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Sarah Jones-Ministry of Hope, Chickamauga, GA (2026)

11/07/2024

In a time of turmoil. I lift my eyes to the One enthroned in heaven. The curtains of heaven are pulled aside and I see Him, the Ancient of Days. He reveals the deep and hidden things; He alone knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. He is seated on a throne of flaming fire. A river of fire flows out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands serve Him; ten thousands upon ten thousands stand before Him. In a time of turmoil I lift my eyes to the King of Heaven.

Humbled by His glory, my soul at last finds rest in the presence of the One to whom I give my sole allegiance. He is the God of gods, He is the Lord of kings, He is the revealer of mysteries. The secret things belong to the Lord and yet He in His kindness has chosen to reveal His mysteries in His word.

With the eyes of my flesh I see the instability of the times in which I live. There is great disturbance, confusion and uncertainty. Nature itself seems to be reflecting the disorder I see around me. But when I listen to the thundering voice of the Most High God, I realize the truth. His kingdom is the only eternal kingdom, and He alone has dominion from generation to generation. With Him there is wisdom and power. He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings.

The nations with prideful wrath seem to raise their fist to the One who sits enthroned in heaven. In rebellion they take their stand and cry out with one voice, "We are free from Your restraints! You have no power over us!" But the King of Heaven only laughs and ridicules them. He knows the truth. The Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men. He gives it to anyone He wants and sets over it the lowliest of men.

There is more to the mystery that has been revealed. As I open His book I see the vision given to Daniel. I too see One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. I see Him approaching the Ancient of Days. He has been given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; those of every people, nation, and language will serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

I fall to my knees and add my voice of those who cry out, "Even so come now, Lord Jesus!"

11/05/2024

It’s during times of uncertainty that I discover the transformative power of worship. The following is something that I wrote during one of times in my life.

It was dark when I got out of bed and sought refuge on the porch.The day before I had gone to Vanderbilt where they explained the twelve hour brain surgery I was facing and the possible repercussions. This information was hard to process and it made it difficult for me to sleep.

The night sky was black but the blackness of the sky was simply a backdrop for the brightness of the stars. As I sat on the porch gazing into the heavens I released my spirit from the dungeon of darkness and let it soar as I listened to the declaration of God's glory proclaimed in the night sky. The brightness of the stars breathed peace into my troubled heart.

The stars in the heavens are firmly fixed in their place; they are steadfast and immovable. They show the handiwork of their Creator. Sitting on my porch cloaked in the heaviness of the information I had received I needed to hear their message. Starring into the grandeur of the scene before me I heard the God of all creation whisper to my listening heart,"Steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord." It was an invitation to trust. It was an invitation to worship.

As the darkness of the sky was illuminated by the celestial light of the stars, the darkness of my heart was illuminated by worship. Worship became a portal through which I encountered God clothed with majesty and splendor. In the quiet of the dark I saw Him wrapped in light as if it were a robe, spreading out the sky like a canopy, and inviting me to find rest for my soul in His faithful love.

I had been awaken in the night with a deep since of vulnerability but as I opened my heart to hear the message of the heavens I found peace. My heart began to sing an ancient song of praise. "Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the sky. How precious is your steadfast love, O my God! In the darkness of the night you invite me to find refuge in the shadow of your wings. When my heart is heavy you invite me to feast and to drink from the river of your delight. For with you is the fountain of life; and in the darkest night I am able see light in your light." Truly, this is the gift of worship!

11/05/2024

When they talk to me they do not use my given name. When they speak to me they speak to me in terms of our relationship. Mother, Mommy, Mom all these names unlock my heart. Because I have this relationship with my children it help me understand how Jesus taught His disciples to pray.

I'm really glad Jesus' disciples asked him how to pray because prayer is such a mystery to me. The fact that Jesus told them to begin by calling the God of the Universe Father is significant. "Behold, what manner of love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the sons of God." (1 John 3: 1) So my prayer begins with a reminder that the love of God has been lavished on me because He has chosen me to be His child.

When Jesus was encouraging His disciples to relate to God as their father He said, "Which one of you, if his son asks for a bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"(Matthew 7:7-11) When I begin my prayer with "Father" I am reminded I am not only speaking to God's ear I'm speaking to His heart.

Sometimes my children call me Mother but sometimes they call me Mommy. The term Mommy is very tender and intimate it is like calling my father daddy. Because I have been adopted into God's family He has sent the Spirit of his Son into my heart. His spirit cries, "Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4: 6) Sometimes life crushes me so hard I don't know what to say. When this happens the same Spirit that cries "Abba! Father!" helps me in my weakness. "The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words." (Romans 8:24)

Father, I come before Your throne not like a slave to her master but like a child to her Father. And when the world comes crushing down on me and I cry, "Abba! Father!" I know that you not only hear me with Your heart You even give me the words to say.

