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Hope is something we probably have mixed feelings about.  Again and again, hope seems to have disappointed us so many times in the past.  Our disappointing experiences with hope are not so much from hope itself failing us, but rather what we have placed our hope in.  Hope by itself has no great qualities, brings no great results or satisfaction.  But what we place our hope in makes all of the difference.  The Bible speaks of things that we should be cautious of placing hope in.  The things in life that we can misplace our hope in are many and various from people, things, ideas and more.  Some things in the Scriptures that we should be careful not to place too much hope inside of include military might (Isaiah 31), our own wisdom (Proverbs 26:12), our own righteousness (Ezekiel  33:13),  and even riches (Proverbs 11:28).  Placing our hope in these various places often leads to disappointment.  In fact Proverbs 25:19 say’s “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble (more…)

 I heard a story a while back about a father who was sick and his three sons were constantly experiencing friction and difficulty in their relationships with each other.  The dad, wanting his children to see that they were indeed stronger together shared a strange request.  He asked them to each bring 2 sticks to his hospital bed.  With each son present with their sticks, he asked them one by one to attempt to break one of the sticks.  They did so easily.  Then the father asked them to combine each of their remaining sticks together and attempt to break them.  The object lesson needed no explanation.  The point was obvious.  They were stronger together.  Many times in life we can find ourselves like those sons, at odds with those close to us or just find ourselves drifting from family, friends, co-workers, the church, the community…..Remember we are stronger together.   (more…)

How are you viewing the current events? #nofilter

Do you remember how popular it was to see photography post a few years ago that were followed by the #nofilter.  It was originally popularized on Instagram.  Instagrammers were trying to show you how awesome their photo turned out without any of the Instagram photo filters that were designed to help the photo look better.  This popular hashtag spilled over to other social media platforms.  A  true filter doesn’t attempt to hide reality, but emphasizes different aspects, moving some things to the background and others to the foreground.  

A filter for a photo in some ways is similar to a world-view.  Your worldview is like a lens through which you attempt to see the world and make sense of things. In other words a world-view is like a filter.   (more…)