I saw a bumber sticker on a car today that jogged a long ago memory. "Got Hope?" Of course that is a word play on the "Got Milk" add, it's still a good question. Suddenly, even though I was driving home from buying week-end groceries, I was an eight year old sitting on the front pew, listening intently to a story my dad was telling: During the war (I assumed WWll) there was a submarine that sank to the bottom of the ocean after being struck by ammunition. As the sailors were desperately trying to get in touch with a near by ship, they got word that divers had found them and were trying to rescue them. As they waited, it is told that there was the tapping of Morse Code from inside the ship "IS THERE ANY HOPE?" I don't remember the outcome of that story, only that I was very sad for those soldiers facing a watery grave. As I drove along, almost home by now, I really thought about that question, let me ask it of you, Is there any hope? Hope for our nation, hope for the young men and women fighting on foreign shores for us, hope for the many homeless living under bridges and in alley ways, hope for those so steeped in debt that they are on the verge of losing their homes? Hope for someone stricken with a dread disease, hope for the fallen Christian, who after having known the truth turns his back on God? Are you tapping on the walls of your own prison asking, praying, hoping for a good outcome? We let ourselves get so swamped by worry that it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, then our physical body and mental capacities begin to fail us. Imagine the people in Chili, asleep in their beds, being awakened by an earth quake of such magnitude, if they had known before they went to sleep it was going to happen, they would have made arrangements to be some place safe, key words: if they had known. Yesterday I wrote about the importance of listening to warnings, to watching for signals, to knowing right and wrong, so that we are prepared to live the best life we can. Luke 21:34-36 "But be on your guard. Don't let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it's going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don't go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that's coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man." Hope? Proverbs 13:12 Unrelenting disappointment(or hope deferred) leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around. Proverbs 31:24 So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 1Peter 3:13 If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. Is there HOPE? An old song says:Whispering hope, oh, how welcome thy voice, Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice. I believe, I have hope!

If you are going to see a movie, you don't want someone to tell you how it ends, right? When you are driving your car and see an octagon shaped sign, what do you do? It means to STOP,a red light, again, you stop! The warning on a pack of cigarettes says they can cause cancer of the lung, did you quit smoking? You know that too much sugar is like poison to your body, and if you are diabetic, it can actually mean death, yet I know someone that just adds an extra shot of insulin so they can eat whatever they want. Young people are warned about unprotected sex, yet incidences of venereal disease is on the rise, as is teen age pregnancy. We don't want to be told what to do, or how to do it! I find that applies to most everything, at least the souls I have dealt with in the past. No one really wants advice, we all think we are the exception to any rule, we can make anything right, an excuse for everything we want or want to do. You are in love with someone, the perfect someone, you see a major charactor flaw and it just doesn't matter, YOU are the person that can make the change in their life. I call it the Beauty and the Beast complex, and how, you may ask, do I know so much about that particular subject? There is a tree in my front yard, the trunk rises high and then separates into four big, perfect branches that leaves a place for a wonderful nest. This is right next to our majestic magnolia, planted the week we moved into this house. From this magnolia, I watched the squirrels take small branches and leaves and build a nest in the pocket of those four branches. I stood and watched them, a few weeks ago, and wanted to talk to them. I wanted to tell them that, whereas their convenient, cozy nest was easy to build in that place, it was also convenient for the hawks, that are around here, to see and easy and convenient to rob. I would have told them that I have stood at the base of that tree, water hose in hand, screaming to the top of my lungs, trying to scare off the hawk robbing the nest of it's tender young contents. The squirrel parents were there, just below the nest on the trunk of the tree, screaming at him, to no avail. Off he flew with his own meal clutched tightly in his talons, too late. This morning I walked out on our brick sidewalk, P'Nut in tow, and there on the walk was a small branch with three magnolia leaves on it. I walked across the driveway to the base of the tree and saw more of these carefully selected branches on the ground and, sick to my stomach, looked upward, where I saw the nest hanging over the side, branches askew, too late, it has already happened. I remember seeing that hawk making several passes at the nest yesterday, hoping that he would not see it. He saw. We are given warnings all through the Word of God, advice on how to live, ways to act, do we always heed the warnings? 1 Peter 5:8-11 Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. Just because something is easy to do, does not mean it is the right thing to do, just because you can do it and get by with it, doesn't mean you should. What have you been warned about? What are you ignoring as "old fashioned", or a "religious spirit"?  Haggai 1:5 Now, says the Lord God, "Consider your ways." Be blessed, a word to the wise is sufficient. 

