If we truly believe all that the prophet Isaiah declared in Isaiah 9: 6 why is real peace so difficult to maintain? Dictionary.com describes“peace” as “freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession; a state of tranquility, serenity”. All of those descriptions of peace are the exact disturbances that interrupt the peace that our Savior desires for our everyday existence. By honestly addressing the following it may help discover what hinders us from the actualization of real, lasting, peace.
1) You must determine what peace really means to you. Too often we equate peace with joy and happiness. Peace can incorporate those two emotions, but real peace should never be predicated upon them.
2) You must determine what the peace “robbers” are in your life. One of the biggest robbers of peace is worry, the twin of anxiety. Whenever we are faced with a situation we cannot control and have no knowledge of the outcome, worry and anxiety easily set in. However, if we really think about it, we’re not in control of anything -- God is! So when we put everything in His hands and purpose that His way is better than our way, peace will be our state of mind. Being anxious about our finances, our health, our future, our relationships will rob us of the peace that we should have when we allow God to control and orchestrate His predestined outcome in all of those situations.
3) You must determine what you need to do to maintain peace. The first order of business to maintain peace is given in Isaiah 26: 3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee”. The instruction is to keep your mind on the Lord and in so doing you will demonstrate to Him that you trust Him. Our minds are so easily distracted even when our intentions are honorable. When flesh is allowed to triumph over God’s spirit our peace is most assuredly challenged. Whatever or whoever we give the most thought and attention to in our lives will take precedence over everything else. It is impossible to enjoy a peaceful relationship when the relationship lacks trust.
4) You must determine that genuine peace only comes from God. If we look to anything or anyone else as our source of peace, we are looking in wrong direction. That place of tranquility and serenity even in the midst of a storm is free for the asking. He’s waiting . . . will you trust Him?
Today's Hump Day Challenge
Plan Your Days
An old proverb states "The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor" (Proverbs 21:5)
The word reckless is described as utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless
By not planning we can give off the aura that we don't care what happens to us or or families during the day.
Planning = Focus
Focus = Profit
Profit is defined as to gain and advantage or benefit; to be of service; to make progress
Many of us feel like we are in a rut or are just existing. If we begin to plan our days we are promised profit. When we hear profit most of us think monetary gain but it goes beyond that. It is progress, and advantage in our lives while being of service to our families and our communities.
If you haven't began to plan your days the challenge is to begin. If you already do, think of ways to make your day even more effective and help others as they begin their planning journey.
Don't be reckless. Show that you care by planning. Look for the profit. It's coming and everyone around you will be better for it.
Happy Planning
#playyourdays
#HumpDayChallenge
#plan #advice #encouragement #lifechange #progress
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. - Matt. 24:44
Preparing for the kingdom of God is a work in progress. If you remember how Esther prepared for just 12 months to meet the king. We should be preparing for the Kingdom of God by seeking and following the commandments. We must remember life on this earth is not promised to us. However we must prepare for the Kingdom as if this is our last day on earth . No one knows the day or hour when Jesus will return.
Preparing to meet Jesus requires a daily study in the word of God. Lack of studying and wisdom of the word can cause displacement in your spiritual walk. When we prepare ourselves we must purge ourselves of anything and everything that is not of God. We must become purified by asking God to create in you a clean heart and renew the right spirit with us. (Psalms:51:10) this scripture is one that I believe should be quoted daily. When you quote this scripture you are asking Jesus to purge (clean) anything that is not good in you and your asking Him to give you a spirit of righteousness. Walking in Righteousness is
"Being holy, virtuous, upright; being obedience to God’s commands; and not sin". However when we are preparing for the Kingdom of God we will have trials and tribulations as well as stumbling blocks that will try and discourage us from Gods will.
Preparing ourselves is vital as the world itself offers so much that could be harmful to our spiritual walk. There is nothing more the devil would like, is to claim every soul he can.
Think on this: when you have a up coming review on your job. You will prepare yourself for it because you want to make sure your T's are crossed and your I's are dotted to show your boss you are up on things.
