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I so treasure and cling to the the ongoing Peace that my Savior Jesus gives me. Even though our lives at times can be hectic, challenging and unpredictable, our Lord's Peace is always there. The winds can be howling and very difficult times can be on the horizon, but Jesus's Peace remains steadfast if we will but trust Him.
God promises us in His Word in Philippians 4:7
"And the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
We can entrust our every care into the hands of Jesus and in place of fretting and anxiety, He gives us His beautiful Peace. It is like a supernatural insulation around our hearts and minds from the works of darkness.
It does surpass all understanding of the human mind, but His Peace is ever so genuinely real. We can experience His Peace every day of our lives as we fully release our every care and concern into the hands of our Lord.
Experience and walk in His beautiful Peace today. It is a great place to be!
In His Beautiful Peace,
Sandy Billingham
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Here is a song to praise God..."Wonderful Peace" sung by the Gaithers
11/26/13 When I walk into the gym my eyes are greeted with various types of exercise equipment. Bicycles, weight lifting bars, treadmills, punching bags, a swimming pool, etc. Each piece is a tool designed to equip me with body strength. I have to pay a price financially and physically to make use of these items. I pay the price because I want to be stronger and therefore healthier.
As believers God has given us a special strength in the power of His Holy Spirit. We can't buy it - it is a gift from Him to His children to equip us to be strong in the Lord. The cost? Zero, zip, nada. But there are some maintenance fees. Our effort is required in this venture. Just like sitting on a weight bench won't make me physically stronger, keeping a Bible on the table won't make me spiritually stronger.
To be successful in the gym or in my spiritual walk, I need to use self-discipline.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run,
but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last,
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NIV
To gain strength, I must press beyond my natural limits, and put some muscle into it, whether my body or my heart is quivering with the exertion. I must not give up but determine to be steadfast.
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself
with the royal food and wine,
and he asked the chief official for permission
not to defile himself this way.
Daniel 1:8 NIV
Whether it's bible study group or a class at the gym, having company as I pursue my goals is a positive reminder that I am not alone. But even if no one is with me, or I feel alone, I have a promise from God to encourage me.
Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus,
the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him he endured the cross,
scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
No matter where we are physically or spiritually, in this race that we call life, this is the one thing we can always hold onto:
For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith
—and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God
— not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV
Thank You Lord! For the grace and faith you so freely give to each of us. Please help each of us to accept Your loving gifts. Amen!
Written by Sandy Schott
Lifting the clothes out of the washer, Ann started moving them over to the dryer. Something wasn't right, these clothes were sopping wet. "Aargh!" she thought. She just didn't need this kind of trouble.
She heard Ruth calling her, so Ann slammed down the lid, with the faintest hope that a jolt might get the washer working, and headed to the family room.
Ann had been living with Ruth for 3 years. Ann was the caregiver and Ruth was the Parkinson's patient. In the beautiful way that God often orchestrates in such relationships, they had become close friends and devoted sisters. Ruth knew something was wrong, and as she had a million times before, she wished she could do something to really help. She laughed when people would tease about how they wished they could 'sit around all day'. But she could never find the words to explain how very tiring and trying it actually was for her to do so little.
It was Sunday afternoon, they agreed that the easiest way to handle the laundry was go to Ann's house. Ann guided Ruth's chair carefully down the ramp in the garage. Once the wheelchair was loaded and they were both buckled in, Ann and Ruth played the checklist game. One of them would say, "Do we have our purses?" The other one would look and confirm by saying, "Check." Back and forth a few times more, and they would agree they had everything they needed. And then, in a way that was funny to the two of them, they agreed that if they didn't have something, they mustn't really need it.
Ann felt a little pang in her heart as she unlocked her front door. She had kept her home because she loved it. The last three years had flown by, and although she sometimes considered selling it - she had figured she would need it again some day. She pushed open the door and cold air greeted her. But she wasn't concerned, she had had a new furnace installed a few months ago, she went over to the thermostat and cranked it up before going back out to get Ruth.
"Last load?" Ruth asked when Ann came back into the den carrying an overflowing basket. Ann nodded, and asked her own question, "What time did I call the furnace people?" Just as Ruth was saying it had been 30 minutes a welcome knock on the door brought Ann to her feet. It was the owner of the company, and he had been mortified when Ann called to say her brand new furnace wasn't working.
Ruth enjoyed sitting in Ann's house. It was a pretty and comfortable home with lots of books, knick-knacks and frames full of pictures that told an interesting story about her friend. Ruth had stopped thinking of Ann as her caregiver a long time ago, and she hoped they would always be together. They had truly become loving sisters in Christ and she counted Ann as a great blessing. But tonight she wasn't comfortable. She was covered with one of those incredibly soft and warm fleece blankets, but her Parkinson's had made her joints very sensitive to the cold and now she couldn't wait to get home.
Rinsing out their hot chocolate mugs, Ann thanked God again for the amazing day He had given them. The last blessing happened at bed time, when Ann had gone to get the pain cream from the backpack they use for long days. As she held up her missing passport for Ruth to see it, they had both burst out laughing as the blessings of the day flooded in on them.
They had both laughed and praised God at His creative way of taking care of them. Ruth's broken washer had led them to Ann's cold house. The cold house led to the heat/air owner inspecting and restoring gas flow to the furnace before the weather dropped below freezing. Now the working furnace was set at a minimum temperature to prevent the pipes from freezing and causing all sorts of water damage. Finally, after searching through every file in her desk for her passport 2 weeks before, Ann had found her missing passport when she went to get the pain cream for Ruth's cold joints.
"I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think."
Isaiah 55:8-9 MSG
Dear Lord, may I remember to stop labeling each thing in my life as bad or good. Please open my eyes like you did Ann and Ruth's. In Jesus name, amen.
