30 Second Thoughts

Big God…little me

1 O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. 2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. 3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— 4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should…

Hope in the Baby Laying in the Manger

and the baby as He lay in the manger.Luke 2:16b Merry Christmas! Today we celebrate the day that Jesus was born. The day God’s long promised Messiah came into the world, born as fully man and fully God. He was born to bring peace between humans and God. Our sin has separated us from God. It created a chasm so wide, we had no hope to get across it, so that we might get back to God. When we had no…

Hope in the God Who Can Do the Impossible!

14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.Isaiah 7:14 In order for humans to reproduce, you need both parts from a man and also for woman. One partner cannot have a baby all by themselves, it is impossible. So how can a virgin be with child? How can woman, who has not been with a man, be pregnant?…

Finding Hope in the Signs of God

12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”Luke 2:12 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.Matthew 2:2 God is not one to which hides His handy work. Just this week, if you did not a cloudy night like me, you were treated to see the rare Christmas star. The planets…

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.Luke 2:10-11 What is the natural response to having this great hope that we have? It is to be full of joy. To be joyful is not the same as being happy. Being happy is an…

Hope Found From a Scandalous Couple

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.Matthew 1:18 Everywhere they went in the small town, very judgmental eyes were on them. Fingers pointed them out to others. That was them. They were the couple who was pregnant and they were not even married. In current…

Hoping in a Hero

21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”Matthew 1:21 The plot to most superhero stories is similar. The main characters, who are close friends with the hero, find themselves in grave danger from the bad guys. Just when it looks like they have no hope, the hero swoops in and saves the day by defeating the bad guy. Have you ever had…

10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.1 Corinthians 9:10 No matter what you do in life, you should do it full of hope. Life is too short for us to live our lives in despair and without hope. Even if when the times are tough, we should live in hope. Even…

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servantLuke 1:67-69 As one of the Priests of Israel, Zacharias knew the Old Testament Scriptures. He knew that the Old Testament told…

Hope Found In A Strange Gift

11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of … myrrh.Matthew 2:11 10 But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the…

The Light Brings Hope

12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”John 8:12 It such a feeling of hopelessness when you are in the dark and cannot see where you are going. I was driving home one night in a really thick fog. The road I was driving on was a farm road, which does not have street lights or even…

4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;Romans 5:4 It is hard to keep a hopeful attitude when you are going through hard times. We are not a patient people. The longer the hard times go, our flame of hope starts to dim. If our problems are not solved in 30 to 60 minutes, like they are on television shows, we freak out. We cry to God: “Where are you?”, “Do you not care…

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven…

Have Courage in Hope

24 Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.Psalm 31:24 If a person has hope, it easy for them to find courage in it. A great of example of this is the Apostle Paul. The man loved to tell other people about Jesus. He traveled all over the ancient world telling strangers about the great love that Jesus had for them. He did this because he had experienced the love of…

A Name to Hope In

21 “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”Matthew 12:21 45 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.John 5:45 These two verses talk about having hope in a name. The Jews of Jesus’ day and even a lot of them today placed their hope in Moses. They rebuked Jesus one time by saying that they would rather trust in…

4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’ “Matthew…

20 Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.Lamentations 3:20-21 When things are not going the right way, it easy to stop focusing on what gives us hope. Jeremiah knew all about this. After all the name of the book these verses come from is Lamentations and Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. To lament means to feel sorrow.…