2022-10-25 21:10
In my last post I mentioned that there were some changes coming to my writings here at OUT HERE HOPE REMAINS. And it’s going to sound retro, but hear me out! I’m moving to substa… Read More
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Out Here Hope Remains - Grace Dependent Strugglers Welcomed Here Blog
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Grace Dependent Strugglers Welcomed Here
2022-10-24 04:54
There are some changes coming soon … I’ll fill you in later about the specifics. But I will say that, although I have enjoyed blogging for many years, it has undergone many adju… Read More
2022-10-13 17:26
Strength I’m going to guess that some of the people reading these words are experiencing weariness. Life can be really hard on our hearts – and over a period of time we can becom… Read More
2022-10-09 02:42
Video of this message can be found HERE. For many people, peace can feel elusive. We might even ask, ‘Can there every really be peace for me?’ On a global scale, it feels like pe… Read More
2022-09-15 16:23
Video of this devotional available HERE. Have you ever wondered if God really loves you? I mean, there are enough struggles and challenges in life that no one could blame us. Why do things h… Read More
2022-09-08 19:12
The Recovery-Minded Church: Loving and Ministering to People with Addiction by Jonathan Benz My rating: 5 of 5 stars Jonathan Benz with Kristina Robb-Dover have given the church quite a gift… Read More
2022-09-07 18:24
Video of this post available HERE. Being lost is more than an unsettling feeling, it can be terrifying. Sometimes we feel a little lost in life. The big plans we had didn’t turn out li… Read More
2022-08-28 14:00
“…And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son…” -Luke 15:20 NLT When we think about recover… Read More
2022-08-27 04:16
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fantastic. It will require a re-read and absorption of the material… Read More
2022-08-19 21:18
If you’re like most people, certain events in life leave you wondering. What is God up to? Whether it’s a financial reversal, family problems, or even the unexpected death of a l… Read More
2022-08-15 22:10
I can’t pinpoint the exact time I met Chris, but it is most likely that we became acquainted working at Gulf Coast Bible Camp during a teen retreat. One thing I do remember clearly is… Read More
2022-08-11 20:49
I imagine most of us have, at some time or another, felt out of place because of our Christian commitment. Maybe you were at a work party where things began to be uncomfortable. Or perhaps y… Read More
2022-08-10 20:47
One of the hardest things to say is, “I did it.” When we were children and we did things that we knew our parents didn’t want us to do, we hoped that it would never be disc… Read More
2022-07-26 19:18
We don’t like to hear the word “can’t” – it implies weakness, inability, dependence on others. We would much rather think about all the things we CAN do. It&rsq&hell…Read More
2022-07-08 13:46
The post Two Headed Calf appeared first on Out Here Hope Remains Read More
2022-07-07 16:50
Video of this message available HERE. What if you went in to your boss one day and said something like, “I plan to always be your employee, but I only intend to come in to work on Mond… Read More
2022-06-28 15:05
Leadership Alone Isn’t Enough: 40 Devotions to Strengthen Your Soul by Dan Reiland My rating: 5 of 5 stars Dan Reiland has written such an encouraging book for church leaders in LEADER… Read More
2022-06-01 18:16
I think very few people know how to read a map any more. Maybe this has become a lost skill. I remember unfolding a map and tracing the path I wanted to take for a trip. The biggest skill wa… Read More
2022-06-01 16:16
Who’s Dealing With Anxiety? Everyone Anxiety is a word we hear often these days – because so many people are struggling with it. We know there are different kinds of anxiety, som… Read More
2022-05-25 18:10
Even people who do not know a lot about the Bible are familiar with the very first verse of the Bible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1 Just… Read More
2022-05-18 18:37
When we are traveling and encounter a sign that says ‘road work ahead’, we know we are in for a slowdown. That can be frustrating, especially on a long trip. While it can cause u… Read More
2022-05-04 18:34
Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, who worked with her family to help many Jewish people escape from the Nazis during the Holocaust in Wo… Read More
2022-04-29 18:00
April 29, 1948 – April 26, 2022 Eulogy For Patricia Kathleen Givens Kathy was my sister in law, but as it was with the rest of the family, I never felt like an in-law. Her sudden… Read More
2022-03-09 19:17
Today, March 9, marks two years since Louisiana’s first confirmed COVID case, tweets Governor John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov). Since then we have reported over 1 million cases and hav… Read More
2022-03-02 03:07
The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood My rating: 4 of 5 stars I found this book to be very interesting. I thought I had it figured out ahead of time, but a few twists and turns had me second guess… Read More
2022-02-27 03:00
