What's Hope all About

"So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, 'Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!'" (Job 2:7-9). Yesterday I was visiting with a Bank Manager. He said the economic situation is more difficult than he could have ever imagined. This level of stress in the economy puts tremendous stress on those affected by it. I know several individuals who are unemployed and are not receiving unemployment benefits. Some were fired from their jobs unfairly, others were pushed out of their jobs because of decreased production due to less consumer demand. I know a newly married young man, with an engineering degree, that has not been able to find a job of any kind. I learned yesterday his car is being repossessed. On top of this I know people with serious illnesses who have no health insurance. As a believer what can you do? During these seasons, you can only do one thing. You must hang onto whatever faith you have to get through each day and entrust your life to Him. "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior" (Hab 3:17-18). When faith doesn't see results it challenges what you believe. You must pray as Job prayed: "Teach me what I cannot see" (Job 34:32). God says there is a purpose in everything you go through. God is going to reveal things to you through this season of adversity that you would never receive had you not gone through this. There are lessons learned in the dark that only make sense in the light. In Isa. 45:3 the Lord promised to "Give you the treasures of darkness, the hidden riches of secret places." Seasons of adversity and darkness come in every believers life. This is part of your calling, even though Satan may be the instrument. The Sovereign God of heaven is always bigger than Satan's afflictions." Your greatest tests come when you cannot see positive results from your faith and obedience (darkness). In such cases you must die to your expectations and entrust them to the Lord. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Journaling

Here are some thoughts from my personal journal. When you come to the Scriptures ask what does this have to do with me? Don't waste the hard times. King David wrote Psalms 57, and 142 from a cave. The Bible in 50 words God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split, Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled, Bush talked, Moses balked, Pharaoh plagued, People walked, Sea divided, tablets guided, Promise landed, Saul freaked, David peeked, Prophet warned, Jesus born, God walked, Love talked, Anger crucified, Hope died, Love rose, Spirit flamed, Word spread, God remained. Knowledge ties the past to the present and wisdom ties the present to the future. Have you ever been confussed between being grieved in spirit and irritated in the flesh. Joyfulness similes away all the wrinkles on a child's attitude. Gentleness is looking past the hardness of a face and seeing a delicate spirit on the inside. Often the outward gruffness of a person is as self-made shield to protect a wounded and hurting spirit. It is also a cry for understanding. "If you are suffering from a bad man's injustice, forgive him lest there be two bad men." St Augustine. Here is a bedrock principle of deception-it never comes as it is, is always uses a pleasant disguise. This deception can originate from a king (II Kings 18:29), a false god (Isaiah 37:10), or one's own heart (Jeremiah 49:16). Sin always causes fear. Ask Adam, Moses, or Peter. You become like what you hate. Prayer is never a substitute for repentance. There are a number of promises in the Bible about God not hearing prayers. Prayer is not a filabuster. You can suffer without sinning, but you can't sin without suffering. The goodness of God ought to lead us to repentance not independence. Outside of the subject of love, materialism is spoken of most in the Scriptures. Some people are tempted to surrender just a token sin or some minor fault, while allowing the main problems to remain entrenched and well hidden. Evil thoughts are the source of evil actions. When the Scriptures talk about an evil eye they are referring to stinginess, having a grudging attitude that another should have more than I do. Jesus promise "I will make you fishers of men." The condition "Follow Me." People need a sense of God's abiding presence upon them. A person filled with the Holy Spirit will have a deep sense of eternal values. The goal of God is not just that man in his sorrows is made happy but that man in his rebellion is made obedient. Without love for the truth, no area of our lives can be corrected. The enemy's lie enters our minds in whispers, not shouts; it walks in darkness, not light. When we harbor sin the light becomes darkness. Satan has a legal access given to him by God, to dwell in the domain of darkness, (II Corinthians 10:3-5). Before receiving the Holy Spirit the disciples were powerless. What we are is more important than what we say. In the race of doing God's will, are you in the front of the pack, one of the stragglers, or an onlooker? Why? Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Contemplations

