Covenant Of Hope Ministries: Trust in the LORD More Than Man

Good afternoon, welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries. My name is Rev. Laura A. Neff, the Rainbow Minister. The choice for Rainbow has to do with the fact that the rainbow symbolizes a promise made and one that can and will be kept. I made, long ago, a promise to God that I would do all I could to keep that faith within me. We are normally posted on Sundays for sermons and Wednesdays for studies. You can find these posted in the following locations.

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Rev. Laura’s Other Sites: Facebook & Twitter &Google+ & Blogspot

Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned. Our prayer list has grown from last week. This is our current prayer list for this week.

- Please pray for a colleague of my daughter’s who lost a family member this past week.

- Please pray for a friend Susie Bartholow as she is in hospice. She is in very grave condition with cancer. Hospice care is in her home with her family. Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.

- Please pray for my family members far away as chaos continues in their lives. The outcomes of so many things have worn them to a frazzle and they are seeking answer in prayers from near and far.

- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings as he is going through a whole lot health wise and emotionally as well. Please pray that he will be able to find and follow inspiration still.

- Please pray for a friend of ours, Lucy, whose liver is failing. She is going to be on medication but may need a transplant. Pray that the first option works and she returns to health.

- Pray for a friend of my brother’s, who is far from home right now. There have been many problems for her right now. It is our hope that she will return and be here to complete her healing and more.

- Pray for our members Theresa and Wayne who had a very rough year last year. May some of their trials and tribulations end in time for our celebration of the birth of Jesus.

- Pray for those near and far who have been suffering in battles that do not have to be. Pray that peace can be found amidst the fear and anger, frustration and more. May hope blossom and bring that peace once more.

- Pray for our friends and our enemies, may they all find that the gift of God’s Son, Jesus, holds the hope and faith everyone seeks.

- Keep hope alive in your prayers no matter the pain or strife we might suffer.

- May God bless every one of us as we continue on.

Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We thank You for the blessings brought and for those yet to come. We pray that You can remind us always what we should be looking forward to. We bring prayers for those who have been seriously ill. Help those who are working to fight serious illnesses the ability to find solutions. We pray for those lost and those who mourn. We pray for all those who are victims of violence. We pray for patience and courage for those we love and care about, and ourselves as well. We pray for peace to reach out from the heart and be heard, felt, and understood. We pray that Your grace and love would fill the hearts of the many in this world. We pray all this in Your Holy Name through the Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

Opening Song: Great Is The Lord https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocmCTU_rEeI

Sermon: Good afternoon. Today’s inspiration came very late last evening while praying to find an answer to what the Spirit was trying to tell me this week. That answer came to me in four verses from Scripture. The first of those verses would be here.

Psalm 118:8 KJV – It is better to trust in the LORD than put confidence in man.

We have seen this verse many times over the years. Trust the LORD it says here. You’ll also note that it is better to trust him than to trust your fellow man. How intriguing is that? There are many of us who have put trust in those we believe to be friends, colleagues, and so forth. Yet, those same friends and colleagues can, on occasion break that trust. God, however, never will break His. It is difficult in today’s world to believe, to trust in God, at least for some.

I was discussing this the other day with someone and tried many times to reassure them that there is a reason for everything and that God will help them prevail. Note how difficult it is to console people, to bring their spirits up when they choose not to listen and hear. It is more difficult to change a person’s mind than it is to allow them to walk away from the beliefs they have lived for so very long.

Psalm 62:8 KJV – Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Trust in Him always! Give your heart to Him! He is our refuge, our safety! Oh how wonderful this world would be were we to believe, to hold that very same trust, to give our hearts and realize they are safe with the LORD. Yet, still, the heart of man would often stand in the way. Even to this day we can see that.

Isaiah 2:22 KJV – Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Notice this? Don’t believe everything you hear from your fellow man. Believe in the One who gave you life in the first place. That One is our LORD. There in His arms would be where our hearts belong. There in His embrace we can find our spirits rising, our souls rejoicing, our minds gaining wisdom. Let us see what remains for today as we learn so much from His inspiration.

Jeremiah 17:5, 7 KJV – Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

Cursed! Man is cursed should they believe and trust only in his fellow man. This is something so many of us forget. Trust in the LORD! Believe what He tells you more than anything man would say. This is why we pray, meditate, and read Scripture. The LORD gives us answers. Now, that’s something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus brought us.

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Closing Song: Believe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5z-jjWyAJQ

~Shalom~

Rev. Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister

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Calvin Jennings ~ Elder

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Covenant of Hope Ministries

Main Site:

http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.

This mission statement speaks of the rainbow in the darkness. Every time I would have a seriously traumatic thing happen in my life I would wake in the middle of the night. When I do I see a rainbow at the end of my bed, or even through the window behind my head. I’ll see that rainbow in a dark room even during the day. It will hover in the shadows and reassure me that God is with me.

Covenant Of Hope Ministries

MESSENGER

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Trust in the LORD More Than Man

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