Written by Mary M. Wilkins
Listen to Jeremy Camp perform his praise song "Walk by Faith":
We aren't always happy with our circumstances, many of which we have had no control over. But we do have control over our responses to them. Sometimes our response is acting out, kicking and screaming. Other times it may be to turn inward and to run and hide. And what doe God say our response should be?
Rejoice always,pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
I do not believe that means that God has caused us to be in these circumstances, or that his will is that we suffer. Rather, his will is that we are able to hold on to our faith so that we may "rejoice, pray, and thank" him in SPITE of the circumstances, even in the midst of them. It is not always possible to be happy that we are suffering. Sometimes the rejoicing can only be in the fact that we know God is still with us and that we will be with him in heaven some day. Prayer helps us maintain our connection with God. Turning to God in prayer helps us focus on his mercy and forgiveness, his grace, and allows us to ask him to strengthen our faith and use our experiences to his glory. Thanking him for the blessings that we do have helps us stay positive and strengthens our witness to others. For it is God's will for us to receive the blessings of salvation in Christ Jesus and to share that with others.
May we forever rejoice, pray and give thanks to God!
Written by Jan Andersen Here is a song performed by Mercy Me. Hope you find it uplifting.
No
one like to be bound to another person. Slave trafficking is a terrible
result of sin in our society and world. No one likes to owe so many debts
that they become a slave to their work to try to pay everything off as the
interest continues to mount.
The
same goes for Christians. Why would we try to "pay" off our
debts to God for our sins when we have already been set free by Christ?
Christians
do good works as a response of thanksgiving to God for something that has
already been done for us by Jesus. Christians have the ability to work in
freedom as heirs with Chris, not as slaves to debts which we have no ability to
pay in and of ourselves. Jesus is everything.
It
is working for the Lord in His kingdom on earth -- spreading the gospel by words
of hope and deeds of love -- that we find true freedom. Christ has set us
free and we are free indeed.
I love to
find gratefulness in each day. Unfortunately,
there has been many a day in which I have had a real challenge finding
something that I feel grateful for. The
truth be known….it is all in my attitude!
Being a Christian doesn't mean that my life will run perfectly
smooth, but, what it does mean is that I am a Princess of the Most High
King!! For that alone I am grateful
every moment of every day.
However, during the mud and gunk of daily living; i.e. the job,
the bills, the broken furnace, the fear of uncertainty, the medical
appointments, the emotions and physical changes of menopause, etc., gratitude
gets pushed to the back of my mind. Then
something happens like yesterday, I had my annual physical, which, I did not
want go to at all. When I called to
schedule the appointment the day before, I did not expect to get in the next
day. Darn, I wanted to lose twenty
pounds, as well as lower my cholesterol and get my blood pressure down. You know, be perfect. So, here I am going to the dreaded
appointment. The first thing the Medical
Assistant says is that she is always glad to see me, as I am always such a
happy person. Wow, what a blessing that
was, as well as an attitude changer.
Then the weigh in was not such a blessing, but, I survived, with a silent
promise to myself to lose those twenty pounds before I step foot on that thing
again. (I have never made that promise in the past. HA!)
We chatted as she did her job; she gives me another blessing
because she remembers details of me and my simple little life. My doctor comes in, whom I love dearly,
but, as I said, I wanted him to see twenty pounds less of me. So that it is, he saw all of me still
clinging onto those twenty pounds, which he has so graciously asked me to work
off for a few years now. He listened
with concern to all my little issues and had answers for them all. My exam was done after a search for the
missing light. Anita, he and I all got laughs about that, with the best being
that my doctor likes the new lights because they are fun to turn on and off. I thought that was pretty awesome, with the
responsibilities of physician’s life, he had time to find pleasure in a simple
thing, as how a light works, and not be angry that he had to go look for one.
All in all, I spent over an hour at my appointment with the whole time feeling
as I was his only patient. On top of
that, I am so extremely grateful that I will be finally getting help for the
headaches that I have suffered from my whole life.
I came out of that appointment with a new attitude, a grateful
heart and much hope for a future with a whole lot less head pain. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving
grateful praise.
1 Shout for joyto theLord,
all the earth. 2 Worship theLordwith gladness; come
before himwith
joyful songs. 3 Know
that theLordis God. It
is he who made us,and
we are his[a]; we
are his people,the
sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with
thanksgiving and
his courtswith
praise; give
thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For
theLordis goodand his love endures
forever; his
faithfulnesscontinues
through all generations.
11/21/13 "Thanksgiving to God for His
Enduring Mercy"
Oh
give thanks to the Lord for He is good! How comforting and liberating it
is to know our God's mercy is never ending it will always remain in
existence. Mercy describes God's character. Mercy can also be translated
"loyal love". Psalm 136 tells of his compassion for us.
We can look at the awe inspiring creation of this earth and see His mercy on
us. We see God's provision and protection for His people in His mercy. Oh
give thanks to the God of heaven!
Psalm 136
New King James Version (NKJV)
Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:
To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.
To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
For His mercy endures forever;
And brought out Israel from among them,
For His mercy endures forever;
With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,
For His mercy endures forever;
And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever;
But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His mercy endures forever;
To Him who struck down great kings,
For His mercy endures forever;
And slew famous kings,
For His mercy endures forever—
Sihon king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endures forever;
And Og king of Bashan,
For His mercy endures forever—
And gave their land as a heritage,
For His mercy endures forever;
A heritage to Israel His servant,
For His mercy endures forever.
ho remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
And rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.
Blessings, Kathryn Here us a song for this topic by OneCauseKids...
We can entrust our every care into the hands of Jesus and in place of fretting and anxiety, He gives us His beautiful Peace. It is like a supernatural insulation around our hearts and minds from the works of darkness.
