A Dream of Hope 

Today Americans celebrate the life of the great Christian leader, Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Below are four quotes from him that will give us hope in this hopeless time.  

“I say to you today, my friends . . . even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

“. . . I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; ‘and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together’. . . . “

“ . . . With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

Today these words of Dr King not only give us hope for now but in the years to come “This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. The land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring! . . .” 

“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 40:4-5).

Let’s Pray 

Yahweh, have mercy upon us. Father forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. God, give us the intelligence to know your will and give us the courage to do your will. Please give us the devotion to love your will. In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

A Dream of Hope

Today Americans celebrate the life of the great Christian leader Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Below are four quotes from him that will give us hope in this hopeless time.  

“I say to you today, my friends . . . even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

“. . . I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; ‘and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together’. . . .

“ . . . With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

Today these words of Dr king not only give us hope for now but in the years to come “this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring! . . .”

“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” – Isaiah 40:4-5 

Let’s Pray

Yahweh, have mercy upon us. Father forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. God, give us the intelligence to know your will and give us the courage to do your will. Please give us the devotion to love your will. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Forgiveness – A Heaven or Hell Issue

heaven or hell

Bitterness is a poison that can destroy you, and it never destroys the person it’s aimed at. A way to get through bitterness is to forgive. In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.

Dr. Les Carter says, “I recall one woman who came to me ten years after her divorce. She was talking about her son’s marriage and her daughter’s graduation. Her ex was going to be at both. She had never resolved the fact that he had rejected her. She kept going over it in her mind, ‘How could he have done this to me? Can’t he see that he just ripped apart a family?’ Her children would say, ‘Mom, we know the facts. We know he did it. We can’t go back and rewrite history.’ She would always come back with those infamous words, ‘Yes, but . . .'”

That is a woman who is so stuck in the past, it’s as if she is willing to hold on to that divorce, to hold on to that anger, as being the defining element in her personality.

Today, if you do not forgive the person who has hurt you, you are making it impossible to receive God’s forgiveness for you. You do not want to cut yourself off from God’s forgiveness. You need that forgiveness for your own freedom and healing, and to release God’s power in your life.


“…If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part” (Matthew 6:14-15 Msg).

Let’s Pray
Yahweh, I do not want unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment to define my personality and to make me miss out on the kingdom. Father, with Your help, I can be free from this. God, lead me through every thought and every decision and cleanse my mind, in Christ’s Name! Amen.

 

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