11/03/2024

Sometimes I can get sucked into the vortex of negative thoughts. They begin to swirl round and round drawing me in, pulling me downward. The whirling of negative thoughts can feel so powerful that nothing but them seems to occupy my mind. I could easily be lost forever in the whirlwind except for this; I know the way to escape.

I chose to listen to a different voice. I focused my mind on the Word that was with God in the beginning of time. I find in him life. The negative swirl of thoughts brings death to my soul. But the life that I find in his words bring light. The light shines in the darkness of my thoughts, but the darkness cannot overcome it.

The power of hurtful, negative thoughts is great and they bring with them death but there is a something greater still. A thought that became a word. A word that became flesh. An invitation to receive and believe and escape the whirlwind of deadly thought.

But the voice that I hear calling is offering more than simply an escape. The voice offers life and in the life there is light. In the darkness all I can see is the darkness , however, in the light every thing is made visible.

Lord Jesus, You are the word that became flesh and brought life and lihgt, grace and truth. In You alone I find the way to escape the vortex of negative thoughts.

11/02/2024

"I'm just not feeling it." I have heard this expression used when talking about someones spiritual walk and I can identify with them. There have been times when I have been emotionally bankrupt and yet because of what I've learned from studying the Scripture I keep going.

Having the eternal perspective that I gain through reading the Bible makes all the difference when I encounter spiritual dry times in my life. For instance I read that in the life of Hezekiah, "God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart." (2 Chron. 32:31) I confess that during difficult times I have been appalled at what has been revealed. I see that God uses these times as part of His work in transforming my heart.

When John the baptist was locked up in prison he sent word to Jesus and asked, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?" Jesus responded by pointing John to the prophecies of Isiah that he was fulfilling. The prophecies pointed to the fact that the wretched of the earth had been given a Savior. John remained in prison and was beheaded. The truth of the gospel was not diminished by the things John suffered.

The disciples were on the Sea of Galilee in a storm. The little boat they were in was being tossed back and forth by the waves. They were fighting for their lives and Jesus was asleep in the boat. When they woke him with their cry, "Don't you care that we are about to perish!" they discovered his power over the storm. They had to recognize their weakness before they could recognize his strength. Their panic became an opportunity to know peace.

Lord Jesus, help me see my life through the lens of faith. When, "I'm just not feeling it," help me remember You're still at work. When my heart is tested and sin is exposed help me to humble myself. Lord help me to live my life based on Your promises and not according to my circumstances. Please let the storms of life while exposing my weakness reveal Your strength.

11/01/2024

If the Lord is compared to a shepherd then I am compared to sheep. Sheep are known for their "mob instincts", fear and timidity, stubbornness and stupidity. If sheep do well it is because they have a good shepherd.

Years ago I read the book "A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23" by Phillip Keller. This book helped me understand some of the things I read in the Psalm. There was one part in particular that stayed with me it was the part about the shepherd anointing the sheep's head.

In the Summertime sheep are bothered by nose flies that buzz around the sheep's head hoping to deposit their eggs in the sheep's nose. If they are successful the eggs hatch into worm like larvae that works it's way up the nasal passages into the sheep's head. This causes the sheep to begin to beat their head against trees, rocks, posts etc. trying to get relief.

To protect his sheep from the flies a shepherd will smear an ointment of linseed oil, sulfur and tar over the sheep's nose and head as a protection against nose flies. Once the oil has been applied the sheep are free from agitation.

I can identify. I get so irritated sometimes by seemingly small things but they drive me crazy all the same. The thoughts buzz round and round in my mind. I can't seem to get rid of them and then they begin to multiply leaving room for nothing else. This is when I need a shepherd.

I cry out to the Shepherd to apply the oil of His Holy Spirit to my mind. I ask Him to anoint the conscious and sub-conscious levels of my thought life so that I can think and react like He would. I am alway amazed at the relief I experience in response to this prayer.

I do identify with the problems that sheep have and I am grateful that I can say ,"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want."

10/31/2024

What was it that Jesus had just taught that caused the apostles to respond, "Increase our faith!"?

Jesus had just told them that if their brother, "sins against you that you are to rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in a day and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."(Luke 17:3,4) This kind of forgiveness is not natural.

Jesus' response to their request showed that it's not the amount of faith that counts but the quality of the faith you have. He told them that faith the size of a mustard seed could uproot a mulberry tree and cause it to be planted in the sea. In another place He told them that faith the size of a mustard seed could remove mountains. Why? Because a seed has life inside it.

