Remember to get your 30 minutes of prayer/devotion in today... and what better way than a Heart Beat devotion right here.

This Month Devotion is About HOPE !

"Hope is a desire for something to happen, while expecting or being confident that it will come true. Hope also implies a certain amount of perseverance, believing that something is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. Hope may be directed toward something minor or towards something extremely significant. "False hope" is hoping for something that is extremely unlikely or unrealistic."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope

This is really good stuff!

We find ourselves living with a nagging hope for something better. We want something better than the "churchianity" of our parents and grandparents, something better than the vague and uncertain spirituality of our neighbors, something better than guilt-induced, holier-than-thou morality, something better than here-and-now, health-and-wealth promises, something more than going-through-the-motions religiosity or the latest-fad religious experience. We were hoping for something authentic—something worth opening our hearts to and filling our minds with and giving our lives for.

And there is something better. There is something better than living life with a merely sentimental, superficial spirituality. There is something better than going through life with a debilitating fear of death. Better than becoming bored and burdened by meaningless religious ritual, better than feeling like an unwelcome outsider or an unworthy hypocrite, better than being bound by shame and regret. There is something better that makes problems and persecution worth persevering through, makes heaven worth waiting for—something worth running toward and dreaming of.
That something better is actually Some One Better...  Jesus!

This next part here I got from a book that I am reading called,”Hoping For Something Better", by Nancy Guthrie.

There is something better than... settling for a vague, diminished distant understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done and why it matters... it is having your appreciation and affection and acceptance of Jesus enlarged and expanded.
Something better than... drifting along in a spiritual stream... it is grabbing hold of Jesus in a secure and saving way
Something better than... being enslaved to a debilitating dread of death... it is being set free by the truth that beyond the grave is glory.
Something better than... feeling like a hypocrite going through the motions of religiosity... it is an increasing intimacy with God and integrity with others.
Something better than... trying to work your way into God's good graces... it is resting in what Christ has done for you.
Something better than... staying on the fringes of an intimate relationship with God... it is boldly approaching the throne of grace knowing you are accepted because of Jesus
Something better than... relying on your own ability to be good enough to approach a holy God... it is resting in the perfect righteousness and perfect sacrifice of Christ.
Something better than... continuing to go over the basics of faith... it is growing up in God by wrestling with deeper truths.
Something better than... tasting the goodness of God without taking it in... It is swallowing it whole, entering in, and grabbing hold.

Something better than... trying to live up to an external moral standard... it is living out an internal transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Something better than... giving up on following Christ when it begins to cost something... it is persevering because Jesus is worth what it costs to follow him.
Something better than... expecting to get everything you're hoping for here and now... it is being willing to wait for all of our deepest longings to be fulfilled in heaven.
Something better than... settling for the applause of people... it is anticipating the approval of God
Something better than... chasing after insignificant obsessions... it is orienting our lives around One Magnificent Obsession
Something better than... refusing the discipline of God... allowing difficulty and hardship to train you for godliness
Something better than... turning a deaf ear to God's Word... it is opening yourself under God's Word.
Something better than... seeking to be an insider...it is being willing to be rejected because of your connection to Christ
Something better than... pursuing your own dreams of security and passion and significance... it is finding your security and passion and significance in Christ and his dreams for you.

Wasn't that great?

Let's not settle for anything less than something better!

What are you hoping for? 

I have lots of hopes and dreams... I hope my children make the right choices, I hope my husband gets promoted, I hope that Heart Beat the Magazine will touch people's lives all over the world, I hope my friends and family are happy and healthy.

What are some of your hopes?

I am hoping that Jake and I can grow closer to God together! I am also hoping that Jake gets him promotion, and that my kidneys heal soon! Although, thinking a little more deeply and a little more future minded... I hope that Jake and I can raise a family. Posted 7/16/2007 7:13 AM by GeminiGurly1129

Excellent post today, Connie! 

One of my strongest hopes at this time is that my daughter Heather would come back to the Joy of her Salvation!  Just knowing that God has begun a good work in her, and that He is faithful to complete it, is what I put my hope in. 

God bless you Connie.  I am so happy to be a part of Heart Beat!  Posted 7/16/2007 8:31 AM by CH1216