Reflection Jewels:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there by any virtue, and if there by any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." Philippians 4:8, 9
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3
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The Waves
One moment you have shortage. . . The next you have excess. . .
One day you have nothing to do. . . The next you don't have time to get it all done. . .
One day the refrigerator is empty and you are hungry. . . The next you have a half eaten meal in front of you and you are stuffed. . .
One month you've got money to spare and you wonder what to buy .. The next you've got a bounced check. . .
One moment you are full of energy and can't go to sleep. . . The next you are drained and can't get up. . .
One day you are the center of attention. . . The next you wonder if anyone knows you are alive. . .
It's the waves of life. They carry us up and down and all around.
Money, friends, your body, your relationships, your job, and the rest of the list, they all vary. They all go in waves.
It took me a while to really understand the statement, "The Kingdom of Heaven is Within."
No commercial can show you that. Commercials make you believe it's in the jazzy new car or the big screen TV.
Yes, those things can thrill you for a moment, but it's only a wave. After a little while, the thrill is gone.
I have always recognized that if money and things brought happiness, then all rich people with things would be happy.
It ain't so. We easily see how poverty can cause unhappiness, but we are deluded into believing that money solves all things.
Life is full of stuff. I wouldn't trade my life with anyone, it's one of the most blessed that I know, but it's still full of stuff. One thing after another, one challenge after another, one situation after another, day by day, never-ending . . .
It's the waves and there is no stopping them from the outside.
You can only calm the inside, so that like a submarine, you ride deep beneath the waves.
Though a storm is raging, you are at peace.
Most are tossed and turned by waves. Some like the sub, ride deep beneath the daily storms in peace.
Some simply surf the waves and have a lot of fun. Some drown.
You can't stop the waves; it's the nature of the ocean of life.
You can only choose which method you will use to handle them.
You can be tossed like most. You can drown like many.
You can surf and have fun while you can, but even a surfer gets tired and there's nowhere to sleep on a surfboard.
To ride comfortably beneath the waves requires a ship containing breath that is not our own.
That ship. . .. . . is not crowded. Peace - Be Still
Source: "from MountainWings.com"
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The Meaning of Peace - (Author Unknown)
There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried.The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two that he really liked, and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The second picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.
But when the king looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest....
a perfect picture of peace.
Which of the pictures won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.
Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."
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Reflection Jewels:
* Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jer 33:3 NKJV)
* For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16, 17
* But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil 2:7, 8 KJV
* For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor 5:21 KJV
* And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)
