Heart Hope by Olga

It was an amazing sight to behold…Roman soldiers walking down Highway 6 in our small community. That was the first thing that caught my eye, but then I realized that there was more. Jesus was just ahead of them carrying a cross. And as I continued my gaze, there were children following carrying posters with messages of hope, including John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that who ever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” I wondered who was reenacting this scene from Good Friday. So I quickly turned my car around to do a little investigating. I had my suspicions and they proved correct. As I got out of my car, I saw Pastor Dan from another church in the Valley and found out that it was the youth group from his church, making the 10 mile journey to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.  Pastor Dan informed me that many cars had honked and displayed thumbs up as they passed the group. However he also said that the...

Many people have the erroneous belief that if they live a good life, they will go to heaven. But my question to them is “How do we know what is good in God’s eyes?” How do we know if you have done enough good things? Would God keep a scorecard of all of the things that we have done in our life and weigh it against what others have done? To me that is a much scarier way to believe than God’s way. I’m actually surprised that numerous people would actually believe that we can earn our way to heaven. Years ago I became acquainted with the illustration that trying to earn our way to heaven would be like trying to swim all the way to Hawaii from California. Some people would not even enter the water because they knew there was no way they would be able to make it, so they wouldn’t even try. Others would hop in the water with great gusto, but would tire after fighting the current. Some would probably drown along the way. And a few might make it a great distance, but no one would ...

The rowing machine at the gym where I go and workout periodically is strategically placed in front of a window, however the glass doesn’t provide viewing to the outside, but to the indoor swimming pool. I enjoy rowing not because I find it fun, but because it provides good entertainment for me during the time I am pushing and pulling on the piece of equipment. The lap pool, the play area and the lazy river provide opportunities for me to people watch.  The dedication of the swimmers going back and forth in the pool is inspiring, some as if in a race while others slow as molasses. The children laughing and playing on the slides and in the fountains makes me smile and long for my own. The bodies roaming beside the pool are interesting since some are lean and buff, but on the other end of the spectrum there are those that I feel should be told that they are way past the days of sporting a “speedo.” And then there are the lifeguards usually lounging around looking like the...

The following is an old story but has a great message.    A water bearer had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house.  The cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in her master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." Why?" asked the bearer. "What ar...

The Great Wall of China is one of the most impressive feats of architecture ever constructed and deserves its place as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The 5,500 mile long wall is the longest human made structure. It took hundreds of years to build the entire wall and it is estimated that it may have caused about one million people to lose their life while carrying rocks up the steep mountain side.    When you climb the vertical incline to the wall and then walk along the stone path and ascend the stairs along the wall you feel a part of history as you gaze for miles across the mountainous terrain. The Great Wall was built to protect China from the attacks of the nomadic tribes from the north, and had a series of more than 10,000 watchtowers and beacon towers yet within the first few years China was invaded because the guards on duty were bribed to let invaders in. The enemy was able to walk right in without a fight. Just imagine, the people who were m...

The woman at the well is a favorite of mine--the outcast, the misfit who couldn’t even come to the well with the other women because of the sin in her life. I can relate to her. Yet Jesus the Jew, the male, the Messiah chose to stop and visit with her because he knew a secret about her. Not the things she had done wrong although He did know that; no; He knew that if He could just meet with her, she would be willing.  So He went the “wrong way” on His journey so that He would encounter her along the way. And she was willing--willing to listen, willing to change the way she thought and willing to tell others about what had happened to her. Jesus had asked her for water, but ended up giving her the “living water” of eternal life. In the process she reflected the glory of Jesus and became the first missionary to convert an entire community. She was used by Jesus as a leader of men, women and children simply by opening her mouth and telling them about Jesus. Jesus d...