*In Italy there is a remarkable tomb. An enormous block of granite was brought and placed there by order of the man who is buried underneath. Before he died, he arranged that this great mass of granite should be laid over his tomb; and he did so, saying that he did it in order that if there ever was a resurrection, it might be certain he should never rise! We smile at the folly of it. It is an interesting fact that this block of granite weighing tons is there but split in two. Between the hour of his sepulture and the placing of that block over his grave, a bird flying across carrying an acorn, happened to drop the acorn right there. They put the granite slab in place, and if you see it now, that enormous slab of granite weighing tons, is split clean through the middle and the oak tree from the acorn is there, growing straight up through it! The living power in the acorn has split the granite. If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, if your faith has but a living quality, if your faith is more than dead orthodoxy, the acceptance of certain statements as true intellectually, if it is a living thing, which in your life is producing results that are in consonance with the things you profess to believe, then there is nothing impossible, said Jesus. You will be able to forgive your brother seven times. *

We don't need more faith; we need living faith.

*G Camble Morgan

10/30/2024

There is a place where the divine world and the human world come together. It is a place of exchange and communication. I have been invited to come to this place with boldness, and so I come. I come boldly, but I also come aware of my weakness and my need. With a humble but hopeful heart I approach the golden altar that stands before the throne of God.

Altars represent places of sacrifice. What is it that I bring to this sacred place? I bring my need, my brokenness and my confusion. My heart full of concern for those I love, my mind flooded with circumstances over which I have no control. These are the sacrifices I bring on bended knee but with a heart lifted to the Sovereign who is seated on the throne.

There are times when the sacrifices that my heart bears are so heavy that tears replace words. But in this sacred place I encounter Love that can translate my inarticulate plea. I find someone who advocates for me before the throne of grace. Here, at the golden altar, the cry of my heart is transformed into incense that is pleasing to God.

At the golden altar the darkness within me is bathed with light. It is here that grief is replaced with comfort, and fear and helplessness with His presence and peace. The welcome that I find does not cease, because access has been gained for me by the blood of the Lamb who stands before the throne.

This golden altar is a place of exchange and communication; not only a place where I am heard and known, but a place where I come to listen. It is here that I find that the Almighty God who is seated on the throne is One who wants and waits to be known. You cannot come into the presence of this holy One and stay the same. My plea and my prayers go up from this altar as a pleasing fragrance, and in exchange I receive mercy and grace to help me in my time of need.

10/27/2024

I remember the last time that I was sitting in Aunt Angie's kitchen. On every wall were snapshots of family and friends. The memories these pictures awoke in me made me feel as if those pictured were still with us. What brought me and many others to this place was the sad news that Aunt Angie's son, my cousin Ryan, had died suddenly. As we gathered together to grieve, to love and to remember it seemed as if time lost its hold on us and we had entered into a hallway between time and eternity.

In this hallway between time and eternity there is a silence and the rush and hurry of the outside world is muffled. Memories live again in this quiet place. Looking at the pictures, the years melt away. Here in the hallway tears flow freely but laughter is also heard.

This is not a place anyone would choose to be. The door to this hallway is grief. Going through this entrance strips away the world's hold on the soul. Here where tears flow freely the eyes of the spirit lose their blindness and eternity comes into view.

There is a truth that is revealed by grief. It is here that we recognize that what is temporal is also temporary like the pictures on the wall. We see ourselves and those we've loved frozen in time. In Aunt Angie's kitchen I saw the picture of her husband, my Uncle Chuck. It was just the way I remembered him. I could almost see him tapping his foot to keep time with the music. In the picture his smile is broad. The music that I heard from the accordion he played comes from a place in my heart where this memory lives.

Caught between time and eternity we become aware that we are not alone. Here where time is silenced our spirits are free to hear the voice of the Ancient of Days. As C. S. Lewis says, "His intervening presence is terribly startling to discover. It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone." What is the message that is given? We find it in the words Jesus spoke during his final time on earth. "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24) Here in the hallway we get a glimpse of eternit

10/27/2024

I remember the last time that I was in Aunt Angie's kitchen. On every wall were snapshots of family and friends. The memories these pictures awoke in me made me feel as if those pictured were still with us.What brought me and many others to this place was the sad news that Aunt Angie's son, my cousin Ryan, had died suddenly. As we gathered together to grieve, to love and to remember it seemed as if time lost its hold on us and we had entered into a hallway between time and eternity.

In this hallway between time and eternity there is a silence and the rush and hurry of the outside world is muffled. Memories live again in this quiet place. Looking at the pictures, the years melt away. Here in the hallway tears flow freely but laughter is also heard.

This is not a place anyone would choose to be. The door to this hallway is grief. Going through this entrance strips away the world's hold on the soul. Here where tears flow freely the eyes of the spirit lose their blindness and eternity comes into view.

