Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Growth Yields Peace



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“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; your love,
O Lord, endures forever- do not abandon the work of your hands.”  
 Psalm 138:8 (KJV)

As we grow closer to the Lord, we find ourselves more at peace with Him. He takes what worries us into his hands, reshapes the particulars, and returns it to us in a way that honors Him and we can handle. Sometimes, the outcome is not quite what we desired. Other times the outcome is what God deems best for us.
When we give situations over to the Lord, we have a tendency to take them back. We don’t get resolution of the problem, and we can make ourselves sick over that issue that we took back.
When we lay our hurts and our problems into Jesus’ hands, we communicate our trust in Him.  In return, we receive calmness about the issue. Our spirits are refreshed. We feel strengthened. We can watch God work out the problem.   
God may guide us through the issues—showing us what we need to do to alleviate the problem.
He may change the mindset of the people involved and cause the problem to go away. The decision belongs to Him. It is our job to trust in Him.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Hold Onto What We Know



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"Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands will grow stronger.” Job 17:9 (NIV)

When we find ourselves uncomfortable with where we are in our spiritual life, we have to remember to keep doing what we have been doing and keeping in mind that we need to search the scriptures for new signs of Christ’s presence in our lives.

From time to time in our Christian walk we need to get back to the basics of our Christian beliefs. We do this by studying God’s Word and spending quantity and quality in prayer. Certain denominations observe the Lenten and Advent seasons to delve into His Word and seek to grow closer to Him. Sometimes people feel the need to study deeper because they go through a time of testing and trial. A dear friend has done this practice whenever she faces a condition in life that affects her. 

In a prayer group  I participated in, one of the men made a very good point. When we pray for someone going through a hardship, we automatically ask God to remove that circumstance. When we pray that way, we might be impeding God,as He allows the issue to foster growth in that person.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...