Hope For Homes Ministries

He Had Not Seen It But He Believed

Revelation 21:1
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

I still recall the times that my Pawpaw asked me to read to him this verse and the seven that followed it. John saw Heaven and John saw those that would be there. He wrote about it in the book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 8 tells us that John also saw Hell and those that would be there as well. John saw these places and no doubt believed in their existence. Once my Pawpaw asked me to read him this passage and when I finished he said read it again to me, but this time read it real slow so I can take in every word. I believe that through faith Pawpaw was seeing Heaven!
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

I am aware that some people feel Heaven and Hell are just myths. Some may think of them as just something one can believe to make them feel good. For the record, I believe there is a place called Hell and it is the future abode for all who denied God in life, but that belief does not make me feel good. There is an eternity in Heaven or Hell. Pawpaw believed in both, yet he had never seen either. Now his faith has ended and in Heaven his sight has taken over.
In Heaven his faith became a reality.
Today, my faith tells me both Heaven and Hell are real literal places. The thought of Heaven brings me a comfort. The thought of Hell brings about a holy fear. What does the thought of Heaven and Hell bring to you?
Written by Chuck Perkins

Do You Need To Be Stirred Up

2 Peter 3:1-2
“This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:”

The aim of Peter’s second epistle was to “stir up” the minds of believers, particularly in the matter of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The phrase means to awaken or to agitate the mind to get it back on the right track of thinking. The meaning here reminds me of when a person has to have their heart shocked to get it back to beating or in rhythm. Something is wrong and something must be done quickly to prevent further damage.

It seems that the church had forgotten that Jesus was coming again and Peter set out to stir up their minds to remember. I wonder how many average church members would honestly agree that the church today, as a whole, needs to be stirred up? Something is wrong. A spiritual lethargy has set upon us. A feeling of apathy prevails. The average Christian today yawns their way through sermons on the Second Coming of Christ. After a sermon on Hell most leave unaffected. A preacher preaches a sermon on how the Christian man needs to step forward and become the spiritual leader of his marriage and family and there are more women on the altar during the invitation than there are men.
Do you think the church today needs to be stirred up or do you think everything is ok the way it stands?
Written by Chuck Perkins

God Promised It Would Be

Genesis 8:22
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

This verse is a direct quote from God in answer to Noah’s sacrifice of worship and praise when he and his family came off the ark. God had promised Noah that He would never again smite every living thing or destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 8:21 and 9:8-17). As a token of this promise God said He would put a “bow” or rainbow in the clouds. Also He promised each year that seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter would come. And, day and night would remain. After it rains, we often can see once again a rainbow reminding us all of God’s promise. The weather forecast for today is hot 🥵. God said it would be this way. Not so many days ago it was cool and now we are feeling the heat. God said it would be this way.
In 2 Corinthians 1:20 the Bible says, “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” There are many promises given to us in the Bible.
We can with faith believe them all!
What is your favorite promise of God?
We’d love for you to share with us your answer!
Written by Chuck Perkins

The Enemy Of Loneliness

Psalms 102:1-2
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.”

I think every Christian can relate with the human writer of Psalm 102. We are not sure what the exact cause of his dilemma was but verses 6 and 7 might give some indication. Psalms 102:6-7 says, “I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.”
I am not sure I understand the analogy of the pelican and owl but I think I do understand the mention of the “sparrow alone upon the house top”. The feeling of loneliness is never fun. Man was not created to be alone. God made Eve to help Adam with his loneliness. A lonely man, like a lonely sparrow, can be vulnerable to become prey. In verse 8 there is mention of the reproach of the enemies. Enemies plural, not enemy singular. There is more than one enemy of the New Testament Christian. I believe one of the enemies of the writer of Psalm 102 was his loneliness. He gives us the only true cure and hope to overcome the feeling of loneliness, turn to the LORD. Run to the One who is always there!
His faith assured him, that with God you are never truly alone.
Written by Chuck Perkins

Is Your Faith With Respect Of Persons?

