Cord of Hope

Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household. Joshua 2:18

Hi Friends!

I hope y'all had a blessed Thanksgiving, telling the Lord how grateful you are to Him. Believers share something we can all thank God for- HOPE. This world is not a place that instills hope. In fact, it's often the opposite of hope. But because believers know Jesus as our Savior, our hope is in Him- not anything or anyone in the world. So, our hope is sure. The definition of hope is "a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen" or "a feeling of trust." In Hebrew, the word for hope is "tikvah." It means expectation, but it also means cord or rope, with the root word meaning to bind or wait for/upon. 

In Joshua 2:18, tikvah is used and translated "cord." Joshua had sent 2 spies to Jericho to check things out. They went to Rahab's house, and she protected them when the king of Jericho came after the 2 spies. Rahab told them that she, and all the people in Jericho, had heard all that God had done for the Israelites and it scared them. They were probably feeling a bit hopeless. Rahab asked the spies to promise that when Jericho was conquered, that she and her family would be spared. They told her to tie a scarlet cord (tikvah) in the window, and she and her family would indeed be spared. In this story, the scarlet cord was a literal cord. But it also illustrates what hope looks like. The cord was Rahab's only guarantee that she and her family would be saved. But, she had to wait for the realization of the spies' promise. Rahab didn't have a personal relationship with God at that time, but she hoped in Him and knew her physical salvation was tied to trusting in Him. 

How do we stay hopeful when things seem so dismal? How do we wait and wait and wait? God is the answer, of course! We must focus on Him and be in an active relationship with Him. When we are connected to God, it's like we are clinging to a very strong rope. Keep your hope in Him, my friends. And cling to Him as you would a scarlet cord hanging out a window.

Page details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps: Peace Be Still, Texture Tiles 2, Skinny Caps, Teeny Alpha, and Mini Grunge Alpha. I stamped the cord, masked it, and stamped the bricks. I lightly watercolored the bricks, and then stamped the words.

I based this post on information I found in an article by Dori Halbert, refugecounseling.com.

Have a blessed week! Andrea

Filled with the Spirit

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 

Acts 2:2-4

Hi Friends!

Today I will be discussing Acts 2:2-4. We are all probably familiar with the passage. As Jesus had promised, the Holy Spirit indwelt and empowered His disciples so that they could share God's message. This was an amazing show of God's power! I mean, these Jesus followers could now speak languages they didn't know so that people who did speak those languages could hear the gospel. WOW! There were Jews from many nations in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost. And God wanted them to hear the gospel. 

The Holy Spirit that indwelt those believers is the same Holy Spirit that indwells believers today. His power may not manifest in us the same way. We may not be able to speak Spanish, Italian, French, etc, when we don't know those languages already. But, He is the same. And He has the same power. Believers can be filled with the Spirit; or they can quench the Spirit. But the Holy Spirit never leaves a believer. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are surrendered to God's control of our lives. We quench the Spirit when we rebel against God. When we are filled with His Spirit and submitted to Him, we can accomplish the work He has set out for us to do. He will give us the skills we need to do His will just like He enabled the disciples to speak to foreigners in their own languages. We cannot accomplish His will in our own power, but we can certainly accomplish it in His power. Use His power, my friends.

Page Details: I used the following Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps sets: Soul on Fire, Brotherly Love, and Peace Be Still. I stamped the images and used watercolor crayons for color.

May your week be filled with thanksgiving and joy. Andrea