That's what we must do in our daily walk, by Preparing ourselves for the coming of the LORD. As
TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE.
God Bless,
Eustine Harper
Do me a favor
Imagine what it looks like each month when you, or someone you know, are paying "the bills". Imagine please, the way that this monthly ritual is spoken of. Think of the annoyed voices saying, "We have to pay the light bill." and "Man, this week's paycheck is basically gone already. I've got to pay my cable bill, phone bill, and car note." Unless you come from an environment far different from any I've ever been exposed to (praise God if you do), paying bills is not an activity that brings to mind images of joy or celebration. Yet, each month we figure out what must be spent and where we must spend it then we make the necessary payments.
Why? Simple, we pay our bills because we value the services that we gain by paying them. There's no wonder, then, that some of our brothers and sisters show up to church service each Sunday despite it being all too obvious that they'd rather be anyplace else. What sort of person am I talking about? If you're reading this there's a good chance you've witnessed the type of person I have in mind. He's the guy who consistently kind of sneaks into service late. He sits there quietly and stone faced the entire service. When it's time to greet his brothers and sisters, he does so with barely a smile (if he even bothers to leave his seat to do so). When service is over, he's the first out of the door (if he didn't leave when everyone began giving tithes and offerings).
I know this guy well because, for a long time, I was him.
I thank God every day that He changed me. I thank Him for getting me over treating church gatherings and service like I was just paying my God bill. I say this to assure you that, if you need and want Him to, He can do the same for you. Many people only show up at church service because (you may have guessed it) they, like the husband spending his last on a light bill, feel they need to do so in order to continue to receive God's blessings. They need to keep their "lights on". The truth is that without love for the One who has always loved us without our deserving it their "lights" are already off. If there were such a thing as a God bill they'd be paying it with checks written from an empty account. This is because the only currency that God is interested in is love. I urge you, and I do so urgently, to examine yourselves and your hearts.
Church service is not an obligation that we must meet every week with the same spirit that we pay our bills with every month. It is a privilege. It is, in fact, one of the greatest privileges in life. We ought to be excited about gathering with our loved ones to sing and dance together for God. There ought to be enthusiasm in every place that houses members of Christ's body. There ought to be an air of such joy that an unbelieving observer would have to question what could give the people she sees such feeling. She should ask "What has given you so much passion and enthusiasm?" and not "Why do you bother wasting your Sunday morning here?”
Wherever you gather, if you have been treating church service like it's your God bill and God has not yet changed your heart, I pray that He changes your life very soon. I pray that He moves into your heart and washes His love over you in such a way that you come to see the true purpose of church gatherings; that you are filled with so much love for Him that you can't help but sing out to him and embrace your brothers and sisters when you see them; that the time between gatherings would be filled with so much longing to see your brothers and sisters in Christ that on the morning of your gatherings you leap out of bed, dance to your car, and walk through the doors of your gathering place smiling from ear to ear. I know that God can do this for you because He has done exactly this for me. I pray that He does this in your life swiftly because, remember, those checks you're writing God from your account bankrupt of love are going to be returned and if something isn't done to correct that lack of love in time there will be a fee to pay.
I love you.
- C.
Proverbs 6:16-19- These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
The above scripture talks about things that God hates. However, the world as we know it seems to overlook the commandments that God has given us. We walk around with a spirit of arrogance, a lying tongue, hands that shed blood, a heart that scheme, feet that will run to evil, someone who gives false testimonies and some who stirs up trouble among one another. I would call that a premeditated heart.
We also continue to do things that we have a desire for even though we know not to do it. The bible clearly tells us to refrain from sinful things. However, the world itself can be very enticing. Often times we premeditate our daily lives weekly, monthly and a year in advance to do what we want to do. Sometimes we premeditate and intentionally set out to hurt others knowing all the while it's not how God wanted it. When your flesh is not under control it is opt to do sinful things. So if we continue to premeditate to do things that is not Godly we will continue to causes hurt, and harm to others as well as ourselves. When we set out to do harm or to sow discord among one another and much, much more we are going against what God commanded us to do. God wants us to love one another and to help one another. “So let's stop premeditating to cause hurt to one another and let's start working together and do things GODS WAY.”
