For those in Connecticut and elsewhere who are grieving

This is what the LORD, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the LORD your God. I teach you what is best for you. I lead you where you should go. -Isaiah 48-7

His Perfect Peace

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things- – but ONE thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the GOOD portion- -which will NOT be taken away from her.” John 10:41-42 “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace, In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you, Not as the world gives do I give to you, Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 The Lord knows the heart – He knows the troubled and anxious breast, The Lord knows that His wonderful peace is freely available to calm the anxious one, And so He reaches out with words that only He can utter. Let not your heart be troubled, beloved child, neither be afraid, Here is my peace for you, my precious children, I give My peace to you. John 14:27 You are more precious to Him than the sparkling universe and the riches of the world, He loves you more dearly than human understanding can fathom, And He is the God of comfort when the human heart is faint from exhaustion. He loves to place little lighted candles in our dark chambers of pain and sorrow, He delights to gently kiss away the tears of sadness and replace them with joy. He is able to comfort because He is Incarnate Comfort – the Great Comforter, He gives His own peace to those He delights in, He offers the same peace that kept Him quiet and calm during His own earthly walk. Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give unto you: Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. John 14:27 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:1

Let not your heart be troubled

Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me.-John 14:27

Peace is not the absence of trouble
But the presence of Christ
- Sheila Walsh

what more can I say...

Create in me a clean heart, O God

Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.-Psalm 51-10

I know that my heart is not pure 

So that's why I need God's help 

To clean my heart

And keep my Spirit refresh

Human spirit cannot endure alone

Without any help 

I could not do this alone

As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man

As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man.-Proverbs 27:19

Be the best reflection of God the Father who created you

  

To be good or to be wicked

"For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (Psalm 73:3). He felt he may have even wasted his time in maintaining Godly values; "Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence" (Psalm 73:13).


Some days you do wonder, the path you have chosen to be moral, to be good, to be a Christian. Is it worth it? Especially when you look around and see people who belief in other things or who are not moral or upright, who are just leading the life they want to live without restrictions and are being rewarded bountifully in terms of wealth, cars, material possessions and so on.

Is our success measured by all these ?

Thats the question you need to ask yourself.. Is the road worth the destination ?
The blessing that God gives is always in his time and he knows when you are ready for it. You just need to trust him and and his timing, and that he always will have your best interest at hand.

Approve by man or God - your choice

1 Thessalonians 2:4,6
"We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. We were not looking for praises from men, not from you or anyone else."

Do we do what we do so that we can gain approval from our fellow man or so that we can gain God's approval? An interesting question.

A lot of the time we seek approvals for what we do so that we feel acceptance and part of a community. We want to belong. But at the end of the day, we need to see which approval is really more important. Or does the approval really matter ?

You just got to have faith

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

There are some qualities in life that we can afford to be without,
But without faith we are not even able to begin the Christian life,
Without faith we are not in a position to continue the Christian life,
And without faith – without trust, it is impossible to please God. Heb.11:6 

Just like the George Michael song....'Cause I gotta have faith...
When all things are going wrong
And everything seems dark
Things not going right
Friends diving out of sight

What you can't see
Doesn't mean it doesn't exist
What you can't hear 
Doesn't mean someone is not listening

Faith is trusting in what your senses cannot detected
Just that feeling in your heart
You just know
Who's taking care of you

Romans 8:29 It is only through His power that we can ever be set on a right path of being ...

We must never even hint that repentance is determined by what we believe is "right" outward behavior. Repentance is always a condition of the heart, and doing right in the eyes of God is only accomplished by allowing His Spirit to transform us into a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is only through His power that we can ever be set on a right path of being "conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans 8:29).

What we do is never enough. We can never do enough "good works" to redeem ourselves from all the wrongs and evil thoughts that we have done. Only God's grace can redeem us. Similarly we cannot resist all the temptations the world has to offer by ourselves. Only through God's guidance will we be able to move in the right direction and every day we need to look to him for his strength and guidance.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." - Psalm 73:26

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." - Psalm 73:26


So much promise in one sentence.
Our own efforts are never enough
So we depend on God's strength
And God has promised this

God dearly loves His children; "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

God dearly loves His children; "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). He sent His Son to die as a sacrifice for our sins and gave His Spirit to strengthen and guide us along His path. He continues to call! But constant rejection will cause our heart to harden and be subject to God's discipline.

A hardened heart has chosen to live separated from God. It can no longer hear God's call and cannot even recognize His truth. When this occurs, our Loving Father responds with great sorrow and allows the hardened heart to follow the path it desires; "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts" (Romans 1:24). Dear Lord, do not allow us to follow our own path!

Remember Asia in these trying times

Reprinting todays sharing that I received which I think was very timely.

We Will Not Fear

In these times of great uncertainty - with concern about things like war, terrorism, and the economy - let's always remember, our Heavenly Father is the Creator of the Universe. He formed the Heavens and the Earth out of nothing, and, as we place our trust in Him, He has given a basic promise: "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). His desire is for us to draw nearer in our love and worship, and allow His Spirit to remove all fear.

Psalm 46:1-3
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."

Although we are uncertain what tomorrow may bring, we ought to have confidence in the One who really controls tomorrow. If we believe Jesus died for our sin, rose again in victory over death, and is seated at the right hand of the Father - if we surrender our life to who He is and what He has done - our eternal home has been firmly established; "Our citizenship is in Heaven" (Philippians 3:20). As a child of the Sovereign King, as one who believes in our eternal future, we no longer have reason to fear; "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship" (Romans 8:15).

We no longer have a reason, but still we fear. The unknown is scary and makes us feel out of control. But as we pray for an end to violence, and as we strive to make this world safer, better educated, and more prosperous, we must understand there is only one true solution to our fear.

Our fear will only be removed as we love the Lord with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength. When we understand that our life is not our own, we will love with a complete abandonment to His desire. We will pray and live each day with the surrender demonstrated by Christ; "Father...not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42). As we live each day to bring Him glory and honor, fear WILL begin to fade: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18).

Yes, these days contain some uncertainty. If we continue to focus on what we can see, there will always be uncertainties. But our faith, hope, and joy are in His eternal glory, not in this world which will one day pass away. Let's refuse to allow our fear of the unknown cripple our service for God. There is still much work He has for us to do. Let's pray that our love will increase, that our worship will intensify, and that we will boldly stand up and proclaim, "We will not fear!"

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries