Keeping Hope Alive - Hope Notes from an Abiding Heart

Letters from God

We've all heard the story. An ungrateful son leaves the security of home and his loving father in search of something bigger and better. However, it doesn't work out as he planned and soon he finds himself surrounded by pig slop, with this lesson learned: There's no place like home.

Author Stephen Arterburn shares how the world's promise of power, pleasure, and possessions seduced him off the straight and narrow path. His story is one of God's redemptive grace in the midst of emptiness and despair. Arterburn's turning point came when he made the life-changing realization that only God could satisfy the longings of his heart and restore what he had destroyed.

For God so loved the world … and then what?

It’s one of the first verses you learn in Sunday School, but do you really understand what that means? Through Exploring the Depths of God’s Love, a part of Dr. Stanley's Life Principles Study Series, the Scriptures are stripped down to the very basic, practical guidelines He gave us. You’ll learn what it really means to love God and to serve and obey Him and as a result, you’ll discover how much God loves you, and how His love will transform you forever.

In this collection of poems, Dodi Cox opens her heart about God?s role in our everyday lives, from the dark hours of heartbreaking grief to times of joy to the all-encompassing peace that is ours through Christ.

Dodi captures small, seemingly ordinary moments?the sight of a tiny red bird, time spent playing cherished old hymns on the piano?and turns them into celebrations of life and God?s love. In addition, she does not shy away from sharing her struggles with illness?both hers and her husband?s?and with learning to live with the loss of loved ones. But with a spirit of compassion, Dodi also reaches beyond her immediate surroundings to honor those who have served and are serving our country, and remembers the survivors of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

No matter where you are or what you?re going through in your life, you?ll find hope and encouragement through these poems. From the prayers uttered during a medical crisis, to tributes to friendship, to the whimsical ?Honey,? we are assured that God has many ways of speaking to us and knows what is on our hearts. His love is always there, ready to comfort us, uplift us, celebrate with us. We are, indeed, never alone.

I am writing to people who do not know we can have a very personal relationship with the living creator, God. He tells us that He wants us to know Him, know His name, experience His presence moment by moment. He wants to prove that He exists in your day-to-day life. My challenge is the same challenge God has offered from the very beginning, the God that is with us, Emanuel. I have taken my faith, which is invisible and intangible, and made it solid and visible so that it is easy to understand. It is extremely practical, no-nonsense, and truth in action.

While you may not understand all the twists and turns of life, you can be sure of one thing: the same God who created you, loves you. God’s personal promise to you is one of extreme hope and potential (Jeremiah 29:11). He also has an awesome strategy for your future. No matter what failure you have experienced in the past, you can learn how to make right choices at every juncture in your life.  

In God Has A Plan for Your Life, Dr. Charles Stanley explains that there is no such thing as coincidence, luck, or good fortune. God is sovereign, and He has a course that He wants you to follow. He opens and closes exciting doors of opportunity, but it is up to you to step through each one by faith. You don’t have to miss another exciting moment. You can live each day with a sense of hope and assurance that whatever comes your way has passed through God’s omnipotent, loving hands. This book outlines the exact steps that will lead you to discover His plan for your life.