“Give space to pregnant silence.”
from Sensible Shoes.
Thursday, April 28, 2022
For people who are reading this for the first time I would like to help you understand why this blog exists.
For the first years as a christian I enjoyed reading the journals of those who had lived out their faith. Two of my favorites are Hudson Taylor and “God’s Smuggler” by Brother Andrew. I tried again and again to write a journal but after a time it would become sporadic and finally end.
After several years I started what I call Heart Talks where I would write out my thoughts and feelings in what to me is poetry as a way to have Heart Talks with God.
Every year I would begin a new Heart Talks and over the years they became longer and longer. The Heart Talks are my attempt to be honest with myself and God and at times they are brutal. I try to not whine remembering to “serve no whine before its time.”
About six years ago I started what would later be called Small Fiber neuropathy and went on disability. Having lost the opportunity and ability to preach I thought God wanted me to start a blog which I call “Daily Dose of God’s Glorious Love”.
Over the years the blog has changed in how I share but not what I share. For over a year I started to write a hope and faith journal which is for those who have a relationship with God and for those who do not. Those with faith can find hope and grace in God as Creator and Father and those who are without faith can find hope and grace in creation.
During the last couple of years I realized because I held onto pornography so hard it has become my idol, my god. Jesus cannot be crucified again and without repentance faith withers and dies. As a friend says falling from God is our fault. “Every time we say no to God we slam a door shut in God’s face. Without true repentance as more doors are slammed shut it becomes harder and harder to hear God’s voice and soon we cannot.”
GOD IS NOT TO BLAME! God has shown patience and mercy to me beyond belief and as I used to teach “If God never did anything for us after the fall He is still deserving of our praise and worship.”
I think all people need to know there is hope beyond hope or as we could say hope in hope. Without we are left in fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hatred and hatred breed violence.
As I was starting my hope journal I watched a video on Grace Relations. The speaker is a black pastor who has been married to a white woman for over 40 years. I was so amazed as he taught we have had decades and generations of race relations and the problem has only gotten worse. So maybe we need to begin with grace in our relationships.
I do not hope you will enjoy this but I hope beyond hope it will resonate with your soul.
Ron Ramsey
4/27/2022 I was about to write today is a good day but thinking about hope and grace I realize every day is a good day. Hope and grace reveal the meaning of good as more than happy or pleasant but where even our troubles work for our good.
This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.
Is grace available for the lost? The Bible says God gives rain to the just and the unjust. God offers grace to each of us because grace is undeserved and even at times unsought. Does this mean rain in the form of necessary water for life and the floods that come?
From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.
As I loaded the previous devotion I noticed there are over 1,700 Daily Dose’s of God’s glory. Whether we are a Christian or not God deserves our worship and for us to glorify Him and His name!
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
4/25/2022 As I look at a picture of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC taken by Alec Hartman it seems as though Lincoln is looking down at you and while he seems at ease his left hand is a tight fist and his mouth is not smiling but is in a straight line. I wonder what President Lincoln is thinking? At the Abraham Lincoln Museum they have a show revealing each side of Lincoln’s face shows a very different view of who he is and what he is thinking. What does Lincoln think about what America has become? Is he disappointed?
Maybe Lincoln is thinking something very different. Maybe he is upset at how we whine and moan living in a time so much more settled and safe? Could it be he is sad remembering how many sacrificed so much for their family, homes and nation while often today our comfort seems to be more important?
I do not have an answer for anyone and this is what came to mind looking at the picture taken by an artist who was autistic and died at a young age. I wonder what he saw in the face of President Lincoln?
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals and a reflection on a photo possibly showing Lincoln’s reflection.
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
4/24/2022
Evil does not exist
Does it?
What is evil?
Is it the opposite of live?
There are opposites
All kind of opposites
But none more than evil
The opposite of evil good?
The opposite of evil life?
Does asking admit evil is?
Asking what evil is says it is
If no evil why do we ask?
If no evil how could we know to ask?
Is all bad rooted in evil?
How much is ours because of the fall?
Stupidly we received only evil
We already had knowledge of good
We traded the best to know evil
Which perverts the good in us
Which in the end perverts us
Which in the end destroys us
The weakness of evil is that it destroys
It destroys it's host even as it destroys others
Evil cannot grow because it is self destructive
Evil destroys and it's seed is death itself
Will the evil one win? No!
