The Promise of Joy!!!!

My friends, today I refer you to Susanne Lakin's wonderful post on the We CAN! blog at http://canblog.typepad.com/canbookmarketing/2009/12/my-entry.html#more. The post is called "Zoom Out" and it offers helpful insights on a promise from Psalm 30:5 which says "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."

When do you find it hardest to believe that joy comes in the morning?

A Promise of Peace (continued)

We've been talking about peace--how to get it, how to keep it.

In today's devotional in My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says this:

     "When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. When He says--'Let not your heart be troubled,' if you see Him I defy you to trouble your mind, it is a moral impossibility to doubt when He is there. Every time you get into personal contact with Jesus, His words are real. 'My peace I give unto you,' it is a peace all over from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet, an irrepressible confidence. 'Your life is hid with Christ in God,' and the imperturbable peace of Jesus Christ is imparted to you."

So, let not your heart be troubled on this Christmas Eve. Nothing can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Furthermore, He has promised NEVER to leave you, nor forsake you.

Merry Christmas and may God richly bless you!

A Promise to Peacemakers!

This Christmas when all are assembled at the table and you are hoping for a peaceful family time together, will your hopes be dashed by someone's thoughtless--or downright rude--comment?

How will you respond? Will you stuff that forkful of turkey in your mouth and keep on chewing? Will you draw circles in the gravy on your plate and pretend you didn't hear? Will you successfully stifle the urge to launch your butter knife at the offending party?

Or will you somehow find a way to promote peace, diffusing the bomb before it can explode and cause greater damage?

My husband is skilled in these matters. In his own gentle way, Dick can turn away wrath better than anyone else I know. He recommends softly acknowledging the comment and suggesting the concerned parties discuss it after dinner. Like this:

"Kelly, your hostess has spent a good deal of time on this dinner. Let's enjoy it now, okay? Later tonight you and Robin and I can discuss this in private."

Then he would quickly turn the conversation, if possible, to the Lord. "You know, folks, this is Jesus' birthday and we honor Him by giving gifts to one another. But let's think for a few minutes about all the things He has given us over the past year. Who wants to start?"

Dick is a peacemaker. And I suspect that many of you are, too. God has a promise for you:

"Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called the children of God."

                                                            - Matthew 5:9 

A Promise of Peace

Everyone longs for peace--yet, if you watch the news, peace seems to be in short supply. Do you experience peace in your life? Consider this:

Centuries ago, Isaiah prophesied a child would be born, a sage. The government would be upon his shoulder. He would be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (italics mine). Along with scores of other Old Testament prophecies, this passage points to Jesus of Nazareth who came with an offer of peace. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you."

Those who follow Jesus Christ can experience His peace in the storms of life as well as on calm "summer" days. It's a tranquility of the soul, based on trust, trust in God's love and protection.

Some day, Jesus will return at His second coming and will bring peace to the world. But for now, what a glorious thing it is to be able to be at peace even when the world is in turmoil.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on thee,

because he trusteth in thee."

                                                                        -Isaiah 26:3

A Promise of Truth - God Cannot Lie

Have you ever told a lie(s)? How did you feel about yourself?
Has anyone ever lied to you? How did you feel when you found out?


Trust is everything in a relationship. Without trust, relationships cannot flourish.
Are you in a relationship that is floundering because of lack of trust? Do what you can to remedy the situation.

Those who place their trust in the God of the Bible can feel secure. Every promise He made is guaranteed. Why? Because it is impossible for Him to lie.

What does that mean to you?

A Promise to Give You Hope!

This time of year many people feel the pain of rejection and abandonment. Maybe you are one of them. Maybe you feel the sting of hopelessness, that you are not a worthy person, that no one could love you.

Well, banish that thought! It comes from the pit of hell!

Keep your heart open to the love that comes from the only One who REALLY matters: God Himself.
Over and over He extends the olive branch to anyone who will accept His Christmas gift--Jesus Christ.
Jesus Himself stands at the door of your heart and asks permission to come in.
All you have to do is open the door.

And here's the sweetest part of all for those who have known rejection . . . He promises "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

And because of who He is--God cannot lie. Your future is safe with Him.

A Promise to Lift Your Spririts

They say that depression is highest around the holidays, especially Christmas. Having experienced a "low" over Thanksgiving, I now understand what a downer depression can be.

Could God ever want me to be depressed?
Then where does depression originate?
And what is the antidote for it?

Consider this: "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

When we lack His joy, what can we do about it?
We can do what we always do when we fall short of something we need--draw on the Lord's never-ending supply. Whether that's love or wisdom or peace or . . . .

How do we do that?

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you!
Ask in faith, believing!
Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the darts of the enemy.
Remember: greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

Do you believe these things only in theory? Put them into practice.
Choose the joy of the Lord over the gloom and doom of the enemy.

The joy of the Lord is your strength!