believe it is good to write down your thoughts. Elizabeth Elliot said "If we don't journal we don't really know what we are thinking." Here are some thoughts from my journal. Some of these are quotes from others that met a need in my life. Oswald Chambers said "Those who serve the Lord are not even aware of it. They are so occupied with Him that they don't see how He is using them in His work." We must reverse Adam's choice, we must choose God over Eve. We must take our ache to Him, for only in God will we find the healing of the wound. "The gospel can be canceled out by the way we live." Henry Blackaby A wise person will exchange things of lesser value for things of greater value. Discontentment makes rich men poor, while contentment makes poor men rich. Unless a man has to do more than he can do, he will not do all that he can do. Four d's of decision making. 1. Don't, if it's the responsibility of others let them do it. 2. Delay, if it can be done at a better time, wait. 3. Delegate, if other can it better, let them. 4. Do, it if none of the above apply. The Church has no authority to decide questions of personal liberty in things not expressly forbidden in Scripture. Early success in life does not determine long lasting significance. One who judges condemns publicly. As a seed must die before bearing fruit, so God brings "Death of a vision" to test our endurance and then rewards us with supernatural fulfillment. Giving forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Receiving forgiveness is a gift to the offender. There can be the right idea, but the wrong execution. The great leader is the servant of the dream, the bearer of the vision. "It is the idea (vision) that unites people in the common effort, not the charisma of the leader."Optimal performance rests on the existence of a powerful shared vision that evolves through wide participation to which the key leader contributes, but which the use of authority cannot shape. The test of greatness of a dream is that it has energy to lift people out of their moribund ways to a level of being and relation from which the future can be faced with more hope than most of us can summon today. To be halfhearted is to get the worst of both worlds. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Our Glorious Future

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). The bumper sticker read "Remember who you wanted to be." A lot of people never come to a realization of who they wanted to be. Should you go back and examine your childhood dreams, are you where you dreamed of being? Many people head off to college without any idea what they want to be. They may change majors several times in their college career and still not know what they want to do or be when they graduate. If that describes you don't despair, there is something better than your dreams, there is God's dream for you. God alone knows the plans He has for us. No false prophet can know the mind of God concerning anything. Jeremiah ministered in a day when false prophets were rampant. These false dreamers were prophesying a false peace and bogus deliverance. They were predicting the impossible and proclaiming a groundless hope. Those of their audience were confident they were hearing the truth. God told the Israelites judgment was coming and could not be avoided. The Israelites laughed at God threats, confident they were hearing truth from those who spoke only lies. False prophets flatter people in their sins, because they love to be flattered. A charlatan may have a golden tongue, but the fruit of his words will be bitter indeed. False prophets and their deceived listeners do a demonic dance, each flatters the other for their own purposes. The end result, rather than deliverance, is slavery for the false prophet and their deceived followers. As humans we often lack knowledge. How common it is to not even know our own minds. The Lord is never uncertain of anything. How often in our lack of knowledge do we believe the Lord is against us? The fact is "If God be for us, who can be against us"? God always approaches His children in mercy and grace. Even His correction is done out of love, "For who the Lord loves he chastens." No where in the Bible does God say "Seek Me in vain." Those who die and go the an eternal hell do so "Because they have not listened to my words; I called but they refused." On the other hand, God has a divine plan, and He knows exactly what He wants us to be and do. Every gift and talent we possess was given by Him, and its a shame when we don't live the life He has for us. If you don't know what you are destined for, ask the Lord, He knows and He will be more than happy to reveal His plan to you. We have a glorious future, He said so, for He's in charge of it. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Importance of Friendship

"A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24). One important subject the Proverbs deals with is the subject of friendship. A good way to translate the first half of the above verse is "Some companions are good only for idle talk."The second half of the verse tells us that "The friend who sticks closer than a brother is the kind of friend to seek and to be." Any other kind of friend or friendship is not reliable. To say a "Friend loves at all times" means there is no "Time out" in friendship. Faithfulness in the time of need, is the idea. A statement I have heard many times is "He was a fair weather friend." This describes the fact that friends are easy to find when things are going well. The true measure of friendship is how well they stick when things are not going well. The Greek Old Testament of Proverbs 17:17 reads "A friend will be there for you in every kind of time." The thrust of the verse states the purpose of life is not to achieve personal fulfillment but to be in a meaningful relationship with someone else. This means "Foul weather friends" are the only ones worth having. How do you know they are "Foul weather friends"? They stick around in foul weather. Even more important a "Foul weather friend" is the only kind worth being. One of the tragedies of modern life is the way we move to new cities or new churches or new jobs and abandon the people that made our lives meaningful in the previous place. We lose a vital function of a long time friend, namely a friend finding the best in you and nurturing you in personal growth. A true friend will also point out our blind spots. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." An important principle is knowing when it is appropriate and when it is not appropriate to "Dump" on a friend. Sometimes sensitivity to our friend's problems will tell us that it is not time to share our problems with them, but time to help them carry their load. Both parties in a friendship need to seek that kind of sensitivity toward the other. In doing so they will find the own needs for friendship met and they will not damage the friendship they so intensely desire. God instructs us as to what kind of friends to choose but just as important He instructs us as to what kind of friend to be. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church ministry.

