Heart Hope by Olga

Have you ever been in chains? if so, you are in good company. In several of his letters Paul wrote that he was in chains for Christ. He didn’t hide the fact that he was in them, but was proud of the fact that it could be used for a purpose. He explained why he was not ashamed: Through them he was an ambassador allowing him to fearlessly preach the mystery of the Gospel It allowed him to defend and confirm the good news of God’s grace Being imprisoned was actually an advantage because it served to advance the Gospel His chains made others more confident in proclaiming Christ The situation allowed him access to preach to those he would not normally have access to You and I are also in chains at times…no I’m not speaking of physical chains of imprisonment, but chains that still confine and hold us back. Each of us has different chains. For some they are the chains of the past, for others it is the chains of finances or illness or divorce. You can even fill in the bla...

My grandmother, Sadie Brock Heard, was one of the greatest influences in my life. She was a wonderful godly woman, loved by all who knew her. Recently my mother came upon the document below that my grandmother wrote about 50 years ago, but as you read it you will see it is a timeless piece of advice for us today as well. I hope you enjoy it and heed her recommendation. “It is good for our souls to have quiet times of silence and meditation as often as possible. Then the things begin to fall into their proper places and we look with quiet eyes at the whole of life. Noise confuses; silence brings order. The value of worshipping alone cannot be proved by words. We must be willing to try it. We Americans tend to be a noisy, hurrying people. We seldom pause to go deeply into the things of the spirit. Prayer is not just talking to God, asking Him for things. It is listening to Him in silence, giving Him an opportunity to speak to us. An intense silence can sometimes be the truest prayer...