There is a truth that is revealed by grief. It is here that we recognize that what is temporal is also temporary like the pictures on the wall. We see ourselves and those we've loved frozen in time. In Aunt Angie's kitchen I saw the picture of her husband, my Uncle Chuck. It was just the way I remembered him. I could almost see him tapping his foot to keep time with the music. In the picture his smile is broad. The music that I heard from the accordion he played comes from a place in my heart where this memory lives.

Caught between time and eternity we become aware that we are not alone. Here where time is silenced our spirits are free to hear the voice of the Ancient of Days. As C. S. Lewis says, "His intervening presence is terribly startling to discover. It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone." What is the message that is given? We find it in the words Jesus spoke during his final time on earth. "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24) Here in the hallway we get a glimpse of eternity.

10/26/2024

I was irritable and angry! I was so frustrated that I wanted to scream! I rushed about the house preparing to go where I didn’t want to go in order to do something that I didn’t want to do! I didn’t want to feel the way I was feeling, so in this state of full blown irritability I began to pray.

I went to God in prayer just as I was, miserable and in need. “Father! I need help! I don’t want to feel this way! I want to obey You!” I thought about how Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father, in heaven, may your name be kept holy” (Matthew 6:9). I translated how Jesus taught us to pray by saying, “Father, I believe that You love and care for me and that Your ways are higher than my ways. I don’t want to dishonor Your name, but I am miserable and I need help!”

Jesus said to pray, “Your kingdom come.” I prayed, “I know that You are the king. I want You to rule and reign in my life, my heart and my mind. Please help me to get my emotions under control.” Jesus said, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” I prayed, “Father, I know that to murmur and to complain is the same as to be in rebellion against what You have ordained for my life. Right now I’m full of rebellion! I don’t know how to stop. I don’t like what You’ve planned for my life today. If I needed physical surgery on my heart, I know that I would be incapable of performing open heart surgery on myself. I also know that I am equally incapable of removing my stony rebellious heart. Please! Help me!”

Jesus said to ask for daily bread. Where can I go when I am being tormented by my inability to be who I want to be? What can I do when I don’t have the resources to accomplish what is required of me? How do I find the strength to wrestle with my own rebellious heart that doesn’t want to be told what to do? It’s a daily struggle. Daily I am invited to participate in holy communion through prayer.

I continued to walk in obedience and prayed that God would change my heart. And then it happened! I was having a conversation with my granddaughter Lena. I told her that Mary probably wasn’t much older than she is now when Gabriel announced that she was to be a mother. Lena was shocked. Then I said, “Just think about how Mary responded. 'I am the Lord’s servant, let His will be done in my life.'” The words left my mouth and entered my heart. I was set free! The misery of rebellion was replaced by the joy of true obedience. The transformation took place through prayer.

10/25/2024

Was there ever a time when you felt that God was leading you to do something that didn’t make sense to you? The following is a story that happened to me several years ago. Sometimes God weaves you into to someone else’s story through obedience to a request you don’t understand.

I saw the small silver heart-shaped pin with a picture of a little girl with my jewelry and decided to wear it. I had breakfast that morning with several of my friends, they commented on how much they liked it. I guess that why it seemed strange when I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to give it away.

I am a waitress at a local cafe. While waiting on one of my tables I felt prompted to give my pin to the woman on whom I was waiting . I didn't do it immediately instead I prayed. "Lord, do you really want me to do this?" The feeling just wouldn't go away so I took the pin off and quietly put it at her place and said," I believe this belongs to you."

I went back to her table to refill her glass she looked at me and said ," I don't understand." "Oh great, I thought now I've made a fool of myself." I told her about how I had felt led by the Holy Spirit. She looked at me and began to cry. She stood up and hugged me and then said,"I want to show you something." She opened her wallet and pulled out a picture of her mother taken when she was a little girl it looked identical to the girl's picture on the pin.

She told me how she would talk to her mother every night while fixing dinner. The first time she was fixing dinner after her mother's funeral she picked up the phone and her husband asked her what she was doing. She told him she was going to call her mother. He gently took her hand and said," You don't need a phone to talk to you mother any more."

I told her how I had been reading in the book of Mark and noticed that every time Jesus encountered a child He would wrap His arms around them. It seemed that when I was prompted to give her that pin it was like Jesus was wrapping His comforting arms around her. She wept as we embraced.

When God invites you to let go of an earthly treasure He is also inviting you to take hold of an eternal one.

Sarah Jones-Ministry of Hope

11/07/2024

11/05/2024

11/05/2024

11/03/2024

11/02/2024

11/01/2024

10/31/2024

10/30/2024

10/27/2024

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10/26/2024

10/25/2024

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