Love and Blessing
Eustine Harper
Nov 26, 2013
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalm 139:14 KJV)
To be born into this life as a infant we had no idea who we were in our mother's womb, however, God knew who you were. Yet, we go through life having an identity crisis about who we belong to. Yes, we All have biological parents and as infants, we grew to know who our parents were through sense of smell, hearing, seeing, and touch. However, most people go through their Christian life not feeling, hearing, and knowing the touch of God. Some people are going through the motion by going to church Sunday after Sunday, week after week and still walk away not having experienced the touch or hearing from God. Therefore, we go through life having a identity crisis within our spiritual walk with God.
We can't alway go through life being pumped and pushed to praise and worship God. We have to get that sense of knowing who we are in God and from there you'll begin to know and feel the touch of God. It's time for us to recognize who we are in Christ. This has to be a personal walk with God. We can't go through life having an identity crisis walking around lost in the wilderness of sin or not knowing who we are in God.
Psalm 139:14
I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works;
This scripture tell us who we are in God. So why would you walk around with an identity crisis when WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
Eustine H
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 NIV
So many look to change their life and when they do they look for the microwave effect, the instant fix. However, it takes a lot more than just a quick fix. When we say yes to God we must be ready to go through the process of being fixed. It's like being in a slow cooker, a slow cooker cooks the meat from the inside out. Rom 12:1-2 talks about presenting ourselves a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable unto God. It talks about transforming which is making a change, not conforming to the ways of this world. Therefore when we surrender we are asking God to make the change. But just know it is a process. So don't be discouraged (or) stop fighting for you life in Christ. When the process is complete then we can look at the man in the mirror(self), we can see the process is being completed. Just know this is not a microwave effect, the instant fix. It is a change in progress.
Love and happiness
Eustine
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38 KJV)
Having the KEYS to SALVATION is listed in the verse above:
1. Repent 2. Be baptized everyone of you in the name of JESUS CHRIST and ye shall 3. Receive the GIFT of the HOLY GHOST. These KEYS give us the opportunity daily to say yes to Jesus. This starts the beginning of a new life so that we can make it into the Kingdom that awaits us. If we go around with sinful hearts and having the desires that sin offers us, we can cause ourselves to miss the Kingdom of God. We must have a heart of repentance and be washed in the name of Jesus. If anything keeps us out of heaven it will be ourselves. When Jesus was teaching his disciples He was giving them the Keys to Salvation.
That is what the word of God offers us. The word offers us the wisdom and knowledge so that we can apply it to our daily lives. We have to stop trying to take detours in our Christian walk as this only causes delays in us getting closer to the Kingdom. Let the word of God be your Keys to Salvation. Let us be washed in His blood. The song says what can wash away my sins nothing but the blood of Jesus, what can make me whole again nothing but the blood if Jesus. Once we take on the name of Jesus, then we have been given the KEYS to SALVATION. With these Keys to Salvation we can help others receive their Keys to Salvation.
Eustine H.
Colossians 3:8-9 (KJV)
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Life disappointments can cause people to retract back to their hiding place which is within ourselves. We do this to shield ourselves from being hurt by those we think are friends and yes our family. By holding the anger, malice and hurt inside it can become like a plague that will rot through our hearts that can become hardened. When this happens we become afraid to open ourselves to be loved, to receive others that want to befriend us. Hiding such unclean things will cause a decomposing and rotting of our hearts, and with that, it begins to show on the outside. We begin to hurt others by talking, being malicious, and pushing them away do to life problems. But in order for us to put those things behind us we must become new in Christ and put the old thing behind us that is causing the decomposing of the heart. To become clean and free from the rotting of our hearts we must ask God in Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. This must be a daily prayer in order for us to be free from the rotting plague that is keeping us from living life Gods Way.
Eustine Harper
