31 Days of Hope Day 17

 Starting today I am going to take the letters in the word HOPE and use one letter a day and by Wednesday (day 20) we will have more depth to the word!  Let me encourage you to write these scriptures on an index card and post them where you can see them through out your day.

H is for healing.  There is Hope for healing!  I praise the Lord for the healing in my life. There is hope in healing all of the physical and emotional wounds in our life. Jesus is our Jehovah Rophe which means Jesus will heal me!  

Remember sometimes healing comes in a different way than we expect (or want), however we have to trust the healing, that is God's will. God's will is perfect;  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2

O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol ; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit. Psalm 30:2-3

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.  Psalm 34:18-19

He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

 

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.  James 5:16



*Don't forget to check the other 31 Days blogs for more encouragement in your day!

 


 

31 Days of Hope Day 13

The woman at the well is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It is found in John chapter 4. This is where Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water from the well. (I have to add that this is one of the sights I will able to see when I go to Israel in the fall!  And I recently learned that there is STILL water in the well and you can drink it!).  

One of the reason I love this story is because Jesus gives us an example of how to confront someone, how not to ignore facts and put them under the rug, and how not to take responsibility for other peoples choices.  If you have read my book or been reading my blog for a while, you know these are the three things I struggled with for most of my life:

1. Ignoring red flags

2. Putting things under the rug

3. Taking responsibility for other peoples choices and behaviors

In John chapter 4 we know that Jesus already knows the woman is a Samaritan and He, of course, was a Jew.  Samaritans and Jews were not supposed mingle together and they certainly were not expected to give one another a drink of water.  Jesus already knew this woman was living outside the confines of marriage.  The man she was living with was not her husband.  She had been married five times previously.  He knew all of this (and probably more!) when He saw her.  He could have easily waited for her to get her drink and move on.  He could have made small talk with her. Once He tells her all that He knows about her He could have "excused" her behavior by taking responsibility for her (or help her justify her choices). He could have also had a finger pointing moment with her, telling her what He knew by shaming or condemning her. 

The beauty of this story is that He spoke the truth in love to her.  He didn't shame her. He didn't condemn her. He didn't excuse her choices. He didn't pretend He didn't know anything. There are no exclamation marks of His conversation to show He yelled at her. He gave her an opportunity to tell the truth and she did. He then calmly told her what He knew. He tells her He is the Messiah and He can provide water that will never dry up; a well of water springing up to eternal life. The woman goes on to tell others about Jesus and many Samaritans come to believe in Him because of her words. 

If you are looking for hope, you don't need to look any further...Jesus is our hope! He is our well of water springing up to eternal life!