Captivated
As defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, Captivated means “having one’s interest or attention held or captured by something or someone charming, beautiful, entertaining, etc”.
Freedom
As I am writing this, our country is in complete opposition. It is so disheartening to see neighbor against neighbor. To hear the sheer hatred spewed from each “side”. When did we become teams? When did we become against each other instead of for the good of us all? When did we begin to hate one another for having differing opinions? Isn’t that what our great nation was founded on? The freedom to disagree is a luxury.
It seems that as a nation, we have become captivated by the daily news. Be honest, how many of you leave the news on all day? How many of you actually try to fact check what the news is telling us? Do you find yourself “captivated”?
Too much TV
As I watched the news this afternoon, a feeling of dread came over me. I am so saddened by it all. But the thing that stands out to me the most is that people must truly feel there is no other way. When you lose hope, you become desperate. When you become desperate, you usually take things into your own hands. So many people feel that the next President of the United States is going to fulfill all the promises he made and somehow “fix” something.
Our Hope
No man can do that. No man can save our country. No man can truly make your life better. Only God can do that. Our hope does not lie in a man or woman. Our hope lies in Jesus. When HE came to earth, lived and died for our sins, HE gave us all hope. When we surrender to HIM and live a life that reflects the mercy, grace and love that HE truly demonstrated for us, we stop looking to anyone else for our hope.
I challenge you to turn that tv off and take some time to read your Bible, listen to a podcast (I listened to a great one this morning https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Amt6GEKGFbJVEkSKzqSGF) or listen to praise and worship music.
- Romans 5:5 (NIV)And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
- Romans 15:13 (NIV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Psalms 42:5 (NIV) Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
- Psalms 25:21 (NIV) May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.
- Psalms 62:5 (NIV) Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.
- Psalms 33:18 (NIV) But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
My Prayer For You
I have prayed this over my children since they were very small. I continue to pray this over them and tonight I am praying this over each of you too.
Father God, you are so good to us. You fill us with hope, love and peace. You comfort our weary minds. You alone are our hope. I pray that YOUR truth will ring loudly. I pray that from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet, each person reading this tonight will be captivated by the love of God- that your love will drip like oil from them and that they will serve YOU alone all their days. I pray that you alone will be the center of our lives. Amen!
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