Well, Praise Be Unto Our Lord Jesus!!!

He is our all in all and may the honor, glory, praise, and power be unto Him! I am so glad that Jesus called out my name and I was able to say yes to His call and receive of the single most important thing a human will ever do. I was able to become born again of the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus! Being born again is no longer a mystery but it means that in an instance of time, I Joseph, became a new creation. The old me has died and I was made new! His Holy Spirit started a great work in me, circumcising my heart of stone to a heart of love, joy, peace patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, known as the fruit of the Spirit. It is finished but it is also a work in progress as well. Just because we are God’s child now, it doesn’t mean we never fail. Sometimes it is failure that allows us to appreciate the journey that we are on in this world. If you feel like you are failing to much, even as a Christian, please make the effort to contact us at Hope to help you put things in order so you can go forward in the work of the Holy Spirit. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father except through Him. If this letter catches your attention, please call us at 321-676-5588 for an appointment to come talk with us. We have all failed and fall short of the Glory of God so in Christ there is no one better than another. You will find no judgement here, only compassion through the work of the Holy Spirit within you. Blessings and life unto all, in Christ, Joe

LEW GERVAIS, ADDICTIONS ~ PASTORAL COUNSELOR

Identity is everything when it comes to walking away from a life of addiction. And how we view ourselves is absolutely critical in that fight. You see, as long as someone believes that he/she is nothing but a drug addict, an alcoholic, or a porn addict, they will most likely eventually return to their substance or behavior. Over fifty years ago I decided to quit smoking cigarettes. I had been smoking over a pack a day ever since I was a teenager. I tried many times to quit. I would always start out good but would fail after just a few days. The truth is, that as long as I saw myself as a smoker, I would wrestle with my desires to light-up…just one more time. I would try hard at first to not smoke until my urges overcame my desire to quit. At that point I would rationalize and say that I will just smoke one more cigarette. I would then beg, borrow, or steal a cigarette from someone and then I would be off to the races again as I purchase a pack. Even though I was a Christ follower at this time in my life, and I knew God wanted me to lay the cigarettes down, I failed to follow through every time.

The turning point for me was when my head was finally convinced that I was no longer a smoker. That is when I was actually able to quit for good. When coworkers would come to me and ask to borrow a cigarette I had great pleasure in telling them that I am not a smoker, which made it more difficult for me to try to bum a cigarette from them a day or two later. God had already changed my heart, but my head had to be convinced that I no longer needed the cigarettes.

Ed Silvaso defines a “stronghold” as: “A mind-set impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept as unchangeable what is known to be contrary to the will of God.”

 2nd Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

I think Ed Silvaso’s definition is right on. As long as I saw myself as a smoker, I was destined to continue to smoke cigarettes. As long as someone sees him or herself as an addict, hopelessly unchangeable, they will continue to relapse. They might be successful in putting a few days, months or even a year or two together without relapsing but eventually they will drop their guards and return to their addiction; after all that’s what they are…an addict. That is why I often introduce myself, in recovery meetings, as a Christ-follower who was at one time addicted to drugs. Today I am not a smoker or a drug addict anymore. Those strongholds have been destroyed and removed from my life. On Saturday morning I got a call from a guy in his forties that I have known ever since he was a child. He has wrestled with a drug addiction ever since he was a teenager. He told me that he was just released from jail, again, after getting arrested for drug possession. He has been in and out of the rooms of AA and NA but has not succeeded in staying clean more than a year. He grew up in our church and I know he is a believer, yet what he is being taught in the meetings he attends, in my opinion, undermines his recovery. They feed him the lie that he is an addict and he will always be an addict. That is totally contrary to what God has to say about him. God says that he is a New Creation, and that freedom is his if he chooses to walk into it. The problem is that his head doesn’t believe what the scriptures says about his identity as a Christian. Notice in that verse that God has given us powerful weapons, but we need to use those weapons to destroy the strongholds in our lives and to be able to take every contrary thought captive by replacing it with what God says. Addiction can be defeated. God has given us the means and has already won the battle for us. We simply need to believe what God says about us and not what the world says about us.  

