Today’s Reading: Psalm 119:1-88; 1 Thessalonians 5
“May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word” (Psalm 119:41-42 NIV).
“Be joyful 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).
Joy, thanksgiving: things that should be so evident in my life, but aren’t at the moment. Fear, anxiousness: the feelings that are riddling my heart day in and day out. God has given me so many beautiful blessings, including a loving husband and a sweet baby girl, yet, right now, I’m not seeing those blessings in their fullest degree. Instead, the devil is being given control of my thoughts and emotions. Oh how I long to be filled with joy and thanksgiving, but how? How do I grab a hold of these things, and banish the others from my heart?
The answer is so simple it amazes me.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).
I give all my anxieties, worries and fears to the one who is ultimately in control. I let Him take them from me, and replace them with His perfect peace. I claim the joy that is so readily waiting for me, if only I let go. If only I let God take control.
Do you have anything you need to let go of today?
Showing posts with label 1 Peter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 Peter. Show all posts
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, October 26, 2009
Leviticus 26-27; Mark 11:19-33
"I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid" (Leviticus 26:6).
I’ve been thinking today about the stress in my life. At first glance it wouldn’t seem like my life isn’t all that bad. I spend my days taking care of the house, running errands, and freelance writing. As much as I think I’m relaxed, I allow myself to be stressed by my lists and deadlines and relationships. I stay busy every day, hardly ever stopping to relax. All the time I have a reminder of the stress in my frequent tension headaches. Doctors can’t help them, medicine can’t help them… it seems as if they’re without a cure. Yesterday at church I asked for prayer about my tension headaches. As my pastor was praying for me, he encouraged me to find peace in my daily life, with the hope that this would relieve the tension in my neck.
Peace. A word I honestly don’t know the meaning of. And so I began a search to see what God’s word has to say on this topic. In my search, I came up with 247 times that a form of the word peace was used in the New International Version of the Bible. This is what I found:
Our God is a God that promises peace for those who love him, as Leviticus 26:6 tells us. He desires for us to live peaceful lives. It’s a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22), a desired state of the heart: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace” (Colossians 3:15), something we should seek: “He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it” (1Peter 3:11) and a way to guard our hearts from the evil one: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
I pray that each of you would have a renewed sense of peacefulness in your life today. It certainly is a wonderful thing to let go of the stresses of the world and to grasp onto the peace of God.
I’ve been thinking today about the stress in my life. At first glance it wouldn’t seem like my life isn’t all that bad. I spend my days taking care of the house, running errands, and freelance writing. As much as I think I’m relaxed, I allow myself to be stressed by my lists and deadlines and relationships. I stay busy every day, hardly ever stopping to relax. All the time I have a reminder of the stress in my frequent tension headaches. Doctors can’t help them, medicine can’t help them… it seems as if they’re without a cure. Yesterday at church I asked for prayer about my tension headaches. As my pastor was praying for me, he encouraged me to find peace in my daily life, with the hope that this would relieve the tension in my neck.
Peace. A word I honestly don’t know the meaning of. And so I began a search to see what God’s word has to say on this topic. In my search, I came up with 247 times that a form of the word peace was used in the New International Version of the Bible. This is what I found:
Our God is a God that promises peace for those who love him, as Leviticus 26:6 tells us. He desires for us to live peaceful lives. It’s a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22), a desired state of the heart: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace” (Colossians 3:15), something we should seek: “He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it” (1Peter 3:11) and a way to guard our hearts from the evil one: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
I pray that each of you would have a renewed sense of peacefulness in your life today. It certainly is a wonderful thing to let go of the stresses of the world and to grasp onto the peace of God.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Love... keeps no records of wrongs
Our section of the Love Chapter comes from 1 Corinthians 13:5 today. In this verse Paul tells us that Love “keeps no records of wrongs.” Yikes, this is a tough one! I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but give me a person and I can easily come up with a time, even a decade or two ago, where they hurt me in one way or another. But love means forgiving and forgetting.
Consider the sinful woman in Luke 7 who anoints Jesus feet with oil. Jesus tells the Pharisee named Simon: "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." (Luke 7:44-47)
Jesus knew of this woman’s past. Yet, he knew that she was truly repenting of everything she had done. And he forgave her.
1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” It’s often hard to forgive, especially when the offense was personal. But Jesus forgave. He loved. And more than that, once the sin is forgiven, it’s forgotten as well. As Psalm 103:12, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
I won’t admit here that I have a complete handle on forgiveness. It’s extremely hard to forgive sometimes. But it’s something God asks of us anyway. I do know that, if I am going to live a life of love, I can’t keep a record of all the wrong doings in the past. I have to move forward in life, and ask God for the strength to forgive completely.
Prayer: Lord, help me to forgive and even come to love those who have hurt me in the past.
Consider the sinful woman in Luke 7 who anoints Jesus feet with oil. Jesus tells the Pharisee named Simon: "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." (Luke 7:44-47)
Jesus knew of this woman’s past. Yet, he knew that she was truly repenting of everything she had done. And he forgave her.
1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” It’s often hard to forgive, especially when the offense was personal. But Jesus forgave. He loved. And more than that, once the sin is forgiven, it’s forgotten as well. As Psalm 103:12, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
I won’t admit here that I have a complete handle on forgiveness. It’s extremely hard to forgive sometimes. But it’s something God asks of us anyway. I do know that, if I am going to live a life of love, I can’t keep a record of all the wrong doings in the past. I have to move forward in life, and ask God for the strength to forgive completely.
Prayer: Lord, help me to forgive and even come to love those who have hurt me in the past.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)