James 2:1-4
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?”

The Bible is plain and clear in these verses in rebuke of showing respect of persons. There is an example given about the respect of a person in regard to their clothing, but the example could be anything. Such actions leads to divisions and cliques within the church. Such actions might be understood when we see them among elementary school children but not so among Christians, we should know better. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth on these matters in 1 Corinthians 1:10 and said, “that there be no divisions among you…” He then gave example of their childish behavior and sin in verses 12-13 “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” Sadly even among those of us who are pastors and preachers I have seen some of what is being said here. James 2:9 says, “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin…”. Such sinful behavior could be holding us back from having revival.
Written by Chuck Perkins

Q & A With The LORD

Jeremiah 8:5
“Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.”

God never asks a question that He doesn’t already know the answer. When we read in the Bible where God asks a question it usually is to help emphasize the answer. He does this in a way to get our attention. The question in this verse lets us see how far God’s people had gotten away from Him. God said their “backsliding” or turning away or apostasy was perpetual. Which means it was something that seemed almost permanent, like they had gone so far away from Him that they would never return. They reached a point that they had no intention on ever returning to God. How did this happen?
How did they get that far away from God? First, “they hold fast deceit”. They were very stubbornly holding onto lies. They knew what they were believing and how they were living was a lie, it was false and deceitful. The life some people live is a lie and they know it is a lie. Second, “they refuse to return”. It wasn’t that they could not return but they refused to return. Often someone does not know the own strength of their pride. God’s answer to His own question in Jeremiah 8:5 reminds me of Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”. Do you believe a person can go so far in their sin that they can reach a point of no return?
Written by Chuck Perkins

Mutual Joy In A Marriage

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Where Do you Set Your Affection ?

Colossians 3:1-2
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

The phrase “set your affection” means to be one minded about a thing.
The thing we are to be one minded about is heavenly, upward, or “things above”. When a Christian’s heart is set on the things above he or she will seek those things which are above. The opposite of this would be the person who is one minded toward the world and the things of this world. If your heart is set on the things of this world then that is what you will seek after.

This verse starts out with the word “if”. This is a word of condition. “If ye then be risen with Christ…” or if you are born again. What is presented here about seeking the things above and setting your heart on the things above is presumably for the one who is born again. If you are saved set your heart on heavenly things and seek them. This world is not the home of the Christian, Heaven is!
Written by Chuck Perkins

What Stresses You Out?

Matthew 6:25
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

I do not wish to belittle anyone’s stresses and anxieties of life, but here in this verse Jesus speaks to those who get stressed and anxious about such things in life as food and raiment. Though some people have too much of one (food) and wear too little of the other (raiment) these two things are necessities of life. Why do we worry about the necessities of life? It is the privilege of our Heavenly Father to provide these things for us.

So, what in life stresses you out?
Are they something that our Father says He will provide for you?
Are they things that you can control through the strength and wisdom God gives you?
And if you cannot have any control over them, are you trusting God to do what you cannot do or provide what you cannot provide on your own? In this same chapter Jesus tells us to consider the fowls and flowers of the earth. He provides for the birds and He arrays the world with blossoms. Christ leaves us with one task, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Are you seeking Him or allowing the things of life to stress you out?
Written by Chuck Perkins

They Went Out

1 John 2:18-19.
“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”

Through the years I have watched people I know and love walk away from God. I do not think such a decision happens over night. The first step away from God is a gradual one. The word “antichrist” means one who is an adversary of the Messiah. One day there will come an Antichrist who will at first seem like a good person but eventually will show who he really is. But presently today there are those in the world who are antichrists, they are adversaries of Christ. Sadly, as our text suggests, some of them used to be a part of the church. The phrase “they went out from us, but they were not of us” is a puzzling one. The explanation is in the text, “they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us”. I believe Judas Iscariot is a picture of such a one. He was with them, but went out. We are “in the last time” and people walking away from God is a characteristic of the times. May God give us wisdom in these days.
Written by Chuck Perkins