New Hope's Blog

                                    DAY 40 Read: Job 1:1-9 My faith in God is not dependent on what I get from Him nor does it have any ulterior motive. It is not directed by what He chooses to withhold from me. It is irrespective of the way my prayers are answered. Worshiping Him, enjoying His presence in my life and   celebrat ing His love for me is far greater than anything else. Job 1:9 says:  “ Satan answered the Lord, Does Job fear God for nothing? In the book of Job, we find an interesting dialogue about Job between God and Satan. Satan insinuates that Job loves God because of all the blessings God has given him. That is the reason he worships God. God states that even if all the blessings are taken away, Job will still worship Him. In our present situation, with the challenges we are facing, God calls us to worship Him, continue to love Him. Even though earthly blessings seem to be withdrawn in terms of job loss, financial difficulties, sickness, will we still love Him? Job 13:

                                   DAY 39 Read: Proverbs 19:21-23 Proverbs 19:23 says (Message Bible):  “ The fear of God is life itself, a full life and serene, no nasty surprises”. The fear of God leads to life. In the NASB it says,  “ The fear of the Lord leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, and untouched by evil”. When I truly love God, obey Him, turning away from everything that is unholy and ungodly, seeking His favour, I will see problems in the right perspective. I will not be overcome by fear rather the fear of the Lord will reduce the circumstances to its right proportion. Difficulties will come but God will see you through. There will be many checks, but you will not be checkmated.  “ You will sleep satisfied” implies you are not stressed, nor anxious, not worried nor afraid, not disturbed. The fear of God liberates us from all other fear. The fear of people, of the future, health, job; all these fears can be overcome when we are completely submitted to the Lord.

                                  DAY 38 Read: Job 17:1-9 Job 17:9 says:   “ Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way and he who has clean hands will grow stronger”. In spite of, in the midst of, even though, irrespective of the circumstances, nevertheless, believe God is in control ! The way the Lord has led and guided us, the way the Lord has kept us in the situation we are in right now is His divine working in our lives. As we face trials, God assures us of His strength, trusting in Him, we move from strength to strength. These challenging situations may be financial constraints, difficult relationships, job loss, health issues but God will strengthen us. He says, I will give you strength upon strength. Today’s strength will be more than yesterday’s, and tomorrow’s strength will be greater than today’s. This is God’s promise for you.  “Clean hands” here refers to how we work, and the way we live. It implies that in the midst of trials we are called to continue to be holy, to

                                 DAY 37 Read: Proverbs 15:29-30 Proverbs 15:30 (Message Bible) says,  “ A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle”. As we are soaked in goodness, count your blessings and celebrate God’s love and grace in your life, it brings a twinkle in your eyes. As we count our blessings, we celebrate God’s goodness in our lives. The forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life are tremendous blessings to be thankful for. Recognizing and acknowledging God’s faithfulness fills our heart with joy and brings a sparkle in our eyes. A.W. Tozer said,  “ Christian s have every right to be the happiest people in the world!” When we have put our trust in God, in the midst of trouble, we see grace, provision and the peace of God to carry us through the difficulty. We never need to give up because God is greater than any challenge that we face. William Barclay said,  “ A gloomy Christian is a contradiction of terms”. It is nece

                                DAY 36 Read: Proverbs 4:18-23 Proverbs 3:1 says:  “ My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity”. God calls us to live a life of quality. An abundant life, a full life, a whole life is available for us in Jesus, a life of joy and exuberance. www.newhopetv.org Psalm 119:11 says:  “ I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” . Store God ’s word in your heart. It directs your mind to obedience; listen to God’s word which leads to prosperity and length of days. Proverbs 3:1 (Message Bible) says:  “ Good friend, don’t forget all that I have taught you; take to heart my commands. They’ll help you live a long long time; a long life lived full and well”.  We live in a world that is heartless; it only offers pleasures that are fleeting and momentary. It is important that we watch over our heart as it says in Proverbs 4:23, ‘Above all else, gua

