“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” – Isaiah 26:3
Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many days. When it returned to port, someone asked the captain, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was a storm!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although violent storms might whip the ocean above into huge waves, the waters deep below are never stirred.
This is the promise that God gives to every believer who is willing to put his total trust in Him. The word for perfect that Isaiah uses means "complete, with no parts missing." God will give us a peace, not just in some circumstances but in all. We will have peace about our family, about our finances and about our health. When we surrender our lives to Him, the God of peace gives us a peace that "surpasses all understanding" (Phil. 4:7). It is a peace that guards both our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. It's a deep-down peace.
But this peace comes only to those who truly believe in and focus on the promises of God. The apostle James wrote that the person who allows doubts to cause division in his mind will be "like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind . . . he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:6, 8).
As you read your Bible, be alert to the promises of God. Keep a list of those that are especially precious to you. Think about them. Meditate on them. Focus your attention on them. Pray back these promises to God, not as a reminder to Him, but as a reminder to yourself. If you fill your mind with His promises, God will fill your heart with His peace.
God's peace is for those who trust His purposes.
- Woodrow Kroll, www.backtothebible.org
Post your comments and prayer requests. We appreciate hearing from you.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Joy in the Morning
”weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5
”Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” – Psalm 16:11
What do Assyria, Babylon and the Roman Empire have in common? All of them, at one time or another, conquered Israel. Yet they share another commonality—none of them exists today as a nation. You will never get an Assyrian stamp in your passport. No one will every proudly announce to you, "I'm a Babylonian!" None of these once-powerful nations has survived into the 20th century—but Israel has.
Throughout history men and nations have demonstrated their hatred for God's people. The Roman Emperor Diocletian is a good example. He issued an edict in 303 A.D. designed to annihilate the Christian religion and destroy the Bible. The emperor even built a monument on which were inscribed the words Extincto nomene Christianorum (The name Christian is extinguished). Only 25 years later, however, the emperor was dead, and the new ruler, Constantine, commissioned 50 copies of the Bible to be prepared at government expense.
Are you are facing persecution?
At work or school? Maybe people in your own family are seeking to discourage you from living out your Christian faith. God never promised that you wouldn't face these kinds of trials. What He did promise, however, was that ultimately those who afflict His people will fail. Your day of difficulties may seem long, but it won't last forever. Take heart! Morning is coming and when the sun rises, the night of despair is no more.
For every night of trouble, there's a morning of glory.
- Woodrow Kroll, www.backtothebible.org
Friday, June 1, 2007
Rampant Deception
Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."- 1 Corinthians 15:33
It seems like everywhere you look these days, someone is pushing a new philosophy—one that won't offend anyone, exclude anyone, or make any absolute claims about anything. According to some, all religions lead to heaven, and there are no eternal consequences for our actions. Others believe in karma, the false theory of reincarnation. Unfortunately, these beliefs are not just floating around on the pages of an obscure alternative book or in a few clips of a late-night television show; they are in our face. There are popular sitcoms based on these beliefs and bestselling books making these false claims. They are inescapable but not unconquerable.
As Christians, we have to be careful what we read, listen to, and watch on TV, for satan's deception through false teaching is ever so subtle and cunning, even able to capture the mind of a believer if he is not grounded in Scripture.
The Bible tells us that in order to stand strong against this deception "you must continue in the things which you have learned . . . the Holy Scriptures" (2 Timothy 3:14-15). We must keep ourselves grounded in the Word of God, for it is our weapon against the rampant satanic philosophies of the day.
In the midst of the deception, there is the Truth.
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