I dare you to be hopeful!

Ever played that game as a young kid when someone ‘dared’ you to do something challenging! I remember once being ‘dared’ to eat a certain food that was on the, let’s say, ‘VERY HOT’ side! And I did it, even though I knew that it was going to be painful, I did it!

Why? Simply because someone DARED me to do it!

Well today: I DARE YOU TO BE HOPEFUL! No matter who we are, and whatever the circumstances of life maybe, HOPE is something that we all need!

You can be a person who seemingly has everything: material possessions, financial wealth, and worldwide fame. However, if you lose HOPE you can easily fall into the trap of DESPAIR!

What is hope? Well to the Christian, hope is ‘the expectation that something good is going to happen to you’ because God is a good God! It’s not a wishy-washy, it may or may not happen, a tenuous vague wait-and-see attitude, but it’s a determined action we choose to take on purpose each day.

Being a person of HOPE or a person of DESPAIR are both a choice that we get to make! Let’s choose to be people of HOPE!
Hope thinks: You know what? No matter how it looks right now! Things are going to be all right. Things will work out because God is a good God!
Jesus said in Luke 18 that we should ALWAYS be a people who pray and that we should NEVER LOSE HOPE!
If the current circumstances of your life are looking bad, then you definitely need HOPE! And if they are good, then you need HOPE that they will stay that way!

Either way – I DARE YOU TO BE HOPEFUL!

You may not have been taught to hope as you were growing up. Instead of being encouraged, built up and edified you may have had an atmosphere of hurt, belittlement and discouragement that robbed you of hope and put you into despair.

But know this – GOD is a GOOD GOD – who loves you and is actively looking to move on your behalf! Make a determined decision to trust God.

Refuse to receive negative expectations and despair and ask God to help you live with hope in Him! Today speak forth “God is a good God and I’m expecting something good to occur today!”

TODAY – I DARE YOU TO BE HOPEFUL!

QUESTIONS :

Day 111

Today’s reading concerns the second coming of Jesus! If you knew that Jesus was coming back at the end of this week, what changes would you make in your schedule?

Day 112

What do you see in this passage of scripture pertaining to how we should come to God in prayer?

Day 113

Jesus challenged the rich young man to give up the “one thing” that was holding him back from truly following Him. Has the Lord ever challenged you to give up something so that you could truly follow Him?

Day 114

The people around Jesus didn’t believe Zacchaeus deserved to have Jesus talk with him. How can we fight against this attitude?
On a side note, Jesus invites himself to lunch at Zacchaeus’ house. How would we react if someone invited themselves over to lunch at our house? 

Day 115

Jesus said that even the rocks would cry out and proclaim His majesty if his disciples would not. Are there other scriptures / examples in the Bible where creation declares God’s holiness and majesty?

Day 116

Today’s passage of reading starts off with a direct confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders. Why do you think the religious leaders questioned Jesus concerning His authority and power?
On a side note: Why do you think Jesus answered by bringing in John the Baptist?

Day 117

What is Jesus warning against in verses 46-47?