FAITHFUL WAITING

"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near."  (James 5:7–8 NIV)

In a world of instant results and endless urgency, James draws us into the quiet strength of a farmer waiting for the rains. No crop matures overnight. No growth unfolds without trust in what’s unseen.

This is the rhythm of faith -- not passive resignation, but faithful anticipation. Patience and perseverance are not weak, but deeply courageous. We wait with hope. We endure with resolve. Because we know the harvest is promised by a God who never forgets His Word. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6363

FAITH BELIEVES, TRUST RESTS – Part 2 of 2

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  (Hebrews 11:1) “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”  (Psalm 56:3)

Faith and trust are like two sides of the same coin, yet they move differently in the life of a believer.

Faith is what we believe about God -- His character, His promises, His power. Faith says, “God can.” It is the conviction that He is who He says He is, even when our eyes may see nothing but uncertainty.

Trust, however, is what we do with that belief. Trust says, “Because God can, I will rest in Him.” Trust is faith lived out -- faith applied to real fears, real delays, real disappointments, real unknowns.

Faith is the foundation. Trust is the follow-through. Faith is the seed. Trust is the fruit. Faith says, “I believe God will lead me.”  Trust says, “So I will take the next step, even if I can’t see the path.”

Jesus invites us into both. He calls us to believe in Him and then to place the full weight of our lives into His hands.

Where is God inviting you not just to believe in Him, but to trust Him -- practically, personally, completely -- today?

Lord, deepen my faith so that my trust becomes steady and strong. Teach me not only to believe Your promises but to fully rest in them. Help me place every fear, every plan, and every step into Your faithful hands. Amen.

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6325

ADVENT HOPE

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I wait for His word. My soul waits in hope for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; yes, more than the watchmen for the morning.”  (Psalm 130:5-6)

Sometimes hope feels wishful, like crossing our fingers and dreaming of a better outcome. We might hope for better employment, healed relationships, or a brighter future. But that kind of hope is based on things that may or may not happen. When things don’t go as we hoped, it can be crushing -- our hope disappearing like vapor.

As a season of reflection and contemplation, Advent invites us to imagine a different kind of hope, rooted in the unchanging nature of God and His promise to restore every part of His creation. Advent hope does not minimize pain or difficulty, nor does it assume things will soon get better. Instead, it faces the darkness with courage and chooses to trust that God’s promises will come to pass, guaranteed by His long-proven, faithful character.

In the Hebrew Bible, the words most often used for hope -- qavah and yakhal -- are also translated as “wait.” To hope in God means to wait with patient expectation, trusting that He will fulfill His promises. This kind of waiting leans forward, anticipating the day when Jesus will return to make all things new. Such hope empowers people to persevere, to act justly, and to serve others as a sign of the restoration that will arrive through Jesus.

-- From “The BibleProject Guide to Advent”

#6253

JESUS IS CALLING YOU OUT OF YOUR TOMB

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb [of Lazarus]. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ He said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone… Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”  (Excerpts from John 11:38-44 NIV)

This miracle doesn’t just foreshadow Jesus’ own resurrection. It foreshadows yours! It’s not just something Jesus did for Lazarus. It’s a snapshot of what Jesus wants to do in your life right here, right now. When we sin, it’s like the enemy of our soul wraps us up in graveclothes. Sin buries us alive and makes a mummy out of us. We become shadows of the person we were meant to be. And if you keep on sinning, it’ll weight you down like a hundred pounds of graveclothes. But Jesus is calling you out of your tomb.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to personalize the promises of Scripture is to take out the original name and insert your own. And I think it’s okay to do that. After all, every promise God has made is yes in Christ. So take out Lazarus’s name and insert your own: Mark, come out!

Can you hear Him call your name? He’s calling you out of sin. He’s calling you out of death. He’s calling you out of your tomb. 

-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible” 

#6073

THE HOPE-FILLED PROMISES OF THE FATHER

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

As we journey through Advent, let us be inspired by Christ's boldness in proclaiming the astounding benefits of participating in the Christian faith. Just as Jesus offered the Samaritan woman at the well "living water" that quenches the soul and fills the spirit, we too can confidently share the hope-filled promises of the Father with those we encounter.