Finding Love in the Right Places

Some years ago a popular song stated "What the world needs now is love, sweet love, that's one thing there's just too little of." Perhaps we could adapt that song for the church. What the church needs now is love, sweet love. We don't really have a love shortage, we have a practice of love shortage. Concerning love, John wrote “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (I John 4:16). We as Christians live in the realm and sphere of love. When a believer shows love toward another believer, this provides assurance to the first believer that he or she resides in God and likewise, that God resides in him or her. Love being practiced lets us know that God is at work. Believers know that they reside in God, and he in them, because of the presence of his Spirit. Believers also know that God has granted them to share in his Spirit because they acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son and because they show love for their fellow believers. John goes on the explain "By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world." (I Peter 4:17). John now talks about Christian growth (what we might call Christian maturity or sanctification). As believers practice love for one another this love is perfected, and that in turn allows them to have confidence in the day of judgment. “If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us.” "Just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world." We are God's representation of His Son in this world. We may well be the only representation of Jesus Christ a person will ever meet. How do we represent Jesus to a lost world? By love. We are to love everyone, our enemies, friends, neighbors, family, believers, co-workers the church, God. True love is made out of shoe leather. God loved and did something about it. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..." (John 3:16). Love is an action word. I have a good friend who pastors an inner city church. He will meet with people in some unique places. Several members of his church, at one time, lived under a bridge, He went to their "Home" and opened the Scriptures with them. After they accepted Christ, he helped them find jobs and housing. Most importantly this pastor helped them grow spiritually. This is God's love in action. This same pastor told me about the love Christ has planted in his heart toward lost souls. He said as an officer in the Marines, during the Viet Nam War, one of his men was shot, the wound was mortal. He said while they waited for the medic to arrive, he held the dying man in his arms and shouted "Live, please live." Tragically, the soldier bled to death in his arms. He told me he feels the same way about a person without Christ. He said he has the same passion for a person to live spiritually as he did for that soldier to live physically. How is the love of God being lived out in your life? As believers we have the Lover (Jesus), living in our lives. As Jesus is so are we in this world. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Do You Love Life

In our Western culture you frequently hear people talk about living the “good life.” If you were to ask these people to define their idea of this life, you’d hear a multitude of answers. Most of them would involve the indulgence of a particular appetite or taste for pleasure. Years ago this was summed up with a bumper sticker on an expensive motor home or other recreational vehicle, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Sadly, many people define the “good life” in terms of a toy, not in terms of a godly lifestyle. Note what the Lord has to say about the "Good Life." "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." (I Peter 3:10). Peter is saying whoever "Wishes to love" life, present and eternal will not involve himself in those things that make this life a burden. He goes on to tell us that we must curb, or cause to cease, using our tongues for evil and deceitful purposes. He is implying that our natural inclination is to speak evil. The Holy Spirit promises a blessed life to those who show patience toward those who are evil. That is why we are to love and pray for our enemies. This takes the wisdom of God being operative in our lives. James 3:17 says "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." A growing Christian will show this kind of fruit in their lives for they depend on God for everything. Depending on God will deliver you from evil for the Lord will be attentive to your prayers. Living the life of Christ is dependent on staying connected to Christ. He is the Vine, we are the branches. Our very life comes from Him. We live the life of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We learn the wisdom of God as we saturate our heart and minds with the Scriptures. Part of loving life is walking out of the way to avoid evil. We will not experience the good life by walking blindly into evil, and then pretending we could do nothing to avoid it. We are to discern the difference between good and evil and take specific steps to avoid evil. The other side of this coin appears when we purposefully determine to do good. There is no need to fret about what is good and what is not. God doesn't leave us to on our own to figure it out. This is one reason He gave us the Bible. That is why we read the Scriptures as God's relevant message to us. Loving life and seeing good days has a lot to do with the use of our tongues. The Bible tells us "Out of the heart the mouth speaks." Our heart feeds our tongue. How is your heart doing? Are you feeding from the Word of God? If you wish to love life, the Lord through the Scriptures will show you the way. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Who Cares for the Elderly

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”- Isaiah 46:4. We live in a time of genuine economic instability. Every day I read of major companies being in financial trouble. With the present rate of inflation many who live on fixed incomes are feeling the pinch. I have a friend, who is a few years older than I am, he has stated he has two fears as he approaches his "Golden years." The first fear is dying from an extended, extremely painful, illness and the second is that he might out live his material resources. God answers these questions when He says "I am he who will sustain you." I frequently approach the Lord in prayer on the basis of son-ship. My prayer might go as follows "Father, you created me and saved me, you have promised to provide for my needs and take care of me. I have a really big need right now, and I am asking you to take care of me by providing for me according to your will." I believe the Lord delights in answering prayer. The answer (He always answers) makes sense, is practical and leaves no doubt that it came from Him in answer to prayer. Faith works itself out in praying rather than in scheming. The Lord has promised to "carry us." and "rescue us." I believe He does this through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, an active member of the Godhead who indwells every believer. I am aware that we as Christians tend to ignore Him and His working in our lives. He came to guide us, why would we ignore our Guide. I don't have any direct Scriptural command to pray to Him, but I am commanded to "grieve not the Holy Spirit." and I am to "quench not the Holy Spirit." These commands imply relationship, and the Holy Spirit is a relational member of the Godhead. As we read the Scriptures the Holy Spirit teaches us and illumines the Word in our minds and hearts. The truth is the Lord will indwell us by the Holy Spirit until we draw our last breath and go home to be with our Father in heaven. When I was young we would sing "every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before."I do know this, every day brings me one day closer to home. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Dark Night of the Soul