It is hard to know what to say when the world enters a new crisis, even though a new crisis erupts fairly often. Some seem more significant than others. Russian President Putin’s invas… Read More
2022-02-15 22:12
Searching for Grace: A Weary Leader, a Wise Mentor, and Seven Healing Conversations for a Parched Soul by Scotty Smith My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book touched my heart in a special way. Re… Read More
2022-02-15 04:52
Fourteen is a significant number for me, not because of the date of this post. It’s not because it is the last day that my favorite grandson is 14, although that is true. This is not t… Read More
2022-02-04 05:40
The Furious Longing of God by Brennan Manning My rating: 5 of 5 stars Among books written by men, I doubt that The Ragamuffin Gospel can be surpassed in it’s influence and meaning for… Read More
2022-01-27 18:35
A recovery meeting happens on the other side of my office wall every day. Every day the beat up and defeated and strugglers gather together to help each other find a way forward. I’m s… Read More
2022-01-21 20:54
Searching for the Pattern: My Journey in Interpreting the Bible by John Mark Hicks My rating: 5 of 5 stars Searching for the Pattern is both a challenging and enlightening read. My friend Dr… Read More
2022-01-18 21:13
A Little Handbook for Preachers: Ten Practical Ways to a Better Sermon by Sunday by Mary S. Hulst My rating: 5 of 5 stars After preaching almost every Sunday for 35 years, it’s easy to… Read More
2022-01-12 18:28
Until Unity by Francis Chan My rating: 3 of 5 stars I can see from other reviews that I’m definitely in a minority in not loving this book. I think highly of Chan. In addition, I do no… Read More
2022-01-10 04:10
Surviving Ministry: How to Weather the Storms of Church Leadership by Michael E. Osborne My rating: 4 of 5 stars After 35 years of ministry, I have certainly experienced some ‘storms o… Read More
2021-12-24 04:17
This is the hectic time – just days before Christmas – so much planning, so many traveling, so many children itching to open presents. We suffer a kind of uncomfortable… Read More
2021-12-21 16:28
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis My rating: 5 of 5 stars I don’t know why I put off reading this book for so long. The intensity of the subject of grief is something that both calls me c… Read More
2021-12-16 20:43
King Herod liked being popular and the more he persecuted the Christians, the more the Jews liked him. James, John’s brother, had already been put to death with the sword. God’s… Read More
2021-12-14 18:09
Love to Pray: A 40-Day Devotional for Deepening Your Prayer Life by Alvin Vandergriend My rating: 5 of 5 stars Alvin VanderGriend’s little book LOVE TO PRAY is an excellent resource ap… Read More
2021-12-14 05:16
The Journey Toward Wholeness: Enneagram Wisdom for Stress, Balance, and Transformation by Suzanne Stabile My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Enneagram is an immersive approach to personality discer… Read More
2021-11-02 17:06
Note: Erma Bombeck’s newspaper columns and books are irreplaceable in American humor and insight. I found this article in my files and wanted to share it. One of these days you’r… Read More
2021-10-09 02:14
This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. – 1 John 3:11 There is nothing more plaintive and comprehendable than that simple statement. We shoul… Read More
2021-10-08 04:05
For Those Who Haven’t Sinned First, given the title of this post, why are YOU reading it? Apostle John wrote, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not l… Read More
2021-10-06 21:28
“I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great… Read More
2021-10-05 21:55
The Narrative Lectionary text for this week are Exodus 16:1-18 and John 6:51. In the Exodus account we read of the Israelite journey into the Desert of Sin, two months after they marched out… Read More
2021-08-30 18:53
I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel My rating: 5 of 5 stars I was wandering around a discount store’s book section and saw the enti… Read More
2021-08-17 04:23
These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. – Matthew 6:32, NLT Wildfires. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Pandemic. Politics. Th… Read More
2021-08-15 03:58
I do not know how many people are preaching today because of the influence of Jack Zorn, but I am one of them. Although I did not know Jack Zorn personally (we did meet, but I couldn’t… Read More
2021-07-22 04:30
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1 The day I truly exper… Read More
2021-07-21 02:54
I’m in a YouVersion Daily Plan with some men from our church. I love that we can read the same devotional and scriptures, interact with our thoughts, and develop the discipline of dail… Read More
2021-06-19 03:25
This summer we are working through Gene Getz’s encouraging book BUILDING UP ONE ANOTHER. This week our study is about honoring one another. One of the points he makes is that we someti… Read More
2021-06-10 04:36
The story of the Prodigal was always about someone else. I wonder if many haven’t become an unintentional prodigal and it happened so gradually that they do not even know it. The Prodi… Read More
2021-05-21 05:00