To those filled with shame, we can declare, "Grace and forgiveness can come your way." <> To those bound up in destructive habits, we can proclaim, "When the Son sets you free, you'll be free indeed." <> To the weak, we can offer, "Strength from God, the Strength-Giver can be yours for the asking." <> To the weary, we can assure, "Jesus promises rest for your soul." <> To the poor, we can share the richness of spirit. <> To the lacking, we can promise provision in due time. <> To the grieving, we can extend consolation and comfort. <> To the sick and dying, we can offer the hope of eternal life and an eternal home prepared by Christ.

This Advent season, let us be bold in our faith, sharing these limitless offers with confidence and love. May we be vessels of God's promises, bringing hope and joy to all we meet. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources  

#6002

GOD’S GRACIOUS GUIDANCE

“To you, O Lord, I offer my prayer; in You, my God, I trust… Teach me Your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to Your truth, for You are my God, who saves me. I always trust in you... He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them His will. With faithfulness and love He leads all who keep His covenant and obey His commands.”  (Excerpts from Psalm 25 GNT)

A letter came from a minister who, [after hearing a call to mission work}, felt obliged to leave his congregation and denomination, and now, like Abraham, goes out not knowing [to what place or situation]. In his letter, he quoted from a hymn by Charles Wesley on the sovereignty and security of God’s guidance. Guidance, like all God’s acts of blessing under the covenant of grace, is a sovereign act. Not merely does God will to guide us in the sense of showing us His way, that we may tread it; He wills also to guide us in the more fundamental sense of ensuring that, whatever happens, whatever mistakes we may make we shall come safe home. Slippings and strayings there will be, no doubt, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we shall be caught, rescued, restored. This is God’s promise; this is how good He is… Here is the verse from Wesley:

“Captain of Israel’s host and Guide
Of all who seek the land above,
Beneath Thy shadow we abide,
The Cloud of Thy protecting love;
Our strength, Thy grace; our rule, Thy Word;
Our end, the glory of the Lord.”

 -- Adapted from J. I. Packer in “Knowing God” (1973)

#5898

GOD HIMSELF WILL BE WITH THEM

“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’”  (Revelation 21:3-5 NKJV)

Christmas is the promise that the God who came in history and comes daily in mystery will one day come again in glory. God is saying in Jesus that in the end everything will be all right. Nothing can harm you permanently, no suffering is irrevocable, no loss is lasting, no defeat is more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Jesus did not deny the reality of suffering, discouragement, disappointment, frustration, and death; He simply stated that the Kingdom of God would conquer all of those horrors, that the Father’s love is so prodigal that no evil could possibly resist it. 

-- Brennan Manning in “Reflections of a Ragamuffin” 

#5762

PROMISED JOY

Jesus said, "I've loved you the way My Father has loved Me. Make yourselves at home in My love… I've told you these things for a purpose: that My joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature." (John 15:9,11 The Message)

Joy is promised to me. Do I have it? If my relationship with Christ is right, I do.

To me, joy is perfected in the full belief in the total sovereignty of God. Doubt dilutes joy.

For five years I… have attended a church that gave me one great blessing -- a firm belief in the sovereignty of God. I now totally believe that God doesn't need me, He loves me; and I don't work for Him to earn His love, I work for Him as a result of His love. He lets me work in order to mature me. That brings joy. 

-- Fred Smith, consulting editor of “Leadership” 

#5752

ADVENT HOPE SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE – Part 2

“The angel answered Mary, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.’ Mary answered, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.’” (Luke 1:35-38)

So often I stand on the edge of the light, afraid to act, afraid that this story is too good to be true. But then in my better moments, when I listen closely to The Story, move close to The Light, my fears seem to evaporate like an early morning mist, and I can believe again. I can believe that God who made all that is became clothed in our human flesh so that we might become clothed in God. I can believe that God claims me as a beloved child. I can believe that all my days are in God’s strong and tender hands. I can believe that life is good, beautiful, and eternal. I can believe that not only my days but all days are in God’s good and able hands. I can believe, rejoice, and wait trustingly and expectantly for the unfolding of God’s promise given in so many ways and most clearly in the Advent Story. Thanks be to God!...

