10/31/2021 Today is a Sunday and as some pastors say it is a little Easter. Coming out of a Jewish lineage Christianity at first worshiped in the Temple or synagogue on Saturday, the seventh day which God declared a day of rest. But over time and persecution Christians began to worship on Sunday, the day of Easter. From the beginning Easter was an amazing source of hope and strength to the early Church. Easter also became the hope by which many came to Jesus. Easter is indeed the hope beyond hope!!!

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

Easter was not just a sign of hope but the revelation of God and of grace. Jesus died for the Jews and the Gentiles, for those who knew they needed Him and for those who didn’t as well as for the very people who crucified Him. Like me and 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.

Creeds are not boring (unless you want them to be), used to prove others are wrong (they will also be used against you), to separate Christians ( to want to be like Jesus – little Christ’s) but to guide us in who God is and living out the faith. Creeds are a reminder, a guidepost and a fence to protect us from going astray from life to death.

Ron Ramsey

 

10/30/2021 The earliest known creed is “Jesus is Lord”. This short three word creed holds the four word meaning “and I am not”. With this creed comes the wondrous hope I do not stand alone and God is not only with me but is on my side. The creeds are a guidance to God, to Truth, faith and hope.

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

Creeds reveal to us the heart of God and we see the love and grace is not just a thing from God but is and expression of Him. Take time to read some of the creeds God’s people have written to guide them and those who came later to the true God who alone is enough. Here are some creeds to study.

Apostles Creed (older version and ecumenical versions)

Nicene Creed

Athanasian Creed

Chalcedonian definition

Didache

Baptismal Creed of Jerusalem

Westminster Confession of Faith

London Baptist Confession of Faith

Augsburg Confession of Faith

Cannons of Dort

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy

Nashville Statement

and finally the Biblical Creeds

Korean Methodist Creed

Except for the Korean Methodist Creed these creeds and information about them can be found at justdisciple.com/christian-creed/

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.

 

10/29/2021

“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,” (1Jo 4:2 NKJV)

Christianity is a relationship with God but some try to make a religion out of it. They seek to make it a list of do’s and don’ts where getting to heaven is doing more do’s than don’ts. To seem possible the Bible must be rewritten and God made distant and Jesus just a good teacher. This is a sign we are lost in our desires and lust. Lost in the same lust Adam and Eve chose, to be our own God!

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/28/2021

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,” (1 Peter 3:18 NKJV)

Sin requires death. A life must pay for sin which is death. God warned us to sin was to die and the word die means dying we will die. Jesus the Christ deserves life while we deserve death. For a time of preparation the life’s blood of animals was used as a sort of down payment for our sin until Jesus the Christ as a just sacrifice was able to make an eternal payment for our sin by suffering and dying for us. Our flesh, body, is still dying but our soul is alive by the Holy Spirit. One day all will be set right and our bodies will also be resurrected and we shall be like Him.

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/27/2021

“Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,” (2 Timothy 2:8 NKJV)

Jesus Christ is the promised seed of David and while King David is dead the eternal seed of David is raised from the dead and is alive. REMEMBER!!! On Altars and Altar clothes we are called to “Do This in Remembrance of Me”. Remember grace and do not forget hope. REMEMBER!!!

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/26/2021

“who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11 NKJV)

When we do wrong or are wrong one of our defenses is “God doesn’t understand?” Here we see this not only is not true but reveals how little we know about God. There are very few things we will experience Jesus not only experienced it, but worse. The Father watched His only begotten Son die after being tortured and had to turn His back on His Son when Jesus took on our sin. Jesus was denied by His Father, deserted by His faithful (?) followers and for years treated to prejudice by the Romans in His own land. Such an example and extension of grace is profound and without faith unbelievable! And here is hope. Hope beyond hope!!!

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/25/2021

“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NKJV)

I think one of the most important lessons of this verse is receiving is essential to sharing or delivering. This is so important Paul lists the varied and many sources he received the Good News Jesus died for our sins from. But not just that alone but also according to the Scriptures. We are reminded this is not some bandage plan but is seen right after the fall when it was promised satan’s head would be crushed by the seed of the woman. Only one person in all of Creation was born of the seed of the woman, by virgin birth, and He is Jesus Christ.

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/24/2021

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NKJV)

The Church has long disputed how Communion, or the many different names we described it by, works (?) there is an amazing call to remember and we are presented with bread and fruit of the grape vine and suddenly what we are remembering is present with us. Or are we present then? No matter what or no matter who presents to us the elements, as they are called, it is Jesus we receive them from for they are Him. They are the body and blood of Jesus given not just for us but to us! This a continual reminder God came to us and for us because we could not and would not come to God. This is hope and grace!

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

 10/23/2021

• “saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”” (Luke 24:34 NKJV)

Can this one short sentence be a Creed? It seems more of a statement or a declaration? Now we begin to understand a Creed! A Creed is a statement of what is believed and a public (this is very important) declaration of our belief in it. Do you believe this? Can you honestly declare this publicly?