TOM & BARBARA MURGATROYD, HOPE OFFICE ADMINISTRATION & ANGER MANAGEMENT COUNSELORS, PRISON FELLOWSHIP /ANGEL TREE

The past month or so has been unusually challenging for us here at Hope. Our office was hit by COVID and several of us were out of commission for a time. Thankfully, all have pulled through and are once again back together. In our little corner of Hope, things are going well. We always give full credit to Jesus that Hope continues to float smoothly along the river of life. Our busiest time of year is fast approaching, and we have to admit we are getting excited about it. Along with two Board meetings to prepare for, and all of the end-of-year paperwork that needs doing, we have our Angels to connect with. We have been doing Prison Fellowship Angel Tree for 26 years now, providing Christmas gifts to the children of incarcerated parents. All told, it IS a lot of work, but the blessings outweigh the labor by far.  Love y’all, Barbara & Tom

ALICE IANNANTUANO – WOMEN’S COUNSELOR

The Lord will fight for me, and the Lord will win for me if I trust Him. He will corral us in if we allow. Maybe the first, second, or third attempt of His, then as the prodigal son shows us, by us being left to our own demise and depravity we cause ourselves in humbleness to repent, come to our senses, and seek His forgiveness and find His waiting embrace, that we may be healed, and He fights in the forefront to win our battles. God is for us, not against us. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and this shall rule over your day, your life. When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen, (your enemies,) went into the (Red) sea, (come after you, attacking you,) the LORD, (not your own strength,) brought the waters, (of affliction,) of the sea back over them, but the Israelites, (that would be you and me) walked (kept moving forward), through the sea on dry ground (faith). (Exodus 15:19) Now, that was about a two and a half mile walk with walls of water a mile and a half plus high on each side. God gave them a spacious width (3 miles) to walk, though the amount of Israelites (2-3 million??) probably made it seem a tighter space. Faith in God's abilities to deliver us was well tested, proved and triumphed here. So why are we so dim minded not to trust God in anything. ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Is43:2-3) Holiness. Holiness. Holiness determined that Fourth man in the fire. Daniel 3:17-18. 24-28, 8-28)-Set your eyes on the things Above. Righteousness is a mighty strength. Seek first, forefront, and always, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness alone. I am given to this. And it is He that leads me along its path. I praise the God of my salvation, for it is He Who has my steps determined this way. Amen. ...And I add, how about yours? Hope Ministries is about seeing the abilities of God. The heart of God over the heart of man; The trustable heart of God for our direction in this life over the prideful ways of man. ...I am weak. But He is strong. Yes...Jesus loves me, ...and you too. -Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:10) God’s blessings to you, Alice

GINA LINDQUIST –ADDICTIONS-PASTORAL COUNSELOR-PASSION MINISTRIES

I don’t think that it’s just me that will say that the times we are living in have brought a sense of oppression. There are many reasons to be troubled with what is going on in our world today and uncertainty is a breeding ground for fear. Being driven by fear though can cause us to make poor decisions that result in unhealthy habits. These habits can cause negative or even destructive effects on us and those around us. There is a remedy though. Throughout the Bible God says in so many places and different ways not to fear because He is with us. It is not just referring to His presence though, but to the fact that He has provided the tools we need to combat whatever the enemy is trying to come against us with. When you know who you are and you become certain about what God has done for you, your faith becomes a place of rest. Decisions are healthy because they are made based on truth, not emotion and the love of God dispels fear which opens the door to healing. I am privileged to be able to visit a sober house every week to minister to the women who are in recovery there. My message is simple, though often hard to receive: “There is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear”.   1 John 4:18(a).   God loves you and values you and to prove it, He sent His only Son to die for you. He has not and will never forsake you and the power of God that comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is strong enough to handle anything.  Whether it be consequences of the past or uncertainty of the future, if we know how much God loves us, we will no longer be driven by fear. Instead, we will see that, like any good father, He has provided everything we need to be victorious in this life despite whatever the world tries to throw at us. At Hope Ministries we are “Helping Hearts Heal” by helping people see themselves through the eyes of the God that created them and loves them, no matter what life choices they have made. Whether you are tired of being held captive by fear or need a reminder of how much you are worth, connect with us; we are here to help! Love and Blessings to you in Jesus’ name! Gina