God gives the promise and God keeps the promise. So even though it does sound too good to be true, it is true! Thanks be to God it is true! Two thousand years of Christian experience and testimony declare that the preposterous promise is true. 

-- Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#5745

DON’T WORRY, TRUST HIM – Part 2

Listen to God’s promise: “’I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11). Even if the future God chooses for you isn’t the one you would choose, trust Him.

It won’t be easy, but once you’ve walked with God for enough days and experienced His faithfulness time and again, you could actually stop worrying. Besides, we don’t need to worry, as Jesus assured us that our heavenly Father cares for us. Proverbs 3:5-6 says it this way: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

I don’t know what you’re worried about today, but I do know that worry distrusts the promises and the power of God. I believe in God, and I choose to live in a way that demonstrates my confidence in Him.

After all, God is wise. He is willing. And He is able. Trust Him. 

-- Craig Groeschel in “The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as If He Doesn’t Exist”

#5719

AN EVERPRESENT HOPE

“Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forevermore.”  (Psalm 131:3 NIV)

Hope is a response to the future, which has its foundations in the promises of God. But hope is not a doctrine about the future: it is a grace cultivated in the present, it is a stance in the present which deals with the future. As such it is misunderstood if it is valued only for the comfort it brings, as if it should say, “Everything is going to be alright in the future because God is in control of it. Therefore relax and be comforted.” Hope operates differently. Christian hope alerts us to the possibilities of the future as a field of action, and as a consequence, fills the present with energy. 

-- Eugene Peterson

#5651

THE FULFILLMENT OF PROMISES

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14 NKJV)

Waiting at a bus stop on one end of a major curve in the road is a great analogy for what hope and faith are all about. You know the bus is coming, your bus schedule says it will, and yet you cannot see its arrival until it makes that final bend toward you.

As we anticipate the joyful celebration of Christ’s birth in just a few days, let’s stand on His promises. We may not yet see them before our eyes, but His word is Truth, and the fulfillment of those promises are just around the bend.

“‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’”  (Matthew 1:23 NKJV)

-- Adapted from Katherine Walden

#5500

TRUSTING IN THE RESURRECTION

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again.’”  (Luke 24:5b-7 NIV)

Wouldn’t it be great to fully understand the Resurrection? Forget about it. Every time I’ve ever felt like I really got it, a new angle has popped up. There’s always something else to grow into as it relates to the Resurrection. Rest in it. Trust it. Bet your life on it! But don’t think you’ll ever fully “get it.”

This is the place where many folks fall short of being able to be Christian. It’s not very reasonable to believe Jesus Christ was raised from the dead: “Nice guy. Love the teachings. Really like the way He gave the hypocrites such a hard time. Really loved people. But come on, resurrected?! No way. I can’t buy that.”

A very wise person with no formal education once said, “I have found that it’s impossible to prove God’s promises in advance, but if you’ll live them, you’ll find they are true, every one.” God promises the Resurrection to each of us. If we’ll live our lives trusting it’s all true, then the Resurrection will grow on us and it will make all the difference in our daily walk with Jesus. 

-- Pastor Jamie Westlake, from the Cypress Lake UMC Lenten Devotional 2004

#5331

A PECULIAR BOOK

“Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven.”  (Psalm 119:89 NLT)

The Bible is a peculiar book. Words crafted in another language. Deeds done in a distant era. Events recorded in a far-off land. Counsel offered to a foreign people.

It’s surprising than anyone still reads it. It’s too old. Some of its writings date back five thousand years. It’s too bizarre. The book speaks of incredible floods, fires, earthquakes, and people with supernatural abilities. It’s too radical. The Bible calls for undying devotion to a carpenter who called Himself God’s Son.

Logic says this book shouldn’t survive. Too old, too bizarre, too radical.

