Scripture (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.
Before we
begin please join me in prayer.
Heavenly Father we come
before your throne today in the name of Jesus and ask for your Holy Spirit to be
present with us. Forgive me of all my failures and shortcomings and give me the
power to do and be all that you have called me to be. I want to thank you Lord
for your faithfulness. Even when we do not realize it you are faithfully looking
out for our best interests. Your mercies are new every morning and your grace
eternally gives us hope in a bright and wonderful future as we walk in your
peace. Thank you Jesus for being closer than any friend is. You give us security
in the midst of turmoil. You give us joy in times of hardship and you give us
the Father’s love unconditionally. Lord there is a lot of people that we all are
praying for today. Friends and relatives that need a touch from you. We lift
them up to you now believing that you are doing a mighty thing in their lives
even right now. Lord there are many who are having financial problems today. You
have always and will continue to be the God that provides for are every need so
Lord I pray for a miracle in your peoples financial lives that they may know
that it is you and that they may also in turn be able to be a blessing to others
in your name. Now Lord I pray that you bless your word today, that it does not
come back void but it causes all who read it to be drawn closer to you and that
their daily lives become that much more enriched because of you in them. As
always forgive the one who teaches that we may see Jesus and Him only. For it is
in His wonderful name we pray; Amen.
I want to share a
little of my heart with you today. I know that many people that are receiving
these messages do not know the writer of them. First I would say that I am
simply another man alive in this world searching for the truth and a better way
of life. I have made a lot of mistakes in my youth and the consequences of those
mistakes have been severe. But God is good. He has restored my life and given me
peace like never before. I remember when I was 14 years old. My older brother
had just died and everything in our family was in havoc. I searched so hard for
peace in that time. I knew then that it was peace of mind that every one was
searching for whether they knew it or not. I tried everything from
transcendental meditation. You know that’s where you sit with you legs crossed
doing some deep breathing until you just about hyperventilate and you chant your
mantra; “OHMMMMMM MADDDA MAAADDA MADDDA OHMMMM.” Yah that really did it for me.
NOT! Then I tried drugs and alcohol. What a huge hole of despair that dug for
me. I tried just about every religion known to man. I studied Judaism,
Catholicism, Buddhism, Taoism, American Indian Lore, I was Russian Orthodox,
Baptist, Pentecostal, and Only God knows what all else I got involved in trying
to find peace that really only comes from Him. You see, religion is great but
like Billy Graham once said religion is like a vaccine. It gives you as little
bit of the real thing so that you do not get the real thing.
Now I do have
peace and hope and I know that I am on the right path. That is why I write these
messages. I do not claim to be some spiritual giant. On the contrary I am a
sinner in need of a savior. Without God’s divine guidance and love I would be so
lost today. It would be easy to go after the fleeting pleasures of this world.
Perhaps some of you have come to the realization of that. The “world” tells us
that money will bring us peace. It tells us that being popular will fill that
void in our lives. It says that success in business will provide all the
security we will need. It tells us that the best way to bring about peace is to
destroy your enemies. I look at the conflict in the Middle East and can not help
but be reminded of the Anime cartoon “Gundum Wing.” I am sure that not many of
you have watched this series. It is real violent. The interesting thing is that
all this fighting and violence and blood shed is done in the name of and in the
attempt to bring about total pacifism. Violence brings violence and true peace
will not be yours through revenge.
One of the
biggest problems that I see today and is also true in my live is that we need to
have a renewed hope. We need to have a renewed hope in our government. We live
in the greatest country on God’s green planet and we need to know that there is
great hope for our children and our children’s children for generations to come.
We need to have renewed hope in mankind as a whole. We hear so much in the media
about the violence and depravation yet where is the news about the great work
that men and woman are doing everyday. In The 139th Psalm it talks
about how we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We have within us the ability
to be the worst tyrant in the world or we can be the next Mother Theresa. When
the Bible says that many are called but few are chosen I believe it is better
said that all are called but few choose to follow. God’s desire is to bless all
of us. He has the abundance where by the entire world can live in peace and
prosperity. But too often we choose to try things our way and then we wonder why
we have no peace even in our prosperity.
