Filling you up with hope

The third week advent is here! We talk about joy today, a deep lasting joy. We talk about how joy is a lasting emotion that comes from trusting God. Mary has this joy in her words in Luke 1:46-55- Mary Praises God. Here are some of the things we went through, that we learn from Mary Praises God. - Mary Praises God first- we need to Praise Him first. We learn in James 5:13, to sing song of praises and if we are struggling pray! - We learn in Luke 1:49 Holy is His name. We need to know God's amazingness and that there is no one like him. - We learn He shows mercy to everyone who honors Him. We need to know His mercy and love! - He has shown strength with His arm- we need to know His power. - He has filled the hungry with good things- He provides for us! And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus- Philippians 4:19- Luke 1:54- He has come to the aid of Israel. He sees us, and is faithful. What a gift and deep joy that He is our God!The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never comes to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness- Lamenations 3:22-23I hope this reminder of Mary's amazing words brings you joy- this season and all year!

There is so much stress during the holiday season. We get so focused on all of the things we have to do, that we lose our focus. We lose peace. How would things look different, this holiday season and every day, if we had peace? Not just the absence of conflict, but feeling complete. This deep peace is Shalom in Hebrew. It is something we all long for, and only Jesus can provide it. We can be on this path of peace, when we take in that God is our place of safety. Take a listen is I talk about Moses, his amazing life, John the Baptist's father- Zachariah, and deep peace .

The first week of advent is about hope. The deep hope that no matter what many, many years ago God brought us Jesus. Are we living with this hope? We have control over whether we live in hope or not. The Israelites were told by Moses that they have a choice in Deuteronomy 30:15-20. Read these amazing verses! Will they chose life and love God and obey Him? Or choice death? We that choice too. Will we live with hope and light or choice darkness? God tells us how, we cling to Him! We can not do it ourselves. In Luke 10 in the story of Jesus visits Martha and Mary, Mary knew the answer. She knew she needed to focus on Jesus, be in awe of Him at His feet. This holiday season and every day let's focus on the one thing- Jesus. Even with the chaos around us, let's be in the best place of all at His feet.

Living in Thanksgiving, in gratitude changes our lives. It lowers anxiety and gives us hope. In Deuteronomy 26 and 27, Moses is telling the Israelites what to do when they enter the land of milk and honey. From this there are 7 tips to live in Thanksgiving. First of all, we need to acknowledge God. When we do that we are focusing on the good. Secondly, We need to take in that God sees us. He saw the Israelites when they were suffering. He rescued them, just like He rescued us. We just need to cry out to Him. So thankful that we can live, focusing on the good every day.

The Bible is filled with examples of God working and blessing people, even in dark, hard times. I talk about Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and Naomi and Ruth. These people all went through hard times, but God never stops working! Through their hard times, blessings came and the story of redemption was told. All of these people had faith and hearts after God. We all can have hearts after God, even in hard times. Because He loves us and He can turn curses into blessings. This reminds us of God's power and might and gives us hope, no matter what we are facing. 

Moses, with God working through him, is telling the Israelites about battles they will face and rules for warfare. We all faces battles. Mountains that seem impossible. How am I ever going to get through this? We can't on our own! But God shows us the truth through out the bible, that with Him we can face the impossible. The Israelites can face these battles. David can beat Goliath. Faith can move mountains. I talk about these battles, and about how we can focus on God no matter what we are going through.

The Israelites are waiting to enter the promise land, and Moses is reminding them of who they are. He says- you are the Lord's children. Something we all need to take in! This lead me to go over other verses about how God is our Father, and what kind of a father He is. He is compassionate, tender, forgiving. Our rebellious hearts just need to return to Him. Then our faith grows, and we know who we are. Just like it says in Galatians 3:26- we are children of God through our faith. I pray our faith grows and we know deeply how loved we are.

So many of us live stuck. Stuck in negativity. We feel like things can't change. Reading through Deuteronomy this week led me to 7 tips to help us live more free. The Israelites are no longer enslaved, but are they living free? As they wait to enter the promise land Moses is going through what the Israelites have been through. He is also encouraging them- something we all need!  Listen to hear the tips, and really take in the hope and freedom there is in Jesus. 