There are no new pictures, no new experiences to share, and no new life developments to tell you about. At the marker of thirteen years without John Robert there are no new observations. We… Read More
2021-05-07 04:29
I already know that you might be uncomfortable with just the idea, the image of church and roulette in the same title. I get it. I also hope you will take a moment to think through this with… Read More
2021-04-05 13:05
Depending on who you talk to (or who you believe), the pandemic is coming to a close … at some point in the not too distant future. Vaccinations will proliferate and so many people ha… Read More
2021-03-18 04:27
I do not mean to speak lightly about the casualties of COVID-19. Globally, it has been a disaster for the human race. I acknowledge that many are left in deep pain over the losses in their h… Read More
2021-03-10 15:05
The devastation that COVID-19 has caused in the global community is difficult to assess, but I think everyone would agree that it has been massive. Painful realities accumulated day by day… Read More
2021-03-09 15:03
I spent some time with some old friends a while back. They were on a retreat to think through some ministry plans. I’m so glad they decided to rent a place nearby. I’m especially… Read More
2021-03-08 15:05
Contemplating our year with Covid, it occurred to me that COVID-19 rewrote my job description. It wasn’t an official act or one that went through the process of leadership analysis. It… Read More
2021-03-07 03:45
This weekend, one year ago, was the last normal weekend we would see for quite some time – but we didn’t know it. At least I didn’t know it. Yes, we were hearing about Covi… Read More
2021-02-08 07:06
We have been going through a season of loss in our faith community. We have said ‘goodbye‘ to several friends. That is not very surprising, since our global community has suffere… Read More
2021-02-03 14:07
A few days ago I was in the back yard taking some pictures of the variety of birds that like to take advantage of my feeders. I’ve enjoyed taking up photography over the past year. Alt… Read More
2021-01-27 04:41
I was having an outdoor lunch with some friends today and a thought occurred to me – something I already know but had buried. I often talk about it in grief presentations. I have exper… Read More
2020-12-31 20:02
This article from my files is from The Exhorter, the weekly bulletin of the Duncanville, Texas Church of Christ, Vol. 7, No. 35, 1989. Charles Hodge was an author and quite a personality, we… Read More
2020-12-30 19:38
This is a good New Years article from my files by Joe Wrape. Joe was the preacher where my brother and his family attended in Bay City, Texas for many years. He had a fiery but loving presen… Read More
2020-12-26 05:49
I hope your Christmas Day 2020 was one that gave you some reason to smile, some blessing to count, or some love to give to someone else. We usually go out of town during Christmas but not th… Read More
2020-12-15 21:38
Christmas is such a mixed bag for so many people most any year. Everyone deals with the varying religious traditions, family rituals, and the overblown commercialization of gift giving. Add… Read More
2020-12-15 19:34
This article From My Files is from The Keynoter church bulletin from Little Rock, October 12, 1995. The prolific John Gipson is the author. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. &nda&hell…Read More
2020-11-25 14:00
This post ‘From My Files’ is by Charles Box, who was the longtime minister for the Walnut Street Church of Christ in Greenville, Alabama. Many of his articles can still be found… Read More
2020-11-24 05:07
Aside from the tasty joy that is pumpkin pie, it is a reminder to me of love and gratitude during the Thanksgiving season. Mostly, because I couldn’t eat Pecan Pie (not pee-can, puh-ca… Read More
2020-11-09 00:15
One thousand people were surveyed and 86% of them said that in one aspect or another we live in dark times. I admit, I made that sentence up, but I bet you didn’t find it hard to belie… Read More
2020-11-07 04:50
The seasons remind us that life is a series of adjustments. The leaves that were so vibrantly green in the spring have now turned gold or red before dropping to the ground. They expose the s… Read More
2020-10-27 14:56
If I may wax nostalgic for a moment… when I was a younger preacher back before the internet (do you remember?) , one way I had to stay in touch with others was through their church bu… Read More
2020-10-18 03:19
Note: I’ve been working through a lot of old files and, honestly, most of it I’m throwing away. But I still find jewels along the way that I want to keep and share. This is one o… Read More
2020-10-13 21:11
I recently reviewed the book LIFE IS SO GOOD (link), but I decided to write some more of my reflections about the book. It is a very meaningful experience to read this account of the life of… Read More
2020-10-06 13:05
By now most of you have heard of The Social Dilemma, a documentary available on Netflix. It paints a frightening picture of how social media not only tracks and keeps up with our clicks and… Read More
2020-10-04 21:00
Whatever things exist to divide us (and there are plenty), there is one thing that I think we can all relate to – and that is that we are weary. It feels like a new weight comes to set… Read More