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

10/22/2021 After the fall people grew farther and farther from God until the sad day came when we needed to call on the name of the Lord. Generation by generation people got farther from God until we were so evil God cleansed the world by flood. We are so far from God we need the Bible to help us even know who God is. The early Church wrote short statements about God and His working among people which became Creeds as a statement of faith in God.

Here is one of the first Creeds which is believed to have been written within a decade of the Resurrection of Jesus:

1 Corinthians 15:3-8: 

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: 

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 

that he was buried, 

that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 

and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

Over the next days we will look at some of these early Creeds found in the Bible.

Creeds: Statements of who God is and who we should be. This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/21/2021 Over the years I taught “Those to whom we look for our daily sustenance is our God.” If we are placing our hope in any person, nation, family or anyone other than God we will become starved and cynical.

An entry from my Hope Journal which helps me have hope, beyond hope.

If we race with grace we will finish well!!! (It is a bad pun. I like bad pun’s.)

From my Grace Journal as a reminder we need not agreement but grace to guide our relationships.

 

10/20/2021 Maybe the reason we do not have hope is because it is an admission we need someone else. Hope can only be founded in the Creator or His Creation. Either way we must humbly admit we need. We need. That is hard.

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

The hymn “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus” is the heart song of grace and faith calling us to pray “oh for grace to trust Him more.” Faith is not by our works and efforts but is a gift of grace by God. In God’s grace cry “oh for grace to trust Him more.”

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.

 

10/19/2021 Hope can be thin as a thread yet stronger than the thickest rope. Hope can be eroded by wind and rain yet stand longer than any mountain. Hope is a wall of protection from fear and anger. Hope. Even hope in hope.

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

"God loves it when His children play well together." Ronald Ramsey

This a snapshot 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.

 

10/18/2021 What do you mean when you say “I hope”? “I hope they get better.” “I hope it doesn’t rain today.” What do you mean when you say “I hope”? Take some time to think about what you mean when you say “I hope”. What does hope mean to you? Is hope just a feel good word or does it mean more? Sometimes we can use a word with little thought of its meaning. Hope is too important to be used like this. Realize the power of hope and use the word in hope and with hope.

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

 

10/17/2021

God, all is falling apart ripped by fear and hatred. We are so blinded by our desire for the darkness of evil we are not only destructive but self destructive. Our fear of change strengthened our arrogance leaves us controlled by events rather than effecting them. Help us to allow You as Truth to be our Truth, as Light to follow Your guiding Light and as You are Life help to value our Life and the Life of others.

So Be It. 1/10/2021

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.

 

10/16/2021

I do not know what to pray because everything is so full of unreality. How can one who lives understanding the fall and how it destroys peoples hearts pray. How can we pray? Do we pray for something to fail not realizing God is using that to humble us? How can we understand when we are praying for someone and not praying against? I am left with:

May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

This prayer is so simple yet encompasses all.

I have not kept up with the news. My pain and weakness makes me a coward. I cannot look and see.

Help me God to not look for human solutions to all which is around me. Remind me, like Habakkuk, that Your will can be painful and mean the loss of what I hold dear. 1/10/2021

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.

 

10/15/2021 Mark Lowry said a very important lesson in the Bible is “it came to pass”. We can draw guidance that even the best things will pass helping us to be prepared for that but also the bad will pass in time. They do not come to stay.

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

Some say a bad person cannot receive grace but that is wrong. Grace is FOR bad people which is wonderful because we are all bad and are in need of grace.

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. Luke 18:19

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.

 

This is why I started my hope journal.  I hope those who read it will discover the power of hope in their lives.

Hope is a need!

Hope is essential to be a healthy human. Without hope we are overcome by fear which leads to anger, which leads hatred, which leads to violence and death. Hope can overcome ignorance and fear. WE NEED HOPE! Seek God who is the source of all hope.

 

10/14/2021 Hope is not a magic elixir taking away troubles but strengthens us by helping us see the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

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

Grace is not defined by race or other categories which divide but is a unifying work of God to bring us together in Him by our common need to forgive and to be forgiven.

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.

 

10/13/2021 I hope… What does it means to hope? Is hoping the same as a wish or a dream. NO! Unlike a wish or a dream hope is based in something or someone. For Christians hope is based on the love of God who promised to protect and keep them. For others hope can be based on the order God as Creator built into creation. Hope has a strong base lacking in a wish or a dream.

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

Grace must have an input and an output. To be saved we must open our input to receive God’s grace that fulfills the law and God’s forgiveness. But to be saved also requires us to output grace to others. There is a hymn called “Pass it on” which reminds us grace is to be shared if we are to continue receiving 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.

 

10/12/2021 “Don’t believe anything until it has been officially denied.”

