Harbor of Hope

04/20/2025

May you and your family have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

04/18/2025

04/10/2025

Jesus knows that we live in a world where peace of mind is hard to find. Everybody WANTS this peace, but very few know how to find it.

It’s especially true in America where 75% to 90% of all visits to a primary care physician’s office are related to stress disorders like depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

As a result, Americans are consuming five billion tranquilizers (Xanax, Ativan, Va**um, etc.), three billion amphetamines, and sixteen tons of aspirin every year. Much of this “medicine” is being taken to help alleviate stress or the resulting headaches and pain associated with stress.

The way the world thinks about peace is based on the idea that if we could just change our circumstances or our situations - then we could have peace. If you had more money, or a better job, or a better marriage - if you could just fix what’s wrong in your life - THEN you could be at peace. In other words – if things changed in your life - then you wouldn’t be so stressed. You could have tranquility and you wouldn’t worry so much.

But that’s not going to happen.

Jesus said,
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

In other words, you can’t avoid trouble – it’s part of life. You can’t avoid difficulties. You can’t avoid times when you’ll be stressed. And you can’t control/fix a lot of stuff in your world. It’s part of life.
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But even when those things happen - Jesus promises that He has overcome the world, and because of that, you can have HIS PEACE. It’s a peace that is something that only JESUS can give you.

03/26/2025

There are a lot of young people in our world who struggle with who they are and where they fit in. Sometimes, they will compromise their beliefs for the sake of belonging.

Even as adults, we face these same types of temptations, don’t we?

Proverbs 4:14-15:

"Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of
evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on."

03/19/2025

Ephesians 2:1-3 says,
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

“You were dead.” Notice that’s in the past tense because Paul is addressing Christians here. This means that for those who haven’t found Christ, this is their current state, which is why he concludes verse 3 by stating “just as the others”.

Paul, in a manner of speaking, provides an autopsy revealing the cause of death. First, he points out that they were walking in their trespasses and sin. We know this applies to everyone outside of Christ because Romans 3:23 tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23 starts out with “For the wages of sin is death,”
Paul continues his diagnosis by stating they were unrighteous. He knows this because they were following the course of this world.

There are so many unbelievers out there who would rather drag people down to their level than be renewed by faith in Christ.

To be alive means we make the tough choices to stay on the narrow path that leads to God.

03/13/2025

WE NEED REVIVAL

The best definition of revival from the bible in is Acts 3:19 where Peter says,

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."

That is what a Revival is. It is a time of refreshing that comes from the Lord. It rekindles the fire of the Holy Spirit in the soul’s of God’s people.

Now, when revival comes, some great things will happen. God’s people will have a new passion for prayer and for worship and for God’s Word. When revival comes you are gonna see people confessing their sins and renewing a commitment to holiness. A lot of the things that people used to tolerate they won’t tolerate in their lives anymore.

Then you are going to see an increased burden for the lost. Revival is almost always followed by people coming to Christ, but the amazing thing about revival is that it cannot be manufactured. Revival is heaven sent. God can’t be forced in sending revival by anything we do but he longs to send it. He longs to awaken his church; he longs to get that sleeping giant up on its feet.

Revival is a strange, sovereign visitation of God where He reanimates and restores life into his weak church. In other words, we can’t organize a move of the spirit of God, but we can set ourselves to catch the wind when He blows.

03/10/2025

Knowing that Heaven will someday be our home is something that should make us happy and excited about going to church. But something that has always concerned me is why we sometimes talk about church and worship as if it were exhausting, as if it would make us tired to do it.

I’ve heard many people say "I’m just too tired to go to church." The implication is that church would just wear us out. It would make us more exhausted. We never say, "I’m tired. I’m worn out. I’m gonna GO to church to get fired up, to get re-energized." But it seems to me that is what we should to do! An opportunity to praise God should get us excited and fired up.

King David said in Psalm 28:7,

“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.”

I think we can all think of times like that, when our hearts leapt for joy, when our hearts were on fire for God. But a fire must be refueled or it will go out.

03/05/2025

We need to make a deliberate decision to be loyal to God. For those who chose loyalty above all else, It didn’t happen by accident. In the same way, we too must make a deliberate decision to be loyal. Loyalty does not come from indecisiveness.

