A Movie Quote to Live By? – Flashdance

Posted on March 20, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

A Movie Quote to Live By? – Flashdance 
Romans 5:2-5

“When you give up your dream you die.” This quote is from the Nick Hurley character in the movie Flashdance. A lot of people live by movie quotes. If one must do that, I think this quote is as good as they come. I believe having a dream and the idea of hope are quite similar. If my assumption is correct, then Paul wrote about this concept in his letter to the Romans, specifically in chapter 5. 

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” – Romans 5:2b-5

A lot of people give up their dreams because of suffering endured while trying to attain them. If one keeps on pursing dreams despite the many problems that come along with them, one will gain endurance or character and then there will be hope. Paul says, this hope “does not disappoint us.” It is almost like a circle. If you have hope, some suffering will come, but then the end result is more hope. Paul is speaking of our entry into Heaven. The letter to the Romans is full of hope for a future with God although we must suffer at times. Although Paul was speaking of Heaven, this is easily translated to everyday life. If our dream is to do something that is within the character of God, something that does not go against any of his teaching, keep on believing and striving despite minor or even major setbacks. Never give up! 

Hope

What We Say Really Matters

Posted on March 13, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

What We Say Really Matters
Matthew 12:33-37

I may have mentioned before that our congregation has been encouraged to read through the first four books of the New Testament each month. We’re on our way to reading through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for the third time this year. I am guilty of not reading these accounts of Jesus and his life as much as I have read other parts of the Bible. During my readings, one verse that has really hit home (not somebody else’s home, but my home) is the latter half of Matthew 12:34.

“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

What has been in your heart lately? Think about what Matthew wrote. His words can pierce even the coldest of souls. If we tend to speak more unkind words than kind, what does that say about our heart condition? If we speak more about the negative than the positive, that too says a lot about our heart; it may demonstrate our need for a heart transplant or a need for a lot more time in prayer with our Father.

God gave us good hearts. If we understand that truth, the logical conclusion is that we should speak good words, encouraging words, helpful words and words that demonstrate Christ’s love in our life.
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Let us pray together that our mouths will prove that are hearts are indeed full of goodness and love.

A bit of preaching, Christian Graces

The Lord is Good

Posted on March 6, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

The Lord is Good
Psalms 135:3

Tomorrow night, my wife begins meeting with a few women at a coffee shop. The purpose of the group is to help pre-Christians and Christians understand God better. The hope is to gather and talk about God, and to create an open atmosphere for discussion. There will be no dumb questions and no out of bound discussions. My wife will begin the discussions each week with a certain topic about God, a different one each week. She will start tomorrow night with the idea that God is good. This statement can be found throughout the Bible. Unfortunately, that does not make the statement true for some folks.

To dig a bit deeper, my wife will ask how each person in the group can see that truth displayed in their own life? My wife will also ask, “Could you or someone else look at your life and say that God is not good?” These questions are not overwhelming, but for someone hurting because of their life circumstances, the first question can help them see God’s blessings in their life. The second question could open up for discussion the doubts that arise when life hits rock bottom. Where will this meeting lead? We don’t know. We are bathing this effort in prayer.

We are praying for God to miraculously lead folks to this God talk. Might you do this too? We are praying specifically for Cassie, Monique, Mary, and Lon (pronounced Loan). Please also keep my wife Mary Ann in your prayers. This is a new ministry for her. This is a little outside her comfort zone. However, she is allowing God to use her for good. I’ll keep you updated on her efforts over the next few months. I also encourage you to begin such a group. Get spiritual conversations started wherever you can. Many good things can come from them.

Attributes of God

Friends

Posted on February 27, 2006 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Friends
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I would like to dedicate this devotional to Ryan and Cherie, two friends that my wife and I have grown to love over the past 8 months or so. We invited Ryan and Cherie and some other friends over tonight for a final farewell before they move this weekend to Colorado. Unfortunately, we were just getting to know them better. We were so happy to call them our friends. We will continue to call them friends. I could stress the unfortunate things about their leaving, but there is one fortunate thing about all this . . .  the fact that God brought them into our lives. God knows it was not good for man to be alone. Because of this, he created woman. God knows it’s not good for anyone to be alone. Because of this, he created friends. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says so much about the importance of friendship.

In this mobile world where people rarely put down roots, there is a temptation to just not make friends. If we have no friends, then no tears are shed when a job change necessitates a move. To quote an old rap song which probably quoted some poet, “It’s better to have loved and lost, than never had loved at all.” I think the same can be said about friendship in a little different way, “It’s better to have had some good friends and have them move away, than never had any good friends at all.”

I believe life is a lot more enjoyable and tough times are easier to handle with God given friends. May God bless you abundantly with wonderful and long lasting friendships.

Belonging, Struggles