and open the door that will open, it will remain shut; as hope cannot just sit and wait. Hope is achieved by faith because of God’s Grace in Jesus Name!
My son said, “If you want the door to open, you have to go open the door.” Wow. This wonderful explanation come to me because I sit on the edge of my son’s bed this week and said, “Son, I would like to teach you something, would that be okay? I would like to teach you about Hope and Faith.” I was blown away by my son’s words! I went in there to teach him; and he was the one who taught me! Yet, it was the Spirit of God who taught us both!
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost (Romans 15:13).”
My son also said, “Hope is like having a flower bulb sitting on the table and hoping it will grow. But hope is like a doubt unless you plant it to grow by faith. You have to plant the flower and cover it with dirt. You have to water it and take care of it and sometimes even weed it. By our Faith, it is God whom makes our hope grow!
Link to this testimony:
Then my son reminded me also that we hoped Quacker would not die that night. And compared hope to hope by applying faith.
There is one important thing to know about faith. Faith in Jesus is the power of faith we have been given by the grace of God!
We can sit in a chair; and that is faith. We can trust God and that is faith. We don’t doubt the chair will hold us, we sit. We don’t doubt God will hold us, we believe. If we just hope the chair will hold us, we may not sit. Faith is assurance, confidence and faith is the substance of things hoped for. Read God’s Word to gain faith! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!
Jesus is more than a hope; Jesus is our Salvation, when we place our faith in him to believe.
Grow in your relationship with God and experience your faith grow!
You can’t trust anything that you don’t believe will hold you. But God is more capable to hold you than that chair you trust by your faith to sit on!
By Faith, the little duck had the opportunity to live which was what we hoped for that night. We held him to the food when he was too weak to reach; and he ate! I hope this is food for your soul that encourages you to build yourself up in your most holy faith! [Jude 1:20].
Life and death is in God’s hand. Yet, God gives us the hope to pray and apply our faith (according to the Word of God). It was not about if the duckling lived or died on this earth; it was about doing all that was on our heart to do! It was about using the gift of faith God has given to us who believe. When we added our faith to the hope, it was because we knew something to do, but still it required faith to do.
Knowing and doing are two different things. But there is One Hope; and the difference is faith.
No, we don’t know that it will be okay, but Christ in us does! We can trust God. And, in Jesus Name faith is the substance of things hoped for.
I would have still trusted God if the duckling would have died, but the fact is, the duckling would have died if I just hoped it would live. In Jesus Name we did all we knew to do and the duckling lived. Yes, faith is the miracle we see. “By your faith” is written in the Word of God for a reason.
This testimony began this series, “What is the difference in hope”: and the answer is faith. There is only ONE hope and His Name is JESUS. So we cannot compare two things. The difference is if we believe God’s Word to apply our faith; or if we doubt what God has said.
“You cannot compare two things and state they are the same when you are only dealing with one item.”
Perhaps you have more questions about “unanswered prayers”?
The answer to this question is also found in the Word of God. In my mom’s favorite verse: Proverbs 3:5-6. My mom loves the clouds; and she teaches me to always look up to see life, hope and to experience the fullness of love!
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).”
Hope in Today Ministries is here today to encourage you in your faith; as the Bible says to the Believers in Christ, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 1:20).”
I couldn’t make the little duck drink or eat. All I could do was hold him to the water and then to the food. Because it looked so good to him, he drank and he ate; and it was good and good for him. This little duck lived and grew to find his fight for life; this little duck just needed a friend who cared with hope that believed God’s power to apply faith to what we hoped for! I hope this writing today makes the glory of God look good to you that you will want to taste for yourself that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD.
Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
I hope this is a blessing to you today! I hope you return to hear this amazing story about Quacker and our four little ducks! This is my faith that I share, because I hope this will be a blessing to you too!
Love in Christ,
Karen Rowe, Director
Hope in Today Ministries, Inc.
