The Overwhelming Importance of HOPE in A Christian’s Life! Part 1.

14 May 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   14 May 2026   Jeremiah 29:11.

Jeremiah 29:11.        ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’

Ah friends, the penultimate day of our work week, Thursday, has opened somewhat cloudy and chilly, but let’s not lose hope, for yesterday afternoon turned out to be quite nice, despite the poor early morning weather. And if it’s one thing we Christians have is hope. Hope in God, and hope that things will turn out all right in the end. For without hope, what’s the purpose of living? None whatsoever! Since hope is the basic catalyst that keeps us going; keeps us holding on to our dreams and desires, whatever they may be. With hope we expect things to get better and those dreams to materialize at some point in time.

And that’s why the Bible, God’s Word is filled with so many wonderful verses on hope. So let’s look at some of them, and see how they boost our faith. for remember without hope, you cannot have faith, as hope is the basis of faith. And possibly the most well known and favourite verse of hope in the Bible is this one from Jeremiah. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) Yes my fellow believers, that’s what the Lord has in mind for us; hope of a good future, that culminates with Him in eternal life. And there’s nothing better to look forward to than that!

Then there’s this other amazing promise from the prophet Isaiah, that we all know and mouth, but don’t always believe, otherwise we would not be so often lacking in hope. ‘He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:29-31)

What a marvellous promise! But if we don’t truly believe it, then it will not happen for us, for that’s the groundwork called for in God’s Word; belief, which is born of hope and topped by faith. As Bruh Paul says in Romans. ‘For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience (perseverance) wait (eagerly wait) for it.’ (Rom. 8:24-25) And that’s the gospel truth! For hope is looking and waiting for something we don’t see. If we see it, then there’s no point in hoping for it.

Then there’s this interesting verse from the prophet Micah, where he declares: ‘Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.’ (Mic. 7:7) Now that’s a tremendous statement of hope and faith. As this translation puts it: ‘But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.’ And that’s more undeniable truth my brethren. If we wait and hope in our God, He will hear us and provide salvation. But then again, that all depends on the level of our belief that’s based on the amount of our hope. (smile)

Now these are also important verses on belief and hope, but I don’t think we appreciate them as much as some of the others. Why? Just listen. ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh (produces) patience; And patience, experience (character); and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God is shed abroad (poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.’ (Rom. 5:1-5)

Ah mih people, we all like the end product, but none of us like to go through the middle section that talks of tribulations and perseverance. However, that is a most basic and foundational aspect of truly living for Jesus. It’s the calling of self-sacrifice that all followers of Jesus are expected to engage in, following His glorious example. And there are several more interesting scriptures on hope, but since time and space have runout on us, we’ll look at those tomorrow, if God spares life obviously. (smile)  

And to help us find and keep that hope, the Lord has also most generously bestowed on us undeserved blessings, we call our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare and activate them right now! In one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration, it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…there are too many examples of God’s faithfulness…to ever lose hope in Him…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 February 2019 Song of Solomon 8:6.

14 Feb 2019 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Song of Solomon 8:6.   Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
 

Happy Valentine’s Day my people! I guess this is what we call the Day of LOVE in our current ungodly world. And even though it’s mostly about outward appearances and another chance for the commercial set to increase their fortune, I guess we’ll have to take it, since we won’t get anything better. 

And I don’t know why I read some of the news headlines before I began writing the Bit nuh, because they made me later than I already was, and are the farthest things from LOVE and consequently dampened my spirit! It’s just about greed and power hungry people seeking the aphrodisiac of power through any means, and immense inhumanity to man from his fellow man. 

It’s surprising that with all the supposed wonderful improvements we’ve made, that the inhumane treatment we mete out to each other is still so widespread and gut wrenching! And the horror of social media has just made it easier to do it from afar, anonymously, and get away with it too. 

But what does the ole fella know eh friends? Apparently not a whole lot. And they will quickly say that I’m from another time and place; a minted dinosaur in a brand new world! And they might just be right. But the fact of the matter is that I prefer my dinosaur status to that of this brand new, unfair and oh so unjust world. Enough of my morbid thoughts though on this Valentine’s Day. (smile) It’s a day to celebrate LOVE, so let’s see what the Good Book has to say about it nuh. 

And in my searching, I was led to this most interesting, but li’l known passage of scripture, most appropriately from Cousin Sol’s Song of LOVE. ‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. 

Many waters cannot quench LOVE, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance (wealth) of his house for LOVE, it would utterly be contemned (despised). (Song 8:6-7) 

Ah friends, what powerful and heart-warming words on that most valuable, but most elusive attribute of our wonderful and ever-LOVING God! And the scholars offer this interesting explanation: ‘8:6-7. These verses are clearly the climax to the story. The maiden describes in the most vivid terms the unquenchable nature of true LOVE: it cannot be destroyed by death or the grave; it burns like a blazing fire that cannot be extinguished, and it cannot be bought.’ 

Wow! What an amazing thing is LOVE! It’s an unquenchable fire; an indestructible element, and most of all it has no price; it cannot be bought, it has to be experienced! So on this supposed day of LOVE my faithful brethren, please let’s remember those things and work seriously on our LOVE experience! (smile) 

And to help us do just that, let’s review these memorable words of John in his first epistle. This verse sets the stage: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God IS LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) That’s the first thing we have to know and believe friends if we want to be a part of God’s kingdom; that God IS LOVE!’ If we don’t wholeheartedly acknowledge that, then all bets are off, we can’t be a part of God’s realm. 

But having faithfully acknowledged that, we then come to this next ever so important step in our LOVE walk. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17) 

Ah my people, to truly walk in step and in LOVE with God, we have to deny the evil desires and the sins that are so much a part of our human existence. 

And you wonder why I dislike computers…I just turned aside to check the spelling of a word, and next thing a blip in the electricity occurred and the computer shut down. Then I had to reboot it twice to get it back up, losing more than ten minutes of time and also the two lines I had just written and not saved. Can’t even remember what it was now! Steups! 

And that is what we are basing the entire future of our world on; technological contraptions that can be infiltrated and easily shut down by a simple power glitch. Chuh! That’s why I like being a dinosaur yes! (smile) 

Yeh I remember now, I was writing about paying special attention to the provocateurs of evil who are always trying to turn us away from God. And yuh see that, the enemy didn’t like my warning, so he tried to expunge it by setting up the glitch. (smile) But li’l does he realize that he’s a beaten foe and the time of his eventual demise is near. So please let’s hold on dearly and tightly to the LOVE of God, which will NEVER be extinguished, destroyed or bought! Glory be! 

Now let’s go home rejoicing in what we call our Thursday Blessings; the blessings our most magnanimous God has bestowed on us to use in His work down here on earth. All together now in strong faith and loud voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

 I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

So with all of that LOVING-kindness poured out on us, let’s go out now and share it with the less fortunate, as Jesus so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!

…only true LOVE…can save our dark, evil and dismal world…