UFO Historian David Marler

Pessimism and arrogance are part of the fallen spiritual DNA of humanity. We waver between too good to be true and too true to be good and trust few if any others. We often expect bad and do not trust truth. Hope can get swept away in our pessimism and arrogance, but hold on to hope. Hope is our only hope.

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

I need to be forgiven – do you? I need to forgive – do you? If you do not forgive they may not know or care but it is a slow form of suicide as it erodes your life.

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.

 

10/11/2021 Grace and hope can be seen as old fashioned and outdated to many. We can even see them as impossible accomplishments God ruthlessly expects of us. Perhaps grace and hope are impracticable in our times? Maybe we have grown beyond a need for hope and grace and can stand on our own feet? If we really believe this may God help us because only God can help us!!!

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/10/2021

Hope lives even today

Worn thin by the fray

Fear like wolves in the way

Causing us from hope to stray

Left to weaken every day

Hard by hope we must stay

Jesus Light from night to Day

Hope renewed by the Way

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

Without grace we cut ourselves off from life and are left with just existing. Living graceless it is difficult if not impossible to be able have meaningful relationships with others.

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.

 

10/9/2021 When I began preaching I asked my wife’s grandfather, Rev Alton Smith (Gramps), how long this would last. I will never forget his answer. “Ron, if you can get in the pulpit and share God’s word without being nervous you should no longer preach.” In this I experience God’s hope and grace.

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/8/2021 I am writing a short story called Forget and I questioned if someone is a person if they do not have a name? What if no one knows who they are? God remembers our name and we will be a person no matter what!!!

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

No matter what you think of others or yourself God think about you and not just who you are but who you can be with Him. What could the people you dismiss be with God’s presence and 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.

 

10/7/2021 People are on so many drugs to help them cope with life. I wonder if drugs are our attempt to replace hope? If we have nothing or no one to hold on to there is no meaning or hope. But God is the Creator God we can hope in.

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

The Creator God loves us in spite of who we are or what we have done. 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.

 

10/6/2021 Without hope a persons life either explodes or implodes, families are ripped apart, communities burn, nations destroyed from within and the world continues its suicidal self destruction. Hope!!!

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

Grace is not defined just by words but also in God’s response to our fall. When Adam sinned and in fear hid, God did not respond with anger or judgment but cried out “Adam where are you?” It is impossible God did not know where Adam was but God’s first reaction to the fall was to miss Adam! 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.

 

10/5/2021 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Galatians 5:5

Christians are not righteous because they act right because that is impossible! The only hope for a Christian to be righteous is to have faith they will be made righteous through Jesus Christ!

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

Grace is in humility accepting God’s sacrifice to make us holy even as we are. Grace is trusting God will do this even for even those who hate and despise God and those we hate and despise. Allow God’s grace guide how you treat others.

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.

 

10/4/2021 Shouldn’t life be calm and peaceful? Shouldn’t life be filled with joy and peace? Shouldn’t life be safe? Why is it not? Why are we afraid of so many things? What is rational fear and what is irrational fear?

Most of these questions could be solved easily by realizing as humans we chose to receive the knowledge of good and evil not realizing we already had both. Good was to live in the blessing of God’s presence and bad was to turn from God and all the good things He created for us.

But there is still hope and grace because the Father gave His Son Jesus to provide grace so we came come back into God’s presence. And our hope is either in such an amazing God or His Creation which after thousands of years still functions despite sin and brokenness. There is still hope! There is still grace! And because of that there is still life!!!

This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.

 

10/3/2021 There are so many great H words like help, healing, health and then there is hope. It would be interesting to know how much hope is involved in the other great H words.

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

Grace brings Light into the worst darkness, is the Way to a lost person and Life to those who are existing in death. Each of these effects of grace are capitalized because they are who Jesus declared He is and not just something He does.

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.

 

10/2/2021

We like to believe change is unusual or unnecessary but we just fool ourselves. Every day, indeed every moment is filled with change as time is lost to us a second at a time. Change is not optional, it will happen. Face change with hope and you can grow from fear to expectation of what God is doing and will do.

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

Grace is so powerful it breaks the hardest human heart and brings unity from diversity and division. Grace is more essential than the air we breath!

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.

 

10/1/2021 We may think we can manufacture hope but it is as limited as when we manufacture our own god. Our hope will crumble as we crumble since it is limited by our strength. God is the source of all hope so hope in God or in His Creation.

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

Sin is so destructive we are told there will be a new heaven and a new earth. All of creation has been tarnished and corrupted by sin. We can blame God but that only cuts us off from any help we can get. Grace is seen as we realize God loves us in spite of our rejecting Him twice (in the fall and on the cross). Jesus screamed in agony when our sin was placed upon Him and for the first time Jesus was cut off from His Father. That is the measure of both our need for grace and the power 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.