9/30/2021 As we come to the end of September we look ahead to All Saints Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. Some may wonder why halloween was not included but it is not a day of hope (except for candy) but began as a day to leave treats so those pesky demons wouldn’t ‘trick’ you.

All Saints Day is a celebration of those who in Jesus who have gone through the “shadow of death” and are alive evermore!

Thanksgiving in America was scheduled by President Abraham Lincoln as a day to give thanks to God. It is interesting the first Thanksgiving was when the North was losing.

Christmas season is appropriate because it is too important to be held to just one day. It is a celebration of God’s gift of grace as the sacrificial offering for all came into the world. This birth weakened the wall and heaven and earth rejoiced!

Prepare yourself for these days and the time they are within. The current year can come to a great completion no matter what is happening-to us or the world.

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

9/29/2021 My wife and daughter bought me a wood craft painted white that says hope. It sits where I can see it and in the background is a cross made by a friend and a crown of thorns given to me by a congregation we served. Hope is from God but often people around you pass on hope. Cherish them!

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Grace is not hard to see but at times we just do not look, or even worse see it as ‘good luck’. God says the just and the unjust receive the grace of rain. Have you ever thought that while rain is often a blessing it can also be torrential rain leading to flooding. Grace is for all and at times comes in unexpected ways.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/28/2021

HOPE

H ow can I believe

O nce again I fall

P erhaps I should give up

E verlasting failure is mine

H ow can I surrender

O nly God can see me through

P ause and wait for Him

E verlasting strength to help

H ow could I not believe

O nce again Jesus saves me

P raising Him for grace

E verlasting praise to Jesus

September 2006

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

9/27/2021 Why do bad things happen to good people? Jesus once stated that the only one who was good is God. Bad things happen to people because of sin. It is that simple. The warning was that if we chose to be god rather than accept God we would die which means dying we will die. All sickness, storms, abuse, addiction and all the other ways we are dying comes from our decision to be god. Without God even our living is really just existing with the perpetual fear all we have and are will be taken away. In truth, our only hope is in hope and grace! We must seek hope and grace not just because we do not have it but because we cannot exist without it!!!

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

9/26/2021 not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere, 2 Corinthians 10:15

Hope must come from a greater source than the power or abilities of ourselves and others. Our source of hope must come from something bigger than humanity and for the Christians it is the Creator and for others the stability of creation.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Why should I offer grace? Because I NEED grace. Why should I extend grace to those undeserving? Because this is the meaning of grace and we want grace though we do not deserve it either.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/25/2021 As we head into fall we see the leaves change and then slowly fall to the ground forming food for the coming years. The flowers begin to fade and wither but many await the sun and warmth of spring to come forth again. Many trees hibernate but the pines and their friends stay green as a promise life will spring forth again and death is not the final act as we think.

Here we see hope and grace in Creation as it looks to the Creator to not just renew life but is Life! God’s grace is a second chance and even as fall turns into winter spring and the hope of Easter reminds us as God spoke through the writer of Ecclesiastes “there is a time to every purpose under heaven”!!!

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/24/2021 Hope does not mean you will never have fear but when you are afraid hope will help keep fear from overwhelming you. We do not need to live from fear to fear with the greater fear becoming our focus. We can turn to hope; either in God or in the order of Creation which we lose sight of in our fear.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Graceless verses graceful. These words have come to mean if a person can walk well and offer a good presentation of themselves. Part of being graceful must include be unmerited favor and undeserved forgiveness or eventually the outward presentation will fail.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/23/2021 Is hope enough? Hope can help get you through much you have to face but it is just the beginning of all God has for you. Hope can lead you to faith, faith to love and love to producing a fruit which can change eternity one heart at a time.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

You will never understand grace until you realize it is undeserved! Grace cannot be earned, passed on or attained for someone else. It is the undeserved love of God which does not just forgive but Jesus took on the sin and the punishment we deserve. Could it be that is why pride goes before a fall?