The Israelites are almost in the promised land. God and Moses are filling the Israelites up with wisdom before they enter this new season. These are things we can all take in! - Love God with all your being and constantly turn to Him ( Deuteronomy 6:5-8) - Remember all God has done and tell others about it! ( Deuteronomy  6:20-25) - Don't be afraid and remember God's strength (Deuteronomy 7:18) - Don't forget God ( Deuteronomy 8:14) Above all, we need to remember God and have such gratitude for all He has done! Join me for some hope! 

How many of us know deeply that God won't let us go? Moses is reminding the Israelites of this. He reminds them of this after he says that they are going to be so far. They will be worshipping other gods and be scattered, but he says they will seek God. They will seek God with all their heart and being. When we seek God like this, then we can deeply take in that God does not let go! No matter how far away we feel, He can pluck us out of exile and into His loving arms!  

Reuben and Gad are worried about what will happen to their livestock, and they don't want to cross the Jordan into the land of milk and honey. The land they were promised by God. Moses is concerned that their complaints will affect the Israelites. What we say affects not only ourselves, but also those around us. We can have boundaries with what we say and with what we think. Our thoughts affect our feelings and our actions. They need to be rooted in God's faithfulness. Then when we have worries and negative thoughts we can turn to God and pray about these things. We can pray for him to ease our minds. Through out everything God is with us and provides for us, what a gift! A gift that can give us peace.

I talk about how God cannot break His word. He does what He says, and we can too. We can trust Him. It is impossible for him to lie- Hebrews 6:18 and He is our safe and secure anchor. We are made in His image- Genesis 1:27. His character need to affect our character. Thinking about a loyal person in the Bible, the book of Ruth came to my mind. We talk about this book, and the character of Ruth. In times of uncertainty, we can put our trust and our hope in God. 

Do we trust God? Do we trust others? God shows us how good He is- and we can have deep trust in Him. When we have this trust, we can let others in and do the things God is guiding us to do.  He can heal our trust issues, no matter how deep they are.  

Some people are assembling against Moses. They are confronting him and aren't happy with how things are going. It is a hard time, and some people wonder- am I doomed to perish? We aren't in the land of milk and honey, and we are struggling.  They are living in fear of what is going to happen. Even when we are surrounded by uncertainty, we have the gift of being able to turn to God. We never have to live in uncetainty because we have God no matter what. He is our certainty. 

How many times do we focus on what is going wrong? On the hard things that we  feel like can't change. The Israelites are focused on the obstacles in Canaan, and are filled with fear. Caleb and Joshua remind them of the positive. We need to remind our brains and hearts of the positive, and that no matter what we can focus on things above. We can focus on God. 

We continue in Numbers 11. The Israelites are complaining, and focusing on things they are lacking, and God gets angry, Moses gets upset. How often are we like this- and we are focuses on things we are lacking in life? God helps Moses and releases the burden he is carrying. We are reminded that when we feel weighed down, stressed and like things are out of our control, we need to gives it to God. He cares for us, and so often we are focuses on things that we need to be praying about. When we go to God and surrender we are reminded of the freedom we have in Christ. No matter what is weighing us down, we can turn to Him. 

What do we do when we face uncertainty? Do we lean on our own understanding? We learn from Moses, to ask God. Ask God when you don't know what to do. Moses does this in Numbers, and he waits for an answer from God. He knows that he needs God, and wants to be guided by Him. It take humility to ask God, because we are acknowledging we don't know it all. We can't do it ourselves, but with God we can! We guides us and answers us, we just need to take the step of turning to Him. 

The Israelites wander in the desert  in the book of Numbers. God tells Moses Moses, Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites." Then God says the amazing blessing that we are going through today.  We are reminded in this blessing, that because we have God, we have enough. No matter how much we feel like we are lacking. May you feel God's presence and love for you so deeply! 

We are in Leviticus and talk about what happens when people don't follow God's commands. We talk about how He, our amazing God, remembers us. No matter how unseen we feel. No matter how much we think we have screwed up. We are deeply loved and remembered. 

How many of us have sleep issues? Rest issues? Millions of Americans do- and it affects our lives deeply. God tells us to rest, to stop what we are doing- but do we? Are we so go, go, go that we have forgotten how to rest? Jesus shows us in how He lived how to rest. Join me as I explore this! 