The evil one is too weak to harm God
The evil one can only hurt God by hurting those He loves
The ultimate weakness of knowing it is defeated
The very strength of evil is what will destroy it
Even our good is filthy rags to God
Our best is touched by our evil
Evil distorts our best intentions
Evil corrupts our best offerings
We give so we can get
We give to those who can give
We build connections that destroy
It is who we are
Is there hope against our evil
What is the hope against our evil
Jesus conquered our evil by His death
Evil no longer had its power
Jesus paid our price for our evil
His pain paid for our pain
His suffering paid for our suffering
Jesus conquered death by death
JESUS CONQUERED EVIL
JESUS CONQUERED OUR EVIL
Evil is dead holding us hostage
We have not the courage to escape
We do nothing in this face of this
We die because we secretly want evil
Of the first two born one murdered
The second was made the first martyr
Adam and Eve experienced grief
Evil destroys life and existence
Evil, by its nature destroys itself
But before destroyed harms many
Grief, shame and destruction
They are the fruit of evil
They are the fruit of our evil
Evil does exist
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
4/23/2022 One of the themes of both my Hope and Grace journals is seeing the value and possibility of them in our lives even when it is very hard to see them nevertheless live them.
Over the last few weeks I have experienced a very bad time physically, emotionally and spiritually and hope and grace have been difficult to see and even harder to live. My struggle with guilt, fear, shame and pornography have almost overwhelmed me.
But angels surround even those who have no faith or have lost it as well as those for who faith is a hedge of protection. Look for these angels and cultivate their companionship for through them hope and grace can be transfused into your life.
For me this is a group of men I meet with on Wednesday who have been messengers of hope and grace.
There are two things I want to say to everyone who reads this:
First, find a group who help you hope in hope and show you grace and how to live it out.
Second, nourish and cultivate this group of messengers by sharing when they help and actively seeking to help them.
This is not only a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals but a desire you will discover messengers of hope and grace in your life.
THEY ARE NOT JUST GOOD AND HELPFUL BUT WE NEED THEM!
4/22/2022 Through hope the passage of life can be seen in anticipation of what is to come rather than despair over the mistakes of the past.
This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.
Grace relations leaves a person with less regrets and a whole lot fewer enemies!!!
From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.
4/21/2022
Daddy's Lap
Today I come tired and sad
So much seems slipping away
Daddy can I sit in Your lap awhile
And maybe the pain will flee?
You reach and pull me up
I snuggle in Your lap
You gently touch my brow
And so much falls away
You smile with Your embrace
I long to see Your face
You heal with Your loving touch
My heart breaks and heals
I do not know when I came
But I do not want to leave
"My child return to the fray
I will hold you through today."
I slide into this broken world
Healed to serve once more
But when I weary once again
I will seek Your lap once more.
(I so miss those times.)
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
4/20/2022
From a small room
For six years we prayed
Joining heart and soul
God has answered each
And has changed the world
People are alive even now
Some have been saved
The weary given strength
And hope has been received
The glory of God on display
Shining from a small room
Across the world lives touched
Some whom we never knew
Heaven invaded darkest earth
And evil forced to flee
As God's power flowed out
God's desire came to be
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
4/19/2022
Prayer is my breathing You in my Heart and then You breathing out.
Prayer is a friend enjoying time with a Friend.
Prayer is God finishing your sentence and beginning the next one.
Prayer is unloading my guilt, fear and sin onto He who already bore it.
Prayer is "bringing the pains of earth to heaven’s door."
Prayer is at its best when you run out of words.
Prayer is when You hug me and I can make You smile.
Prayer let's God peel the scales of self from my eyes to see others and their pain.
Prayer opens me to see the glory of God rather than the power of evil.
Prayer let's me touch people around the world with the power of God.
Prayer makes me homesick for heaven, a place I long to be.
Prayer is telling God before anyone else.
Prayer is releasing Gods' holy power into a fallen and broken world.
Prayer is the source of power, grace, love, faith and hope in Jesus Christ.
Prayer is humbly admitting I can't and that I need God.
Prayer is God's way of helping us love our enemies. It is hard to hate someone you are really praying for.