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/22/2021 It is easy to believe I do not deserve all the pain, suffering and woe in my life but when I remember I do deserve them because of my sin hope and grace come to have their true meaning in my life.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/21/2021 As I said before there are times when I must hold on to hope in hope. We can live in the recognition hope is an option and even a possibility. I dare not think what my life would be without the hope of hope. I am frightened by the idea of a world without hope.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

This journal began with a message that race relations has failed and a call for grace relations. With grace relations we build our lives on forgiveness rather than fear or anger. We seek to build rather than tear down. We seek to better each other rather than lifting ourselves by putting down others. This is grace.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/20/2021 What do people think of me? What are they saying about me? Do they know what I said about them? Do they know about my secret? About my secrets? I’m scared to say anything to anyone about anything because it will make someone mad and I may lose a friend. It seems all is falling apart and I am afraid I will be left without enough. Enough. But I want so much more. I am so afraid. This is a life lived without hope. A life fearful any change will be for the worse. Hope relieves our burden and frees us to live.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

“Grace that is greater than all our sin.” We can believe in grace but do we believe in grace enough? Do we believe grace is enough? If we cannot believe grace is enough for us can we share the hope of grace with others as we should?

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/19/2021 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 1 Peter 3:15

Hope is essential to all who live and desire more than existence. Without God there can be an effective hope as we trust in the order of life but true and full hope can only come from God who is the author and source of hope.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

The world says I should be part of what helps me or makes me look good but grace calls me to where I can serve and grow by helping others. The importance of grace is it helps me think about others and their needs.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/18/2021 Today hope seems so far away and it would be so easy to give up. Ever have one of those day? What do you do? I must hope in hope and hope God is there. Is with me.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

The more frightened I get by what is going on in the world around me the more I need hope and grace. If I act with grace to those around me the possibility of hope and the meaning of grace grow in me.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/17/2021 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 1 Timothy 3:14

Because of the Communist Chinese disease called covid traveling to visit family has been difficult if not impossible. The need for face to face communication has been shown by the increase in depression and even suicide. Remember there is hope! We can continue to communicate through other means until shortly we can once again come together.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

I must remember grace. Grace is not natural to us and we must be intentional or our words will destroy someone loved by God.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/16/2021 A US general told the Communist Chinese government President Trump was crazy and he would warn them if the president does anything crazy. When your own government is against you, when the military commits a temporary coup where is hope? Hope is strongest where needed most. Do not surrender to fear or anger but rest in hope! Hope can defeat despair!

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

I am angry! Angry about the waste of human lives from drugs, slavery and abortion! Angry the very people who are supposed to protect us are not only protecting those committing these crimes but are also involved in these horrific crimes! We can be angry and “sin not” but we must also pray for those harming precious souls beloved by God. Even if we do not not want to. Especially if we do not want to! That is grace!!!

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

 9/15/2021 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Being sober is possible through salvation and is essential to maintaining. Even without salvation being sober brings hope and help to our life.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

Without grace it impossible to please God and it is also impossible to live a pleasant life if you do not extend grace.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/14/2021 Is their hope for the people of Afghanistan? Is their hope for those who feel neglected and abused? Is there hope those who hurt others can change and be forgiven? The ironic thing about hope is it’s ability to be strongest when it is most needed. In the worst times find hope and hold on!!!

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Grace must be received as well as given. There is an old story about a wealthy Methodist merchant who every week would go into debtor’s prison and pay their debt so a person could be set free. One day he offered to pay a man’s debt and they refused declaring they would pay their own debt. The merchant went away sad and the man died in a prison of his own pride. Discover the joy of receiving grace and the joy of offering grace.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/13/2021 Are you afraid? Are you angry a lot? Each of us must make a choice between holding onto grudges and resentment or face life with hope, trusting God is able to do what we cannot do. We must realize what we fear could be God’s will for us to face it.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Forgiveness is like an onion and we must peel away each layer as we are able. The great thing about an onion is when we get toward the middle it often is softer and easier to deal with. Could the tears in our lives be a sign we are peeling off a layer of hurt by forgiving?

