Hope Today

Tree clings to rock, Oneta Gorge, Oregon

Originally uploaded by bhojman

The tree tenaciously hangs on. It seems to be out there inviting the winds to try and blow it over. I was fascinated on a recent trip visiting friends in Oregon to go on a drive along the Columbia River Gorge and see not only the beautiful water falls but massive rocks, moss clinging the the vertical sides, and trees continuing to grow in most inhospitable crevices in the rock.
It’s a good reminder to me that wherever I am and whatever I’m doing and whatever is happening to me, I can have hope as my “roots” grown down into the Rock, who is God himself.
Have a good day!
God is good, all the time.

 

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“I sat alone because Your hand was on me.” Jeremiah 15:17 NIV

Being alone isn’t always a bad thing. Your greatest spiritual
victories come from the battles that God calls you to fight when
you’re alone. Most times He outlines and clarifies His plans for your
life when there’s nobody else around. When God sidelines you, consider
it an honour, glean all you can, then keep moving forward.
www.thewordfortoday.com.au

 

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“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:8 NKJV

God is waiting for us to make requests of Him in prayer. He never gets tired of us coming to Him! He is able, willing, and ready to act on our behalf.

(www.thewordfortoday.com.au)

 

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Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Rd, Vic

Originally uploaded by bhojman

Last Dec I had a wonderful couple of days driving down the Great Ocean Road along the southern coast of Victoria.
The twelve apostles are truly spectacular! The beauty was overwhelming! I could only praise God that I had the opportunity to see with my own eyes some of God’s wonderful artistry!
If you ever get a chance to drive down this road, do so. You’ll be glad you did.

 

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My very dear friend Paulette Hopple died on Thursday morning. It was sudden, yet not unexpected. For 20 years she’d had a death sentence over her because of a rare form of scleroderma which had attacked her lungs. Through much prayer God gave her more strength, vim and vigour than most of us without any disease. She was someone who never did anything by halves… it was always full on.
I’ve always been impressed with her keen interest in people, and no matter who they were she wanted to know them, was concerned for them and wanted to encourage them in whatever way she could. I remember on a visit with her earlier this year in Mae Sai. She would always speak with the beggars who’d come across from Burma; she wanted to know who they were, what language they spoke and what were the circumstances of their life that had brought them to begging. Invariably she would give them some money or pay for a good meal for them. I found this care about people to be quite overwhelming.
She had been serving God in Asia. While on a 6 week trip for language data collection and a literacy workshop she experienced increasing difficulty with breathlessness at the slightest exertion. She knew it was bad but did not stop until completing the literacy workshop in which training was given to speakers of the ethnic language with whom she worked. These folk were being trained to be literacy teachers for their own people in their own language. After this her breathing become more laboured and she ended up in hospital. Her heart was unable to oxygenate her blood and gave out just after midnight December 18.
I miss her, and will continue to do. She was a good friend to me. We’ve been friends since being in grad school together in the mid 70′s, so it’s been a long blessing.
All her friends and colleagues around the world are in shock, and feeling deeply the effects of sudden loss. Though it seems as if her life was cut short, it wasn’t. It was God’s time for her. It might not suit us, or make sense to us, but it was definitely God’s time.
This mornming I was reading John 14:1-3 and was impacted afresh by Jesus’ words when he said: “I am going to prepare a place for you … When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” Jesus had finished preparing Paulette’s place and came to get her! Wow! And, I’m sure she was ready to go and knew it was time.
When will our places be ready? Will we be ready to go with Jesus when comes to get us? I pray we will. I pray I will.
Bless you all!

 

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Sign – Drive On Left

Originally uploaded by bhojman

I am just back from a few weeks in Victoria. I was involved in a reflection and prayer retreat training. We had a wonderful batch of participants… all open to the things God desired to do in them and through them. It was a privilege to pray with each.
After the R&P I took a few days to go down the Great Ocean Road… and had a lovely time seeing the Twelve Apostles and other wonderful spectacles of nature. I found it all very refreshing.
I was amused by the signs all along both sides of the road reminding people that in Australia we drive on the left. I guess there’ve been enough problems to warrant the constant reminder to one and all. It has struck me since that we could easily drive on the wrong side of life and have some rather disastrous results as a consequence. The key is to drive on the correct side…
Have you ever thought about what is the correct side of life’s road? God has sign-posted life’s road with Jesus Christ. His love and mercy guide along the path of life. There are many promises to this in the scriptures. He is our only hope for a safe journey.

 

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Moving site shed, Majors Creek

Originally uploaded by bhojman

There some slow progress with the development of the property at Majors Creek. Everything was placed on hold for some 4 months with my mother’s poor health and subsequent move to a nursing home. As she’s now settled in to her new abode and I can move forward with the vision of developing this small retreat spot.
I was given a site shed to turn into a temporary place for living whenever I am down in Majors Creek. The place where it was first placed was clearly not right… didn’t feel good to me. I had Clinton and his trusty bobcat come and move the shed to a more appropriate spot. It didn’t take long although it seemed such a huge job to me.
Now to do the building up sufficiently to make it livable. It leaks a bit and the floor is in bad shape… and the colour is rather bilious.
Now for the next steps of getting a water tank for the shed, and getting the trenching down for connecting the power and phone.

 

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“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are” 1 John 3:1 NIV.

God didn’t make us because He was bored, lonely, or had run out of things to do. He created us to be the objects of His love! Sometimes our actions make us unlovely, but we are never unloved. And because God loves us – we have value. And nobody can take that value away. (www.thewordfortoday.com.au)

I am very grateful for God’s love! I am loved by him. In our world today it does seem as though love is losing out. Pure unadulterated unearned love is hard to find. How many of us have grown up with the kind of statement that says, “Mummy (or Daddy) won’t love you if you’re naughty”? For most of us we’ve found that love is conditional on our being “good”, producing within us an often unidentified anxiety that somehow we’ve been “bad” and so aren’t lovable. :”Love” and “being good” are not contingent on one another. We need to experience more of the kind of love God has for us… pure, unconditional, unchanging, dependable, and whatever other words you can add to describe how it is for you.

Bless you today!

 

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“Share each other’s burdens, and … obey the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2 NLT

Let’s remind ourselves today that others are going through things we don’t know about. Indeed, we may be the only one who crosses their path today who can help lift their burden -  and when we do that, God will lift ours!

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

 

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“He won’t go to sleep…The Lord is…at your right side…[He] will…keep you safe…wherever you go.”
Psalm 121:3-8 CEV

The last time you checked, wasn’t God still bigger than any terrorist attack, financial disaster, illness, accusation, or mess you found yourself in? Well, He hasn’t changed! plus His angels are watching over you 24/7.
www.thewordfortoday.com.au

 

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