Prayer is God's attempt to remind me everything He did was so He could walk with me again.
Prayer is despair seeking hope and joy expressed to He who is the source.
Prayer is revealing your heart to He who knows it best.
Prayer is how God makes you more like Him.
Prayer is how you touch the glory of God!
Prayer is sitting in your Daddy's lap!
Prayer in not something a Christian can do but something they must!
Prayer is more than what you do, it is who you are!
Prayer is freedom for the prisoners, healing for the sick, love for the lonely, and life for the dying.
Prayer is our introduction to God and who we really are.
Prayer is how we discover who God wants us to be.
Prayer is my attempt to reach God who already reached out to me.
Prayer is when the Trinity is experienced as I pray to the Father, by the Holy Spirit in the Name and authority of Jesus Christ!
Prayer unites me with those I pray with in an intimate way.
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
This has been on the blog before but I reintroduce it regularly because of its importance.
Sunday, April 17, 2022
4/18/2022 Mondays are considered by many to be a bad day. A day to return to work and an end to time off. But hope says we have something to return to and a purpose to our lives. The weekend is enjoyable because it is a rest from our purpose in life.
This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.
Grace reminds us Monday is a bad time for some and grace is needed more and can be seen more. As you need grace extend grace to others knowing grace is a blessing which grows by being shared.
From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.
4/17/2022 Easter Sunday!!! This day is so important Christians changed the day of sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. All of Creation is redeemed! Will I accept that redemption? Can I abuse that redemption to the point of losing it? Such an amazing event raises hope, grace, love, faith, joy and many questions. So many questions.
Thursday, April 14, 2022
4/15/2022 My mind continues to be fuddled, there is at times a terrible buzzing sound and there are moments of tremendous weakness. I struggle with my addiction to pornography and weariness is a weight I cannot overcome. Where is hope. Looking over the previous entries you make think I live in constant hope but they are not messages from me but to me. Can I believe in hope? Can I hope in hope? Can I….
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
I remember. Today is Good Friday.
4/14/2022 Recently someone showed me hope and grace can be the foundation of a strength greater than he could have imagined. This person was able to stand and do the right thing for others at the possible great cost to himself. It taught me strength is not a muscle in itself but comes from the strong muscles like hope, grace, love and peace. This is the source of strength.
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
4/12/2022 There is a constant buzzing in my head for almost a day and it is finally going away. At first I thought it was something outside but when I stick my fingers in my ears the sound either stays the same or increases. I am very weak and have had to stop and lean against something to keep from falling. Hope seems so far away but I must believe it surrounds me waiting for me to see!
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
4/11/2022 Over the last week hope has been hard to come by. I think of those suffering because of Putin’s grab for power, China’s attempt to flex their power even as it grows weaker daily, the battle against life as many babies are offered to the evil one through abortion, the fracturing of the denominations and so many who are starved – enslaved and murdered. But their hope helps me have hope. God help all those who need hope to see You have hope surrounding them all the time!
This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.
There is a place beyond grace but that is not God’s choice or even creation. Some will argue God must have created the place beyond grace but I do not believe that is true. To dwell beyond grace is to either not accept grace or to throw it away after having received it. BUT EITHER OF THESE PLACES ARE OUR CHOICE NOT GOD’S!!!
From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.
4/10/2022 Who we are must die for us to have hope or to be able to be hope.
This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.
Grace is not something we offer but must be who we have become through grace!!!
From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.