But there is
hope. There is true peace. There is real joy and absolute power when we trust in
God. The Bible tells us to “trust in the Lord with all are hearts and lean not
upon our own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all things and He will guide our
paths.” Sometimes God’s ways seem like an upside-down kingdom. Love your
enemies, Don’t resist evil, give and it will be given, turn the other cheek, do
good to those who despise you, and on and on. It is not the way we would do
things. We would kill our enemies. We would withstand any evil that would come
upon us. We think the way to prosperity is conquer our competitors and walk over
the backs of others. Rather than turning the other cheek we strike back. And if
someone despises us we just won’t have anything to do with them. What comes
around goes around. God wants us to stop doing things the world’s way and try
them His way. Just try it and see if that peace which is so rich does not
permeate your very soul. One thing I have learned is that God does have all
these blessings available for us but they are conditional. If you do this God
will do that. For example. Just because finances are so much a part of our
lives. If you want to be financially blessed God has great abundance available
for you. But He says first you give of the little that you now have. Then when
you give He will multiply. This is so hard for us to get a hold of but think of
it this way. God wants to be, and deserves to be first in every area of our
lives. He knows that we have need of money but He wants you to know that it is
Him that provides for your every need. So as you give of your wealth He will
continue to pour into you His wealth.
Ok enough
about money how about happiness. I can not believe the miserable people today.
There is more road rage then ever. People at work are way uptight and even old
friends have drifted away. It is time that we made the decision to turn back to
Jesus. He is the founder and finisher of our faith. He is the Prince of peace.
He is our Joy and real live giver. Do you lack hope? Then put your trust in Him.
Are you weighed down with heavy burdens? Then don’t just lean on Him but rest
entirely in His arms. Is depression overtaking you again then overtake
depression by renewing your mind with the hope of the power of the Holy Spirit.
This passage
of scripture from the book of Romans is one that you can meditate on. Go over it
again and again until it becomes imbedded within you subconscious mind. Let the
word of God become the deciding factor of your emotional life. You see your
thoughts control your emotions so you need to control your thoughts. One of the
best books on this subject is Dr. Norman Vincent Peals “The Power Of Positive
Thinking.” There is power in your thoughts and they become life and death as you
speak them. Fill you mind with the truth of God’s love for you and tell yourself
the truth that you are filled with His presence then start living like it. You
choose today to be blessed. You choose today to be forgiven and forgive your
self. You choose today to walk in peace and prosperity. You choose today to turn
your entire life over to the care and guidance of the one who created you. The
blessings are all available to you ,now it is up to you. The first step is to
accept them. Accept the truth that you are a sinner in need of a savior. Accept
the truth that Jesus Christ paid the price for your sin on Calvary’s cross.
Accept the truth that God raised Him from the grave so He can bring us all out
from under the shadow of death and lead us into eternal abundant life in Him.
Accept the truth that is in His word and as we daily learn more of how to live
according to His perfect plan our lives become enriched beyond our wildest
dreams. So true peace begins within us. The struggle within our hearts and minds
must first be won before we can even see the universal victories. So right now
lets rest in His peace. Let’s give up all of our fears, all of our desires, all
of our sufferings and pain. Right now we turn over the workings of our hearts
and our minds to Jesus. We invite the Holy Spirit of God to enter in and bring
us peace.
Heavenly
Father you know the areas in my life that are at unrest. You know the things in
my life that are ill at ease. The things that I have been holding unto myself I
turn them over to you right now and trust you to guide me in the resolution of
all my troubles. Jesus come into my life like never before. Fill up the empty
places and clean out the dark recesses of my mind. Remove all the negative
images and replace them with your truth of love and forgiveness and joy
unspeakable and full of glory. In the place of despair fill me with hope. Give
me the knowledge of your power to make even that which seems impossible
possible. I rest in your arms and praise you for being My God and savior. You
are truly the one and only God of all creation and I accept your blessings of
hope, peace and prosperity in my heart, mind and soul. Make a difference in us
and through us all this week in Jesus name Amen!!!!
I want to
thank you all for your continued support and prayers. I also want to say a
special hello to Nathan; Thanks for giving me your new e-mail address. What is
Matthews? I love you all. I also want to thank Rachel for sharing the Gundum
Wing stories with me. You are too cool. God bless all of you. Please keep in
touch and My Prayer for you is God’s richest blessings in all area of you life.
Thanks for everything. God Bless;
You can write me at the following address:
Pastor Bob
Richardson
700 N. Garden
Ave.
Clearwater,
Fl. 33755