The Bible has been banned, burned, scoffed, and ridiculed. Scholars have mocked it as foolish. Kings have branded it as illegal. A thousand times over, the grave has been dug and the dirge has begun, but somehow the Bible never stays in the grave. Not only has it survived; it has thrived. It is the single most popular book in all of history. It has been the best-selling book in the world for years!

There is no way on earth to explain it. Which perhaps is the only explanation. The Answer? The Bible’s durability is not found on earth; it is found in heaven. For the millions who have tested its claims and claimed its promises, there is but one answer: the Bible is God’s book and God’s voice. 

-- Max Lucado in “Life Lessons: Galatians”

#5313

THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)

The compassion of our Lord never fails. As we live in this world we very soon discover some failed compassion. We find people who really don't stick by our side for the long haul. We realize the frailty of human beings and we may even discover that in the final analysis most people take care of themselves first and foremost. I am not a pessimist generally but experience shows us that often the compassion we receive from people, places and things offer no comparison to the compassion from God that never fails. No excuses, no external "uncontrollable" events and no made up stories to justify failed compassion. You see, God IS the story and He IS life and His promises have stood the test of time and trial from the Garden of Eden to the present. God never lies and He never fails to keep even one of His promises. 

-- Pastor Gary Stone 

#5002

HOPE IN GOD

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”   (Psalm 42:11 NIV)

Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things -- the weather, human relationship, the economy, the political situation, [the pandemic], and so on -- will get better. Hope is trust that God will fulfill God’s promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. 

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”  (Romans 5:5 NLT)

-- Adapted from Henri Nouwen

#4998

A TIME OF PROMISE

EDITOR’S NOTE: Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J., was a heroic German Jesuit priest who was imprisoned and martyred by the Nazis in a Nazi death camp in 1945. While in prison, Fr. Delp was able to write a few meditations including his powerful reflections from prison during the Advent season about the profound spiritual meaning and lessons of Advent. They seem to be equally relevant to Advent 2020.

A TIME OF PROMISE

Advent is the time of promise; it is not yet the time of fulfillment. We are still in the midst of everything and in the logical inexorability and relentlessness of destiny… Space is still filled with the noise of destruction and annihilation, the shouts of self-assurance and arrogance, the weeping of despair and helplessness. But round about the horizon the eternal realities stand silent in their age-old longing. There shines on them already the first mild light of the radiant fulfillment to come. From afar sound the first notes as of pipes and voices, not yet discernable as a song or melody. It is all far off still, and only just announced and foretold. But it is happening, today. 

-- Alfred Delp in “Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons And Prison Writings 1941-1944”

#4985

FAR AS THE CURSE IS FOUND

“No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found.”  (The third verse of “Joy to the World” by Isaac Watts)

The reversal of the curse is promised in the coming of the Messiah and the fulfillment of His atoning work. Implicit in this third verse is the promise of the new creation. We live in light of that promise, even as we look back to Bethlehem and as we celebrate Christmas.

But look carefully at the reference to the curse. Christ’s victory over sin is declared to extend “far as the curse is found.”…

He redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us. The sinless Son of God became incarnate as the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. That sinless Son of God became sin for us, in order that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became a curse for us, by hanging on a tree, in fulfillment of Scripture…

How far does the gospel reach, and to what lengths must it be taken? Far as the curse is found. Go and preach. Go and tell. Teach the good news that Christ has redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.

-- R. Albert Mohler, Jr.


#4726

LEAVE THE FUTURE TO GOD

Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  (Matthew 6:34 NIV)

It has been well said that no [one] ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than [one] can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God’s. He begs you to leave the future to Him and mind the present.

-- George MacDonald in “Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood”

#4695

LIVING BY FAITH

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith…By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going… And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise.”  (Hebrews 11:7-11 NIV)

When you live by faith, it often feels like you are risking your reputation.  You’re not.  You’re risking God’s reputation.  It’s not your faith that is on the line.  It’s His faithfulness.  Why?  Because God is the one who made the promise, and He is the only one who can keep it.  The battle doesn’t belong to you; it belongs to God.  And because the battle doesn’t belong to you, neither does the glory.  God answers prayer to bring glory to His name, the name that is above all names.

-- Mark Batterson in “The Circle Maker”


#4646