Consider this poem by Dr. Seuss:

“Did I ever tell you about the young Zode,
Who came to two signs at the fork in the road?
One said to Place One, and the other, Place Two.
So the Zode had to make up his mind what to do.
Well…the Zode scratched his head, and his chin , and his pants.
And he said to himself, “I’ll be taking a chance if I go to Place One. Now, that place may be hot!
And so, how do I know if I’ll like it or not?
On the other hand though, I’ll be sort of a fool if I go to Place Two and find it too cool.
In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So, maybe Place One is the best, not Place Two,
But then again, what if Place One is too high?
I may catch a terrible earache and die!
So Place Two may be best! On the other hand though…
What might happen to me if Place Two is too low?
I might get some very strange pain in my toe!
So Place One may be best,” and he started to go.
Then he stopped, and he said, “On the other hand though….
On the other hand…other hand…other hand though…”
And for 36 hours and a half that poor Zode
Made starts and made stops at the fork in the road.
Saying, “Don’t take a chance. No! You may not be right.”
Then he got an idea that was wonderfully bright!
“Play safe!” cried the Zode. “I’ll play safe. I’m no dunce!
I’ll simply start out for both places at once!”
And that’s how the Zode who would not take a chance
Got no place at all with a split in his pants.”

Indecision will keep us from committing ourselves to God!

02/20/2025

God’s Love is Unconditional.

John 3:16 is arguably the most well-known and often-quoted verse in the bible. And for good reason. It’s an amazingly concise explanation of the gospel:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

There wasn’t anything we did to earn the love and favor of God. In fact, based upon the previous centuries of human history it would seem likely God would know better than to send His most precious gift. However, that’s exactly what He did and His motivation was love.

Not just any love, but agape - the highest form of love referenced in the New Testament. “Agape is one of several Greek words for love. When the word agape is used in the Bible, it refers to a pure, willful, sacrificial love that intentionally desires another’s highest good.

God’s love is intentional, sacrificial, and powerful.

02/06/2025

Our goal should be the right relationship with time. Lots of people live in the wrong time zone—stuck in past-tense guilt, paralyzed by future-tense fear. Either way, they’re half present, half the time, which means they are half alive.

The goal is to close the gap between these two questions - how old are you? and, how long have you lived? I want to help you make the most of Minutes and Moments, because time management is not just practical. It’s theological. Time is a human construct.

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,” says II Peter 3:8, “and a thousand years as one day.” That makes no sense in four dimensions of space (L,W,H) and time (T). Newsflash: God does not exist within the space and time dimensions He created. There is no past, present, and future!

In the beginning, we were created in the image of God. We have been creating God in our image ever since. So, we try to timestamp God. But we can’t do that! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the Ancient of Days. God is the eternal now.

All of that to say this—creation was God’s way of starting the clock. We have been on the clock since God said, “Let there be light.” That said, the day is coming when we’ll cross the spacetime continuum and enter a dimension the Bible calls heaven. We think of heaven as a future destination, and it is. But heaven is invading earth. Eternity is invading time, right here, right now.

01/28/2025

I’ve spent a lot of time talking to people, hoping they will volunteer to do something for God, and unfortunately, I’ve heard a lot of excuses. People say they’ll, “give more when they have more”.

But listen, If you aren’t generous with a little money, time, or talent, you won’t be generous with a lot. Generosity always starts right here, right now.

To the people who say they’ll serve more when they have more time - you don’t find time, you MAKE time. You need to seize the small opportunities that are all around you all the time.

Here’s the bottom line: how you do anything is how you’ll do everything. If you’re faithful with a little, you will be faithful with a lot. So, I encourage each one of you to expect to do more for God this year. Don’t wait for more time to become available, don’t expect someone else to come along and fill in for you – trust God to do the things He is calling you to do!

01/16/2025

There is a story about a man who suffered from migraine headaches. Moments of relief, few and far between. He had seen specialists. He had tried every treatment plan. Nothing seemed to help too much, for too long. The pain became so debilitating that he had to resign from the church he was pastoring.

He was asked by a friend how he manages his emotions, along with the physical pain. And he said to his friend, “I’ve learned to kiss the wave.” Of course, his friend had no idea what he meant by that, so he explained that he was quoting Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon said, “I’ve learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages.”

Don’t live in denial by ignoring your challenging circumstances. Face them head on. Embrace the trials of your life and look to them as a way to grow your relationship with God. He is your solid foundation amongst rocky terrain.