"Back in the day", we used to listen to a song by Bill Withers, it was, Lean on Me. A few of the lyrics: Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, We all have sorrow, But if we are wise We know that there's always tomorrow. Lean on me, when you're not strong And I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on For it won't be long Til I'm gonna need Somebody to lean on. We know that our "friend" to lean on is Jesus, and we sing "What a friend we have in Jesus". We ALL need someone to lean on, to help us through a tough time and since there are times when a person that is hurting cannot "feel" Jesus and doesn't have the faith to know He is there, whether or not He can be felt, we need to become someone strong so those people can lean on us, while we lean on HIM! In thinking about that I remembered something that had been sent to me via email, and looked it up. Read it here:

There was an old deacon who always prayed, 'Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.'After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently. He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this... I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time; it's withstood a lot ofweather; it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years. It's still standing. But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit. So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time.I've withstood a lot of life's storms. I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times,and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times.
Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't . So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side, so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.''

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (The Message) "But blessed is the man who trusts me,God,the woman who sticks with God.They're like trees replanted in Eden,putting down roots near the rivers—Never a worry through the hottest of summers,never dropping a leaf,Serene and calm through droughts,bearing fresh fruit every season. Since Jesus died to bring us back to the Father, let this promise of never having to worry, and bearing fresh fruit, even in a drought, be our Lenton reading for the day! I had something else on my mind. I was driving down a narrow street, King Springs, which runs off of S.Cobb Drive and connects with Spring Road, cutting off a big "elbow" if you are cutting across to Atanta Road. I was going to the Bank, which is on Atlanta Road. There are several stop signs on this road, and it IS the law to stop at them, right? A car came up behind me so fast I thought I was hit, at every stop this car came right up on me and never stopped at one sign, figuring, I guess, that they had stopped with me! I got to Spring Road, the light was red so I stopped and looked to my left checking the on-coming traffic, I was making a right on red. When I stopped, the car that had been following me suddenly whipped out around me and into the on-coming traffic! I seriously thought about calling 911, this person must be escaping from prison! When the car went around me, I saw the person driving and the liscense plate (a prestige plate) and was so stunned...I knew her, she attends our church! She had been so rude I couldn't believe that she would do that just as a good citizen, much less someone who claims to be the Christian of the crowd! My point: You never know who is watching you,so you had better be careful how you act. After all, you are representing the King! Remember when you speak to someone, be kindly toward them. Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver! If there is someone who is harsh or hard hearted with you, pray for them! Ezekial 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put in you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh. Someone is angry with you and tells you off, but good, what do you do? Proverbs 15:1 A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. See? All of that came from that one rude driver that turned out to be someone that I knew! It doesn't cost anything (no skin off your nose so to speak) to be friendly, if you don't want to be friendly, just be NICE! Jesus loved everyone and left us the example! He loved us enough to DIE for us! Don't expect others to be nice to you first, YOU be the first one with the extended hand of fellowship: Proverbs 18:24 A man that has friends must show himself friendly,and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. And the best way to keep a friend is to keep your mouth shut and not repeat anything they have told you! Proverbs 17:9 He that covers a transgression seeks love, but he that repeats a matter separates best of friends! 

Be blessed! Pray,be friendly, you never know who's in that car in front of you!