God is preparing the Israelites for their entry into the Promised Land. He is giving them guideline after guideline. He tells them to love each other, which led us to the Gospel of Luke. Do we really love each other? What do our hearts look like? There is so much hope, in that no matter what, we have a fresh start with Jesus. We can change our hearts! 

How do we have peace? There are negative thoughts, anxiety, stress. But God tells us how mighty He is in Leviticus and that He can do things that surpass our understanding. In Philippians Paul, directed by God, tells us not to be anxious. He tells us to be glad, gentle with ALL people, to pray about it all and focus our thoughts on God. We can have deep peace and joy because our hope isn't in this world- it is in Jesus. Listen as I talk about what we all strive for, peace. 

Even though I was born Jewish and did not know Jesus, somehow I found Him.  He called me and since I am a follower of Jesus I am set apart. I am a citizen of heaven, not this earth. This idea of being holy and set apart- is the heart of Leviticus, the book we start today. How do today live like we are God’s own? Jesus it is the center of living like we are set apart, but we need to see how Israel was taught to live so we can understand all Jesus did and live the way God wants us to.

We finish going through Exodus, and talk about how God knows our names! We talk about how we all feel alone and not understood sometimes. We try to fill our voids with earthly things, but we have God with us! We can connect to Him deeply, and that is the only things that can fill voids in our life. 

The Israelites have just built a golden calf to worship- and we get a look at God's amazing character. Compassionate, merciful, very patient, full of great loyalty and faithfulness. How blessed are we to have Him? And in return we need heart that are so deeply rooted in Him, that  we are like the Levites- who are on the LORD's side. Join me, as we explore how deep God's love is for us. 

When was the last time you ran out of patience? I know for me, it happens too much. There is a better way. The Israelites were struggling with patience and confusion when Moses was up in a mountain with God for 40 days! What was going on? During this waiting they built a golden calf and worshiped it. What do we do while we wait? Life is filled with waiting! And the biggest waiting of all, waiting for Jesus to come back. He is patient with us, and we can grow in patience. But How? We can be filled with the Holy Spirit and watch us become more gracious and patient. Thank you God!

Many of us live burned out and overwhelmed. We have negative thought after negative thought. When we live with boundaries, we can hold onto what God wants us to and let go of things on this earth. We need to love God so much, that He is our boundary and our heart, strength and mind are focused on Him. 

We all complain at times.  Culture tells us it's okay, we all need to vent. Yes, we need to get out our feelings- but who are we getting our feeling out to? And are we thinking of all of the amazing things God has done for us, or are we focused on the negative? We can be like David, and get our feelings out to God. When we turn to Him, we can connect to the deep joy all of us have in Jesus. 

The Israelites are finally free! Pharaoh has let them go, but there is still fear. Their enemy is chasing them, but Moses tells them something we all need to take in- keep still! God will fight for you. God never left the Israelites, just like He doesn't leave us. We don't need to be filled with worry or shame. We need to stay calm, and put our trust in God. 

Many things happen to us through out our lives. What is our brain remembering? The Israelites are told to remember passover and all God did for them. And we remember what God has done for us on holidays and special days, but deep in our hearts we need to hold onto His saving of us. His saving of us means we have new life- how much hope is there in that? 

We continue going through Exodus and talk about how we are all stubborn like Pharaoh. We talk about how we can let go of this stubbornness and focus on Jesus. When we do this, we have deep joy and can love others better. Join me for some hope! 

We continue the story of Moses, and talk about how Moses in his flesh- struggles with unbelief. We all struggle and doubt, and are not perfect- because we are human! We can do the things God is calling us to do- not because we are amazing- but because we have an amazing God! He loves us and wants us to turn to Him and do what He is calling us to do. 

We start going through Exodus today. The Israelites are going through so much, but God. He understands. What are you going through? No matter what, cry out to God like the Israelites. Pray. He understands. He knows you, sees you and loves you. I hope this podcast leaves you with hope. Deep hope that comes from knowing how loved you are by God. 

Today, I talk about something we all deal with, anxiety. We see how Joseph's brothers handle their fear. We go through three helpful tips to deal with anxiety in these last chapters of Genesis. God is so good, and doesn't want us to spend our lives worrying. He is with you! 