2020-09-29 14:15
Life Is So Good by George Dawson My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have so many books I want to read that when a friend gives me a book to read, I am usually reluctant. It’s true I was this ti… Read More
2020-09-23 05:00
Never read the comments. Anyone who has spent a few moments scanning the comments on a news story can testify – this is not a good idea! Our Governor has a news conference a few times… Read More
2020-09-19 20:00
I’ve read many adjectives to describe 2020. While some of them are not appropriate Christian reading, many were accurate. At this moment, my word is EPIC. One definition of EPIC is &ld&hell…Read More
2020-09-18 03:43
For the millions of you reading my sermon notes each week, I’d like to inform you that they will be posted at another site. The weekly sermon notes from Forsythe Church of Christ will… Read More
2020-09-06 14:45
An email advertisement had this heading: “You made it through another week.” Can’t we all resonate with that … making it through another week of coronavirus details… Read More
2020-09-05 04:04
I join with all who are exhausted with protocols meant to diminish the propagation of COVID-19. There has been nothing like this in our lifetimes. It has maintained a presence in our thinkin… Read More
2020-09-04 05:18
As churches and those who serve them enter into the long days of coronavirus response, new questions arise that are difficult to answer. In the beginning, there was a scramble to figure out… Read More
2020-08-23 14:30
Introduction Some people believe that Joy is in short supply in our world. That’s not hard to believe, given the events of the past few months and the pandemic we are enduring day by d… Read More
2020-08-16 14:36
Following Jesus means we hear his invitation to come and see, listen to His teaching, act upon what we learn from Him. When we follow Jesus, we are stepping into a new life thatleaves an old… Read More
2020-08-06 21:39
Following Jesus: Love Your Enemies Following Jesus requires us to accept his invitation and to hear his teachings and ways. But not just to hear – to act. Many of the teachings of Jesu… Read More
2020-08-02 14:30
If Jesus is calling you today, will you answer? One of the ways we all initially follow Jesus is to hear his call – to become aware that Jesus desires for us to be in his family, to se… Read More
2020-07-30 19:22
Introduction to Proverbs The book of Proverbs is originally titled The Proverbs of Solomon. It is known in rabbinical writings as the Book of Wisdom. Proverbs is mostly written by… Read More
2020-07-23 20:00
Are you following Jesus? That’s a question that we need to ask ourselves often. It is the key question of discipleship. We are going to explore the idea of following Jesus over the nex… Read More
2020-07-21 22:32
This is a guest post by my friend Tony Roberts. I really cannot remember how I crossed paths with Tony in the vast online interwebs, but I’m so glad I did. His ministry to those strugg… Read More
2020-07-19 13:48
Christ is in the Center of everything!-The center of our Faith and Prayers-He is our only Hope – Christ in You, the hope of glory!-He is at the Center because of who He is-He gives us… Read More
2020-07-12 14:00
Christ is in the Center of Everything! He is the center of our faith and prayers. He is our only hope – Christ in you, the hope of glory! He is at the center because of who He is. He g… Read More
2020-07-09 04:09
This is a three part Wednesday night Bible lesson presented by John Dobbs and Daniel Kirkendall online on Facebook for the Forsythe Church of Christ and anyone else who is interested! (Video… Read More
2020-07-05 14:00
IntroductionIn our look at Colossians, we have noted the theme that Christ is in the Center of Everything. The center of our faith and prayers. He is in the center because of who He is. That… Read More
2020-07-01 20:16
In a recent article in Psychology Today, Dr. David Feldman wrote: “There’s no doubt that the past few months have been among the most traumatic in recent memory….Few peopl… Read More
2020-06-21 05:22
Christ At The Center of FaithColossians 1:3-14 IntroductionWhatever is at the center of your life has the greatest influence in your decisions, attitudes, and actions. What are some things p… Read More
2020-06-14 13:34
Introduction As we move through the phases of recovery in Louisiana, there are many things that make us weary, there are so many questions, there are many unknowns. But for all of those myst… Read More
2020-06-10 22:25
IntroductionOf all our emotions, anger is perhaps the rawest, strongest, and potentially the most destructive. Anger is created by our thinking. It begins with an event that we notice and th… Read More
2020-06-09 18:26
Open The Door Acts 12:1–11 IntroductionAs we enter Phase Two in Louisiana, doors are opening that have not been. More churches are meeting – although with recommended restriction… Read More
2020-06-05 05:26
Whether you contracted COVID-19 or not, you are still going to need to heal from it. It has impacted every one of us. I believe in many ways we do not even know yet how it has impacted us. W… Read More
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