10.1 Heart - I hope so

Some people may say, "How can making Jesus my Lord and Savior give me hope?" Have you ever been in a dark depression or a hopeless situation? Have you ever felt lonely? And thought nobody cared? Or do you have some behavior that you hate that you do? You go out and try to ignore your problem and use alcohol to drink it away, but then you feel worse the next day?

There's no way to get past these things with our own strength. But Jesus is the Son of God whose Father made the heavens and the earth.

1 Corinthians 8:6

6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Do you think such a powerful Lord would leave us in a spot with no hope at all? When we accept Him, we acknowledge the truth and His existence and our need for him. He renews our dead spirit that was alienated from God. He gives us the strength of His Holy Spirit. He can light up the darkness. With the strength of His Holy Spirit, He can bring light to your darkness. He will be your King and your friend forever. He will help you to behave differently. That's what I call hope. Because the world will mask your problems but it doesn't really give you any lasting hope. Being stuck on medication or abusing your body with continual drug use or alcohol consumption and things of that nature. Watching movies or playing video games isn’t gonna bring you hope. They’ll just kill time. Going on a shopping spree isn’t going to bring hope when your family member is sick.

Let me show you what the Lord says about hope.

Jeremiah 29:11-12

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Isaiah 59:1-3

Sin, Confession and Redemption

1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.

2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.

3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.

The Lord can save anybody, but we have to make the choice to reach out to him.

John 1:8-10 8. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

I’m gonna leave you with this. A portion of Psalm 18.

Psalm 18:1-36

1 I love you, LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.

22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.

24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.

27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28 You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop[e];
with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.

36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.

9.4 Earth - Energy Stars is Who We Are

Have you ever heard of Energy Star appliances? They use less electricity and help save money on your utility bills. Look for the Energy Star logo next time you shop for an appliance and you’ll save money and help the environment.

Wow that sounds cheesy but who doesn’t want to save money?

Here’s what the logo looks like in case you haven’t seen it.


or

9.3 Soul - Amy's Bakery

Have you ever heard of Amy’s Bakery? They make vegetarian frozen meals and cakes and cookies as well. I bet your first thoughts were, “Oh, gross, no way am I gonna eat vegetarian meals!” But you’d be blown away how good they taste. Not all of them but a lot. The Asian stir-fry is amazing. And they’ve got kids meals as well. They’re pretty good. I’ve tried a couple. Their pasta is really good.

So, I recommend trying some of their products.

Here’s a link to their website.

YOU GO, AMY’S! MORE POWER TO YA!

9.2 Mind - Proverbs

Proverbs 9

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For through wisdom[b] your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
13 Folly is an unruly woman;
she is simple and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling out to those who pass by,
who go straight on their way,
16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there,
that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

9.1 Heart - Seventy Times Seven

Have you ever had a confrontation with another person or met a rude individual and the first thing you wanted to do was give them a good lickin'? Well, that's the last thing we should ever do. The first thing we should do is calm down and ask the Lord for a peaceable solution. Because if you cuss someone out or beat them up you're just gonna feel worse and possibly end up in jail. Remember when Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers?

Matthew 5:8-10

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

But that doesn't mean let someone constantly abuse you and take advantage of you. Unfortunately you sometimes have to use violence to defend yourself or your family. But that should be our last resort.

That brings me to my next thoughts on forgiveness. Take a look at this scripture.

Matthew 18:21-35



The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

The point of this scripture is not to forgive someone a certain amount of times but at much as it takes. Because when we hold onto anger, grudges and unforgiveness, it can lead to health problems and sleepless nights. The Lord can help you to let it go. Why let someone else's stupidity ruin your life. Get that gorilla off your back. I reiterate, that doesn’t mean you keep yourself in an abusive situation.



I’ll leave you with that. But like anything, forgiveness isn’t always easy. I recommend, if you ever get a chance, read CS Lewis’ “Thoughts on Unforgiveness” in his book, Mere Christianity. They really opened my eyes.



May the Lord bless you and let’s forgive like He forgave us.

8.4 Earth - Follow the LED lights

Have you ever thought about using LED lights? They’re much brighter and last longer and best of all use less energy. They’re starting to use them in computers and TVs. Check out this video on how they work.

The Chocolate Bunny Test

8.3 Soul - Kashi

Have you ever heard of the food brand Kashi? It tastes really good. And it's actually good for you. They make cereals, granola bars, and a few microwave entrees. I really recommend the chicken pomidoro. Oh, look! Here's a convenient link to their website! http://kashi.com

The Chicken Pomodoro

Well, I hope to catch you later. Happy, healthy snacking.