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/12/2021 Fear. The Bible declares perfect love casts out all fear. Is this perfect love God’s love or ours?

Why do we fear? Why does fear rule our lives? Could it be we fear because we think we must control our lives in a world with little or no control? The only way we can possibly have control is to assume we are god. But as a god we stink.

Can we control ourselves? If not, how can we control the world which is never really in control. Of the first two people listed in the Bible as being born on earth one was a murderer and the other the victim.

After our fall we left God’s control and protection and submitted ourselves to our own. Or to our own lack of control. Like the cancer it is fear perverts our spirits and souls leaving us without even our puny resources.

Even the good in us is perverted and becomes what we use to destroy others. While true evil is real as is satan, we do a pretty good job at destroying others and ourselves.

I firmly believe fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred and hatred leads to violence. Fear has been used over time by good and even by evil to destroy others for the ‘good’ of ourselves and others. We can become so perverted as to believe the theft, destruction, rape and murder of others is even for their good!

Science is held as humanities shining light of humanities progress but do not look to close. One of great beliefs of science today is evolution which is described as progressive though it was taught by Greek scholars and debunked by the so unscientific people a couple of thousand of years ago.

The ‘founder’ of evolution is supposedly Charles Darwin who is upheld as a great scholar who struggled against the bondage of Christianity. The problem is much of evolutionary thought today actually shows how wrong Darwin was.

Have you ever read any of Darwin’s books? Yes there is more than one. Some of the thoughts were from Grecian scholars and his father-in-law who did not have the benefit of a voyage to far off lands.

Some of the true believers in Darwinism – now almost always called evolution are:

Those who tried to wipe out indigenous people around the world because they were a lower order of life.

Those who pushed for abortion to limit the number of non-whites born to cleanse their lineage.

Those who pushed for Eugenics to keep those unproductive to society to be able to have children.

Nazism which sought to eradicate or enslave all those who were not of Germanic blood.

Socialism which sought order by destroying those harmful to society.

And so many other people who sought to protect their “rational” and “scientific” beliefs by destroying evidence, faking evidence and ignoring evidence.

This is the face of unbiased science.

The real story of evolution is it only declares how things evolved or changed but cannot ever reveal how the universe came to be. If not so serious it would be funny that scientists are now exploring the idea that aliens seeded life on earth. Maybe that drives the urgency of finding life on other planets.

Of course this leaves us with the question of who seeded those aliens and on and on. Sigh.

Leaving ourselves without God has led us to write our own script for the world written in blood and coating all of us in blood – either of others or our own.

The only hope is hope and grace. Hope and grace lead us to the only Door out of this horrific unplanned plan of fear. Hope and grace lead us to Jesus who declares I AM the door...

I do not write this as one not needing hope or grace. I am just as guilty or even more so. Only by knowing my guilt and fear can I write this.

This is a combination hope and grace entry. Hope and grace are connected in ways I cannot understand so this entry is my attempt to see their importance.

 

9/11/2021 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:20

Hope allows us to know there is more than us. We are not limited by our own abilities and inabilities but we can live or die magnified by Christ!

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Grace is… What is the definition of grace? We say grace is amazing, beyond forgiving and so many other terms that seem more defining than a definition. Perhaps grace is best defined by its source, God, and its function seen as Jesus died on the cross for us and rose from the dead so we can live!

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

9/10/2021 Hope

Can I have hope in this land of woe

darkness enfolding where we do go

Will dark eat my soul like a cancer

crying out to God seeking an answer

Sunrise overwhelms dark's power

Light shines hope we needn’t cower

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

What would the world look like without grace? Look at the worst places on earth and magnify it times two. Why? Because in the darkest places there is still at least a small Light of grace. That Light is like a night light helping us to not stub our toes and to get to a safe place. Back into the Light of grace.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/9/2021 Hope is not a peaceful release into not caring but a moment by moment looking to God to know goodness will triumph over evil because evil is weaker as it finds its strength in our basest being and because it is by its very nature self-destructive.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

“White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a press briefing that the administration was seeking to ensure that the advisory board members were “qualified to serve” and “aligned” with President Joe Biden’s values.”