                               DAY 35 Read: Genesis 50:15-21 Joseph looked out for the needs of others and ministered to them. He moved the focus from himself to others. Though he faced immense challenges, it was necessary, as God required him to be in Egypt to save, not just his own people but many civilizations from the famine. It is fascinating to see how beautifully God works out His plan through Joseph’s trials. Everything was engineered in such a way that Joseph was in Egypt at the right time. Joseph realized that many of the situations he went through did not make sense, but he saw that there was a bigger plan that was unfolding. In Genesis 50:20 he says to his brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. In our deepest suffering , even when we cannot make sense of our circumstances, may we realize that the Lord has an amazing plan for our life and may we, with complete trust, say we are available and ready to sign up for it. All through life there may be some nee

                              DAY 34 Read: Genesis 40:1-8 Another important virtue we see in Joseph is his concern for the people around him. In Genesis 40:6, the cupbearer and baker are in prison and are dejected. Joseph asks them the reason and is led to help them. Though Joseph himself had enough problems of his own: being sold by his brothers, falsely accused, put in prison, he still chose to think of others. Look out for people who are suffering, it makes our dark periods lighter, it helps to shift the focus from ourselves to others. It makes us think less about ourselves and more about the needs of others. As Paul exhorts us, we need to look out for the interests of others. As we see in Job 42:10, God waited, as Job moved from his suffering to interceding and then to restoration.          As the renowned cardiologist, professional educator and author Dr. B.M. Hegde says that  “ I” “I” leads to Illness;  “ We “ We ” leads to Wellness/Wholeness/Health. Let us not be lost in self-pi

                             DAY 33 Read: Romans 8:18-26 The Bible records that Joseph saw his brothers and wept in private twice. He wept five times in public. Even though God is with us and His plan is being worked out; there are times when we feel like weeping. In the book of Romans chapter 8, the Bible tells us that the whole of creation groans and suffers. Though we have the Holy Spirit, there is still groaning and tears which is a part of our joy. It is important that we never allow the groaning to get bigger than the joy, peace and hope that we have in Jesus. As the psalmist says tears have become my food. When we weep do not find it strange because nothing can separate us from His love.  :: Prayer :: Dear Lord, help us to enjoy your deep love for us and in the midst of our tears to remember we are more than conquerors in Jesus. In this hope and confidence, we long for the ultimate liberation of our bodies and trust you to take us through the dark times. We look forward to you

                            DAY 32 Read: Genesis 37:31-36 Psalm 53:5 says, they feared where no fear had been. Joseph’s brothers sold him off and informed their father that Joseph had been eaten by the wild animals. Jacob on hearing this news tore his clothes put on sack cloth and was a broken man. He refused to be comforted. Meanwhile, God was working in an amazing way. Joseph was taken by Potiphar, the captain in Pharaoh’s army. While Jacob wept, God was working out His plan.      www.newhopetv.org Often when we think all is lost and there is nothing to look forward to, God is still at work. He will fulfill His promises. He is in control of everything. Jacob was weeping for his son Joseph thinking he was dead while God was raising him up. Trust God to be true to His promises.  To be continuously sad is rebellion and disobedience toward God. :: Prayer :: Forgive us for weeping, grieving, being anxious, afraid and worried. You are working behind the scenes to make something beautiful

                           DAY 31 Read: Psalm 53 As we continue to meditate on Psalm 53:5,6 we learn that often we are afraid of things that do not exist. We live in dread of things that might happen when 90% of the time, the things we are worried about never occurs. This is an important truth for us to understand if we want to live a victorious life. In Job 19:25, Job says  “ I know that my redeemer lives, and He will take His stand on the earth”. Job was able to say this because he knew God. He had a personal, intimate joyful, confident and experiential knowledge of God. As it is recorded in Psalm 27:13,  “ I will live and see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”. With confidence in the Lord may we say even though I am going through a difficult time now, ‘I will live’. In his book Laughter, Joy and Healing, Dr. Donald E. Demaray states that the resurrection testifies that God is in charge, not evil, not the devil. God is in control and He has the final word. May we rem

                          DAY 30 Read: Genesis 37:12-35 Continuing our meditation on the life of Joseph, sometimes we think that our difficult times are the end, but we need to hold on as there is a new beginning. In a believer’s life, one can never be stuck in the same situation, something awesome is bound to happen, something new will open up. Often in our lives we go through Friday when everything seems dark, lost and without any hope. We feel that everything has come to a standstill, yet we know that it is only Friday and that Sunday is coming and it will be glorious and victorious. When life appears to be at its darkest hour, we can take courage in the hope that God is working out a wondrous and amazing beginning. Remember that though it seems dark, Sunday is coming, the glorious power of our Lord Jesus Christ will be displayed in our lives. When Christ comes in glory everything will be made beautiful. As we see in Joseph’s life in Genesis 37:28, what he thought might have been th

