HOPE! By Kassie Knutson

Isaiah 40:31 says:

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint."

This is a great verse that many of us are familiar with.  But I want to mainly focus on the first part of the verse which states, "hope in the Lord."  Hope is defined as to desire something with confident expectation of its fulfillment.  With that in mind, it makes me think we slightly overuse the word hope.  We say..."I hope I get an A on that test," when we didn't put in the time to study or pay attention in class.  Or we say, "I hope it doesn't rain," when there are storm clouds in the sky.  Both of those things are fine to hope in, but when we arene't confident that they will happen, why do we hope in them?  It's not a reliable hope.

That's why we are called to put our hope in Jesus.  When we do, we will never face dissapoiontment, and that is where we can find true fulfillment.  We may not get what we always want in life, but Jesus gives us hope when we trust in Him and our present sufferings can't compare to the joy that is coming when we enter eternity. 

So  keep fighting the good fight and remember that God is our hope.

Earth Day - The Real Story

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him."  John 1:1-3

"So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory the glory of the Father's one and only Son."  John 1:14

Do you see what is happening here?

* In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...everything.
* In the beginning the Word already existed...and everything was created through
   him.
* The Word became human...
   - The Word made his home among us...
   - The Word is JESUS...
* In the beginning was JESUS!  He was God...He is God...and through HIM all
   things were created!

Let's celebrate the one who created the earth - and then died for us so that when we leave this earth - we can spend our forever...our eternity with Him!  The one who WAS...who IS...and who ALWAYS WILL BE!

Trial and Error - By Michaela Mittlestaedt

Trial and Error

Recently I have had the song Wait and See by Brandon Heath stuck in my head. If you haven't heard it before, I HIGHLY recommended you youtube it or something. The one phrase from the song that really sticks out to me is, "There is hope for me yet, because God won't forget all the plans he's made for me. I have to wait and see; he's not finished with me yet."

That part just gives me so much hope. No matter what we do, there is always hope, because God has a plan for us and he will never give up on us. There are 2 verses that tie in really well to this song:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28

AND

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:16

It's just a reminder that no matter what we go through God is working in our lives to perfect us. Think of it this way: we are being put through trials like gold is put through fire...to refine it. God is refining us. Even if you can't see how it will possibly work out right now, God knows and that is all that matters.

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS : IT IS MEGA!