"The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position" (James 1:9). Have you ever been to the place where the bottom fell out of everything? You felt so low that you could walk under a snakes belly without ducking. You were in a place where everything you touched fell apart. A trial like this is designed to accomplish something only the process from the place of "Humble circumstances" can do. Job learned that "He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light" (Job 12:22). Job's trials allowed him to learn things about God, himself and his friends that we all needed to know as well. He assumed things about God that he had to recant: "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know" (Job 42:3). David learned how to be a King from the humble circumstances of herding sheep. Joseph learned how to be a ruler from the humble circumstances of prison. The Apostle Peter learned how to be a follower of Jesus from the humble circumstances surrounding his denial of Jesus. The Lord will take you to the dark places of circumstances and there He will reveal something He wants you and others to know. He has sent you ahead to learn these things so that you and others will benefit from your unique experience. Remember in Act 2: how Peter was able to say "The Lord whom you denied." According to James God views this place where you receive these truths as a "High position". The world views it as a place to be shunned at all costs. Have you hit bottom? Are you sick, broke, depressed, despised, lonely, feeling hopeless. or a combination of the above? The fact is your lowly state is considered a high position by God, this is His preparation soil for revealing deep things from the dark places that He desires you to learn. The writers of old would refer often to the "Dark night of the soul." Every believer I know has experienced this very place. What should we do in the place of humble circumstances? We must listen for the still small voice of God. He will show up, we dare not miss Him. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences and local church meetings.

God's Overlay

A thought I received from a book by Henry Blackaby has intrigued me. Henry said "At times God will overlay your heart with His heart." When I was a pastor I would use an overhead projector (that should date me). In using overlays, I would at times lay down a simple map, and then overlay that map with a another overlay, the second overlay would add dimensions not seen in the first. The idea of God's heart overlaying my heart fleshes out new aspects to my Christian life and this brings hope. I have prayed many times "God break my heart with the things that break your heart." I believe every child of God wants to know the heart of God. God often allows pain to ignite purpose and destiny in our lives. That is why he said "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-5). Without motivation, many of us would never fulfill the purposes for which God created us. Oftentimes a measured assault invades our life and creates a depth of pain that all we know to do is snuggle up to God with all our being. The closer we get into God's heart the more we experience God. When we cry out to Him in absolute abandonment, and He is faithful to walk through the trial with us. I am certain you remember the poem dealing with the footsteps in the sand. The upshot was only one set of footprints meant God was carrying the writer of the poem. How many times has God carried us when we were void of strength to carry on? God and God alone is the source of life, and He is in charge of igniting purpose in our lives. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Are You Despondent

Please open your Bible and read the entire 42Nd. Psalm. This will give you context for this writing. The Psalmist was clearly despondent. He cried out to God and he observed “By day the LORD directs his love (toward David), at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life" Psalm 42:8. David was aware of God's song being played in his heart by night. That night song worked itself out as a prayer to the Lord. Please read (42:7). As the author watches the melted snow gushing forth in waves from the mountain cataracts, he sees in this a picture of his own present situation as blow after blow descends upon him. But notice he does not say "these breakers and these waves have rolled over me." He says "your breakers and your waves . . . " This is very important, because he is affirming that the situation is not out of control or evidence of God's lack of concern—but rather that God is sovereignty (even if mysteriously) at work through these sufferings for an eventual outcome that will be good and vindicate his choice to go on trusting God (read 42:8). There is an old saying "Trouble talked about makes it double." Trouble talked about in the form of gossip and slander does make it increase. However when we talk to the Lord about our troubles (in prayer) they begin to take on new perspective. When we begin to see our trails through His eyes, then we can rejoice because He is in control and His purposes are being worked out in our lives. This is something the Bible teaches over and over again—the rhythm of trials followed by blessing (PS. 66:10-12; Lam. 3:21-36), suffering followed by hope (Rom. 5:3-5), "death" followed by "life" (2 Cor. 4:11). Read 1 Pet. 5:10. This is why David could say "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:11. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.