Tag Archives: God’s Peace

Morning Musings

Tough Times Ahead.

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Tough Times Ahead.

    There is no doubt about it, there are more tough times coming!  When we hear of the new regulations that the authorities are talking about bringing in, we realise that our opportunities to speak in public about the truths that the Bible teaches are going to be greatly curtailed. Pastors and ministers are going to be criminalized if they talk about controversial topics such as transgenderism and homosexuality. Christian teachers too, are going to have to be careful what they say…in fact they are going to be required to teach things to their classes that they know are contrary to the teachings of the Bible.

    We might wonder how we are going to be able to cope in a climate such as this, but we are not alone in this fight against evil. Our Lord said before He left His disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation, but don’t be afraid, I have overcome the world”, and “ I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter (Helper), that He may abide with you for ever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you….I will not leave you orphans, but will come to you…”   (John 14:16-18),

    It reminds me of a story told to me years ago by an older friend. She said that she had had to go into hospital to have an operation for cancer, and was very apprehensive about the whole thing. But as she remembered these verses and others that she knew, she felt the peace of God surround her mind and soul, and was able to relax knowing that He was in control. After a few days when it was all over, somehow this sense of peace left her, and this bothered her very much.

 “Where are you Lord?” she asked, “Why have You left me?”

Almost immediately the answer came into her mind…. “I haven’t left you, I will always be with you. But you don’t need Me the same now it’s all over, and  you have walk by faith again”.

    So it will be for us…when we need God’s strength in difficult situations, it will be there for us if we ask Him. Until that time comes, we need to live in faith, and learn to depend on Him more and more as we see the clouds darken around us.

Random Devotional Thoughts

Peace of Mind

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As a wise man was once walking from one town to another with a friend, they passed a small lake.. They stopped there and the wise man said, “I’m thirsty, please  get me some water from that lake there”.

The friend walked to the lake, but  noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, then a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy and dirty. The friend thought, “How can I give this muddy water to my friend to drink!” So he came back and told him that the water  was too muddy and not fit to drink. A little later,  the wise man asked his friend to go back to the lake again and get him some water to drink. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above was fit to drink, so he collected some and brought it to the wise man.

The wise man looked at the water, and said, “See what you did to make the water clean? You let it be … and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water!”

Our minds are like this too. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.

What did the wise man say? He said that it was effortless. Having ‘peace of mind’ is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. To have the peace OF God, we must have peace WITH God. This makes all the difference. Then the peace OF God will spread around you and in this environment, other people around will start feeling that peace and grace.

     I was visiting a friend in a rest home recently, and she said that different ones had asked her how she could bear to be cooped up in her bedroom day by day. She said it was all in her attitude. For her, she had no choice. But she DID have a choice whether she was going to accept it gracefully and gratefully with a smile , or resentfully with a bad attitude. Her prayer is that her room will be noticed by the staff as a room of peace and joy, and already some have mentioned that they notice this. She regards these confining conditions as another mission field for her…one which able-bodied older people do not have in the same way.

    What a lesson to us all! If we take all our situations to the Lord and thank Him for the answer BEFORE we get it, His peace will envelop us and will be seen by those around us!   (Philippians 4:6-7)

 

Daily Devotionals

A Clear Conscience

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PROVERBS  THREE…. (v.1-10)

     Solomon is again telling his son to take notice of what he is saying, so he can enjoy a long and peaceful life.

The first thing is to be 100% truthful and honest before God and before man……there is nothing more peaceful than a clear conscience! To experience  the mercy of God, one must be merciful to others and not judgmental. Paul goes into great detail    how a believer must act towards others, and we are left in no doubt as to what the Lord expects. We might think this is hard to do, but Solomon gives us the key…..”trust in the Lord,” he says, “Don’t follow your first reaction to circumstances, ask what God would have you to do! If you do this, you will KNOW the right thing to do”

Paul goes on to say that we will then have God’s peace ruling in our heart with our minds and consciences at rest. We will be thankful for what we HAVE got, and be able to count our blessings. God’s peace helps our state of health…..our stress levels are lower, our stomach stops churning, and we sleep better; “health to our navel” as Solomon says! What better advice could we have than this!

God wants His people to be honest and true,                                                      Be kind-hearted and helpful all their days through;                                         To trust in the Lord and His leading each day,                                                   As  He constantly keeps you along Life’s way!

Random Devotional Thoughts, Uncategorized

When Troubles Come….

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2016-03-06 16.37.30I was sent the address of a video clip to watch the other day; it was of two young children with superb singing voices and great confidence, performing before a crowd of people. Not only was the tune very catchy, but the harmony they sang was beautiful. But the words were what caught my attention most of all. What a great message they held, and I couldn’t help wondering how they would fit into a Christian context. They certainly brought a raft of thoughts to me…

“When I am down, and my soul is weary, When troubles come and my heart burdened be,” the young boy sang in a voice as clear as a bell. I thought of the verses from the book of Psalms…”I am weary with my groaning; all the night I make my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears” (Psalm 6:6) How many times we have been in this situation!! Unable to sleep, tossing and turning with one’s mind going round and round in circles over the problem.

The small girl picked up the thread of the song….“When I am still and wait in silence, Until you come and sit a while with me”…. Sometimes there is no person on earth who can give a solution, but if we turn the matter over to God, the Heavenly Father, and wait for Him, He will come and sit with us if we will only take the time to be quiet and listen for His voice….” Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The boy picked up the melody, and his voice soared high and precise….

“You raise me up so I can stand on mountains,” and these words brought to mind the fact that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)

 The girl chimed in, pure and clear… “You raise me up to walk on stormy seas”, and I remembered the story of Peter being able to walk on the sea while he kept his eyes on the Lord, but sinking as soon as he took them off Him.  “Oh you of little faith”, said Jesus, “Why did you doubt?” How often we doubt and sink back into the waves of fear and worry!

The song continued in perfect harmony with the two voices together, “I am strong when I am on Your shoulders”; God said to Israel, “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself” (Exodus 19:4)

“You raise me up to more than I can be”. What more can we hope for than to be with God the Father, and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ,  for the ages of eternity!

Jesus prayed before His crucifixion, “Father, I will that they also whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world”. (John 17:24)

The verse of the song came to an end for a moment with the music continuing on, and then the two voices repeated the song in harmony, finishing off with a crescendo of sound to the prolonged applause of the audience.

“When I am down, and my soul is weary, When troubles come and my heart burdened be,”

….“When I am still and wait in silence, Until you come and sit a while with me”….

“You raise me up so I can stand on mountains, You raise me up to walk on stormy seas”,

“I am strong when I am on Your shoulders, You raise me up to more than I can be”.

These two young people have no idea of what lies ahead in life for them, but they can rest assured that there will be some of those stormy seas and times of trouble for them to go through. If they learn to trust the One Who promised to bear His people on eagles’ wings in times of stress and trials, then they will indeed find that they will be strong when upon His shoulders and will be raised up to more than they would otherwise be. As they learn to trust Him, they will find themselves stronger and more able to bear what life throws at them as they take the time to be still and see what God will do for them.