4/9/2022
Power is like the shimmering reflection of light seen on wine
or the coloring as light flows through glass enclosed alcohol
We are drawn to this reflected and diffused light we call power
and believe as we drink the power of light will flow through us
At first the beverage gladdens our heart and frees us for more
as the problems of our past, present and future become diluted
We are tempted to drink more so power will grow stronger in us
as at first we see what held us back slip away and we are free
Set free by the first drinks we are emboldened to drink deeper
knowing we will be more free and able to have and use power
We sense and know of our brilliance and majesty from the cup,
the cup which used to reflect and diffuse the light of our power
We see things clearer than anyone else even as the light dims
the reflection and diffusion slowly dissipates in our dissipation
The amount we drink of power must grow so we stay the same
but we must look away of what was drowned in powers cup
When problems arise we proudly stand and proclaim it is them,
every problem is the fault of those who want to stand in our way
They desire our power so we destroy them for the good of others
because only our power can bring about all we see for the future
They must be destroyed not because they threaten our power
but cause they threaten the good we can achieve with our power
They are not people but obstacles to all the good power achieves
and these obstacles hurt what our power enables us to achieve
We drink deeper of power and can do what we never thought
and destroy the obstacles that stand in the way of our good
They are not people but obstacles to all the good power achieves
and these obstacles hurt what our power enables us to achieve
We drink again and without thought we label or destroy obstacles
with little thought as lives, families and even communities fall
They are not people but obstacles to all the good power achieves
and these obstacles hurt what our power enables us to achieve
We drink deeper and all thought of other is lost in our greater good
the good our power is enabling to take place to form powers future
They are not people but obstacles to all the good power achieves
and these obstacles hurt what our power enables us to achieve
The more we drink the more important power is in who we are
and we become servants of our own power until the power is us
Power does not just define us but power is who and what we are
and so power is our master and the good is murdered by power
We must destroy all obstacles for they threaten the greater good
so our desire for a legacy of good is prostituted for greater power
Power does not just define us but power is who and what we are
and so power is our master and the good is murdered by power
Power makes us into what evil we wanted power to overcome
and drove us to drink of the cup of power, the cup of God’s wrath
Power does not just define us but power is who and what we are
and so power is our master and the good is murdered by power
Thirst for power destroys all we wanted so our power can grow
and we are lost from not only what we wanted but who we were
Power does not just define us but power is who and what we are
and so power is our master and the good is murdered by power
We are dead but we continue to destroy as power is now master
and we must serve and protect our new master as light dies in us
and it is we who are in the goblet or in the clear shot glass seen
drawing others to the slavery of power and the death of our power
We are dead but destroy because only God can control power!!!
Ronald Ramsey 4/1/2022
Saturday, April 2, 2022
4/8/2022 While reading a book from the cozy mystery series this quote really hit me.
“I wish I could tell you that we have some big lead about your sister’s whereabouts. What I can tell you is this—losing faith will do no good. Hope is the most powerful thing we have. You have to keep believing that one day we’ll find her.”
Potts, Meredith. Daley Buzz 32-Book Cozy Mystery Set (p. 258). Kindle Edition.
In whatever we face or go through hope is not helpful but essential!
This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.
Grace is not to be abused. We should never assume we can sin because grace will take away our guilt. While reading in the book of Hebrews I realized I have abused grace and sin has become my master once again. I beg you to not abuse grace!
From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.
4/7/2022 How do you define hope? What difference does having hope mean? What difference does not having hope mean? Take time to write down your answers.
This is an entry from my Hope Journal which helps me hope, beyond hope.
What is grace? Should the question be Who is grace? What part does grace play in my life, family, community or world? Take time to write down your answers.
From my Grace Journal to remind me of our need not for agreement but grace in our relationships.
Friday, April 1, 2022
4/6/2022 Around me are wild fires in Weir’s Valley which were whipped by winds of up to 80 miles per hour destroying huge areas of woodland and some homes. Fire crews from around the area converged to fight these fires and put their lives on the line for those they do not even know. While in the Navy I was tasked with others from my ship to help fight an horrific fire. There were many fire tornadoes drawing wind in so fast you were pulled toward them. The fires raced so fast the trees exploded sending huge pieces of wood on us. At times you were not so much fighting the fire as trying to save your own life. While not even a Christian I experienced the power and wonder of hope and grace.
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
4/5/2022 The Putin invasion of Ukraine continues on as a small nation continues to hold back the massive force raining death and destruction on them. There is no doubt Putin thought it all would be over and by now he would be smugly consolidating his victory and looking at other nations with hunger and desire. Many nations have sent weapons, ammunition, food, healthcare supplies and best of all their prayers to support those fighting for their families, homes and nation. Putin calls the Jewish President of Ukraine a nazi revealing not just how unnecessary this invasion is but also how out of touch with reality he is. Anger and fear demands we hate and revile Putin but hope and grace demands we love and pray for him. If we do not act with hope and grace there will be more Ukraine’s invaded by more Putin’s and we will die in the fire of fear and hatred!!!
This is a combination of my Hope and Grace Journals.
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