Being graceless is natural to us and we must understand this weakness and seek help and support from God and others who see the need for grace. Seldom have I seen an act so graceless and yet so proudly proclaimed.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/8/2021 Can I hold on

Can I hold on in the face of all I face

Can I hold on to my place

Can I hold on when all falls apart

Can I hold on to my heart

Can I hold on as deaths own do kill

Can I hold on still

Can I hold on as evil destroys the good

Can I hold on as I should

Can I hold on as I lose all I hold dear

Can I hold on when I fear

Can I hold on as everything fly’s away

Can I hold on today

Can I hold on to You who are God

Can You hold on my God

I can only hope. I must hope

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Let it go

Pilgrim let it roll away

Harder to make it stay

Always wants to return

Causes our heart to burn

Cut the ties that hold it in

Cut the ties holding our sin

Oh God, let it roll away

Please let it leave today

No guarantee it won’t return

Even though I sin do spurn

Please God help me today

Please God, let it roll away

God, let grace from grace

and hope from hope

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/7/2021 Hope begins with looking away from the horrific problems in our lives, families and world to seek hope. To keep from getting lost in the dark we need

to look to God who is Light.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

If I want grace I must offer grace. In what is our prayer, commonly called The Lord’s Prayer, we pray we may receive grace just as much as we offer grace. Scary isn’t it?

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/6/2021 I looked at some verses about hope today but while I am not hopeless I do have less hope. We can say it is a bad day but is that true? Or is it bad because trouble surrounds us or because we are bad? I have no answers, I just hope to have hope.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

There is a real link between hope and grace. They are tied together like hope and faith and in neither case do I understand how that connection works. But I do know that connection is very real and essential.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/5/2021 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, Colossians 1:5

There is a saying Christians are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good but in truth only when we are looking to heaven can we realize the hope for a better world and God can bridge from the wonders of Heaven to the needs on earth.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Grace is successful only where a need is felt. Some think they do not need forgiveness because they haven’t done anything wrong (I have met people who believed that) and those who think they are too bad for grace. Where grace is not wanted or thought not needed there will be a vacuum of grace.

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

9/4/2021 Some may ask why I often speak of hope without showing God as the source. God is the source of all hope but hope is also available to the just and the unjust. Even to those who do not believe in God! We have no right to limit hope to those God formed and loves. Maybe hope will be the seed of faith! I have hope that hope can lead people to God.

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Large parts of the southeastern section of the US are devastated by storm, destruction and flood. “This is God’s fault.” NO! We broke creation and went from a heavy dew to rain, storms and floods. God’s grace is seen in the help of neighbors, help from the local area, from across the nation and from other nations. Release bitterness and discover the grace of God surrounding you!

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

Please pray for those who have been harmed by Hurricane Ida for at least a year. The news will go away but it will take longer then even a year for them to recover and get their lives, families and communities healthy again. Remember them because they will at times feel forgotten. Remember them because God does!

 

9/3/2021 Is there hope for those caught in the storms nature brings? Is there hope when the Taliban comes for you, and even worse your family? YES!!! There is hope because there must be! How else could people over time have faced this and worse? How can people face this and worse today? Only hope can explain the difference between those who crumble and die and those who stand even when there seems nothing to stand on!!!

This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

 

Offering grace to those in need can bring a seed of hope to those receiving it. Sharing our abundance in the hope of God’s provision offers the hope of God’s provision to others. Offering grace can be infectious and others may pass grace along to others. Grace and hope are more infectious than the Communist Chinese disease Covid and can bring healing, even in the face of destruction!

From my Grace Journal. It was suggested to start a Grace Journal as a reminder of our need not for agreement but grace to guide our relationships.