                         DAY 29 Read: Genesis 39 When faced with temptation, Joseph did not yield to it. In our darkest hour, we are often tempted to sin; we disobey God, we give into self-pity, anger and bitterness. Though Joseph was going through a lonely period, a dark time in his life, he did not disobey God nor did he displease Him or do evil in His sight. Rather, Joseph kept himself pure.      www.newhopetv.org During a difficult time in my life when I was broken, sad and deeply hurt, my mentor Rupen Das cautioned me to watch out. In vulnerable times, Satan can take advantage and tempt us to sin, to do what is not right in God’s sight. When we feel lonely, sad, discouraged or depressed, we tend to sin easily. At such times, our stronghold against temptation and sin is the great joy and happiness in God that is ours in Christ Jesus. May you and I hold onto this assurance and trust God to give us the strength not to yield to temptation. :: Prayer :: Thank you, Dear Lord for Joseph’

                        DAY 28 Read: Zephaniah 3:14-17 Continuing our meditation about resting in God’ s love, in Zephaniah 3 :17 the Bible tells us that the awesome God lives amidst us, He will quieten us with His love, He exults over us with joy. As human beings we are longing to be loved, wanting people to love us, accept us, appreciate us. We can go through life, seeking love and become frustrated, dejected, thinking that we can never be deeply loved. But God loves us unconditionally, His love is not dependent on us, who we are or what we do.                      www.newhopetv.org Just like the father of the prodigal son rejoiced in the return of his son, so does God when we turn to Him. Enjoying God’s love brings healing and comfort. God says He loves us despite our failures, our fears and our doubts. He knows everything about us and still loves us. May we respond to this awesome love of God by turning away from sin and accepting His love and celebrating Him.  Pastor Edmund Chan,

                        DAY 27 Read: Exodus 14:13-14                                      Dallas Willard a great Christian philosopher said,  “ ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your lives”. Contrary to the world’s idea that a busy life and multitasking are important, research studies as documented by Dr. Caroline Leaf suggests that being calm and doing one thing at a time is necessary for healthy brain function. Multitasking is unhealthy for the mind. It is vital to be at rest and in quietness.                                        www.newhopetv.org The Israelites when they were at the Red sea, thought that this was the end, they were going to drown and die. They were angry, grumbled and complained to Moses. Moses assured them not to be afraid but to stand by and see God’s salvation, that God will fight for them. It is important for us to be calm, to rest in God and trust in His awesome power. God will fight our battles for us. God knows our problems, the crisis we face, our fears. He

                       DAY 26 Read: 1 John 4:7-16                                      In 1 John chapter 4, we read that God is love, this is the truth, this is the reality. Believing is a choice that I make in response to God’s love for me. Faith is validated by the way I live. Knowing that I’m deeply loved, I live each moment, in worship, in appreciation, celebrating His love for me. This helps me to go through life with all its challenges and difficulties. Abiding in His love, I recognize that it’s all about Him and not about me. God is faithful even though we keep changing in our love for Him.                                                       www.newhopetv.org In Philippians 3:14-17, Paul prays for the believers to be rooted and grounded in His love. That means being fixed, established and abiding in the love of God. As we learn to relax and rest in the love of God, we have a firm foundation to face life’s challenges, to face the onslaught of the devil. We will not be shaken as

                      DAY 25 Read: Genesis 50:15 - 21 Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik says that the fundamental goal of human existence is to transform ourselves from being an object to a subject. God is in the process of writing His beautiful story for our lives. We need to willingly allow Him to fulfill the purposes He has planned to be accomplished in and through our life.  Dennis Prager, says there are two categories of unhappy people: 1. Those who feel that they are victims.                                           www.newhopetv.org 2. Those who have the spirit of entitlement. The attitude of a person who is constantly saying he/she is a victim is to find excuses all the time for life’ s situations . There is no place in the Christian life for playing the victim card. Often people keep telling themselves ‘ poor me ’; I deserve better, I should have been treated well, I should have been loved. Self-pity is pride turned inward. In the book of Genesis, the Bible tells us that Joseph was s