In Joseph's life, God has done amazing things. Things that we would not expect. What things that are beyond our expectations has God done in our lives? We follow Genesis 45 and 46- and the beyond beautiful reunion of Joseph and his brothers, and his reunion with his father. We learn that we can let go and forgive from him. We learn that even when there is deep pain, God is always working. 

We follow more of Joseph's amazing story in Genesis 42, 43 and 44. At times we all are triggered. The past gets brought up. When Jesus is deep in our hearts, it changes us. We take in the past differently. We still have distress, like Joseph does as he is triggered by his past. We learn from him and above all Jesus how to deal with the past. There is so much hope in- it's not fatal it is for God's glory ( John 11:4) 

What are your dreams? Are they centered on you or on God? What do you do while you are waiting for the dreams God has put on your heart to come to fruition? The story of Joseph continues, as we go through Genesis 40 and 41. Join me, as we explore it and many things we can take into our heart. Joseph has a spiritual gift of interpreting dreams. What is your spiritual gift? Is it what you think it is or what God is telling you it is? There is so much good stuff in these chapters! Above all God plucked Joseph out of exile, just like He does for all of us when we accept Him and change our lives. I pray you are left with hope! 

This week, we talk about what happens when jealousy spreads. Joseph's brother's jealousy has grown, and they leave their brother. He is literally in a pit, but some how God has other plans. He is sold into slavery- but through it all there is one common, God is with him. He succeeds and has faith, even with the trauma he has been through. We can learn so much from his story. We can shine our light, like Joseph. Why can we do that? Because, God is with us- even when we are in a pit. 

We continue in Genesis and talk about something we all face- things that are unfair, jealousy and bitterness. What do we do when we have these feelings? In Genesis 37, we can imagine how Joseph's brothers must have felt that Joseph was the favorite. They become jealous and this affected their roots. What are we rooted in? Are we rooted in jealousy and bitterness or in God's grace? There is hope, that even if there is jealousy and bitterness- we can move on. We can pursue the goal of peace. 

What things in your life feel too broken to fix? Unmendable, beyond repair. With Jacob and his father in law Laban and with his brother Esau- God puts together the broken. These brothers could have killed each other, but God says watch. I am going to reconnect them. Nothing and no one is impossible for God.  

I talk about Leah and Rachel- and the tension, jealousy, longing and pain. I talk about how even with that going on Ruth 4:11 says- be like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel. God is working no matter what we are going through! We all have similar feelings to what they were feeling at times- but we have Jesus, that we can hold on to no matter what. He is hope! 

I talk about Jacob and Esau and division in our lives. When he hold onto what is good, and all God has done for us, we can let go! 

Join me as I Explore Isaac and Rebekah's struggle in the Bible to have kids. We all face struggles, with our mental health and in so many other ways. What do we do when we face these hard times? Do we lean on our own understanding? God shows us, through Isaac what we can do! 

What in our life seems impossible? Has God put a dream on our hearts, but something is holding us back from following Him? Join Abby as she talks about the amazing things God does every day, and the hope there is in that God is attentive to us.

Join me as we talk about Abram and how he left his comfort zone and followed God. Do we have faith like this? And how do we react when we are called to or forced to leave our comfort zone? What things do we have control over? Join me as we explore this and connect to the hope there is in Abram’s story.

What storms are you facing? I talk about the story of Noah- and the hope there is in that Noah walked with God. He had storms and chaos going on around him, but he was focused on God. We won’t sink if our eyes and hearts are on him! 💙

Join Abby as she goes through Genesis 2:7 and how God gave us breath. Just breathing is a reminder of His love for us.

Join us as we talk about Thanksgiving! We also talk about Daniel’s three friends who get thrown in the fire- but how amazing- there are four men in the fire! Who is the fourth man? Jesus or an angel? It is a picture of God being with us in difficult times. He is always there- so much hope!

This November, every Monday we are talking about all things gratitude. We talk about how the first step is acknowledging and praising God. This worship changes your heart and your life. Even in our darkest times, we can praise God, our creator, and let light come in our lives.

1 Peter 1:9- verses that are filled with hope. Peter wrote this letter to encourage Christians, and thousands of years later it still has that affect. Join us as we talk about the new life we have in Jesus, and how we can all have peace no matter what trials we are facing. We pray you are filled with God’s grace and peace!