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God's Peace

Jesus' disciples had spent three years in His company. They'd seen Him move with intense purpose and obedience to the leading of God Almighty. They watched as Jesus stopped along the road to give sight to a man blind from birth. They were amazed when He opened the ears of a deaf person and stood in awe as the man's auditory senses came to life. They had witnessed Jesus bringing dead people back to life!

They'd heard His stirring messages as He held the attention of thousands, eaten His fish buffet that began with only a few fish and a few slices of bread. The disciples had learned to pray from Jesus. They had cried together, laughed together and talked of His approaching Kingdom. They were proud to be among the chosen 12 recruited by Christ Himself to spread the news of the saving gospel.

Though Jesus talked about His approaching death - and even predicted His crucifixion - His disciples still didn't “get it.” They thought His Kingdom was going to be set up on earth. They all looked forward to ruling with Him as He freed His people from Roman law.

So when Jesus was arrested, they ran like scared rabbits. Hey, this wasn't part of the plan, they thought. What about the kingdom? He said He'd set us free! What's happening?

When their Lord was crucified, the disciples were devastated. Now what? We've given up everything to follow Him! We left our careers, our friends, our homes. Now what? He's dead!

Imagine the doubt and confusion. Imagine the turmoil, the huge knots in their stomachs. Imagine the fear - If the government crucified Him . . . they may come after us, too!

Picture it: They're all huddled together somewhere in a little upstairs room. And into the confusion . . . right in the midst of the despair and fear and hopelessness . . . into the center of doubt . . . walks Jesus Christ. In the flesh!

We would imagine He might say, “You guys just don't get it, do you? I told you over and over again that I was going to die. But I also told you I'd conquer death and rise out of the grave after three days. Why didn't You believe me?

“And about the Kingdom thing - we went over it again and again - My Kingdom is not of this earth. When I talked about setting you free, I wasn't talking about freedom from Roman law. I was talking about something much deeper and more confining. I was talking about sin! Do you get it now? Is it starting to sink in?”

Jesus didn't say anything close to that. Instead, He simply spoke words of peace. Wow. Imagine how that must have comforted the hearts of His followers!

Know It!
Jesus does want you to “get it” spiritually. He wants you to understand His Word and His plan. But He won't come down on you when you're confused. Instead, He offers incredible peace. In the midst of your doubt and confusion and fear, He offers peace!

Read It!
John 14:27; John 16:33; Romans 8:6; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Ephesians 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:16.

Pray It!
Lord, I desperately need Your peace right now. I'm so glad Your peace isn't temporary. Please fill me with Your eternal peace. And when doubts fill my mind, may I be overwhelmed with Your peace.

Pressing Toward the Goal

By Melissa Green

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Here, Paul instructs us to forget about the past. Our past life before we were saved and even our past in our Christian walk. It is not good to always be thinking about “yesterday”. Past hurts, past mistakes, past problems. Paul is instructing us to reach forward. Like a runner in a race...straining every muscle, striving for the prize, which is to be Christ-like and to someday be with Christ. Everything else is a waste of time.

As we are putting away an old year and stepping into a new year, we some times make resolutions to stop doing a non-productive thing or to do more of a productive thing. We resolve to change something about ourselves. Whatever you wish to call it. Paul called it pressing toward the goal. Reaching forward, to the “upper call”. Is God calling you to walk closer with Him today? Press toward the goal...... which is Jesus Christ.

Have a Happy and Blessed New Year!

The Lucky Charms Bible

By: Brooke Macri

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I don't know about you, but I love me some Lucky Charm cereal. Who doesn't? Everyone eats it a different way. The way i eat it is like a science. I first go through and eat all the little brown-wheat-like things out first. I push all the marshmallows to the side in one big floating clump. After i have eaten every last wheat-thing, I'm ready for the best part!! A mouth full of marshmallowy goodness. I usually can eat 3-5 bowls, no kidding.

Some people read the Bible the way i eat lucky charms. The things that people get convicted of or don't really plan on following through with in their walk with God ,are like the little wheat-things. You don't really mind the little wheat things but you could do without them. You'd rather have the marshmallows, and the equivalent to marshmallows in God's word are the things that are easy for you to follow. Like "thou shalt not steal", well if your not a clepto-maniac then that really won't be a problem or you. Verses like love Jesus , do good works, love each other, help the poor etc. are like marshmallows , they are happy- feel good verses. More often than not easy to follow. But the entire Bible is "God-Breathed", i love that phrase. The entire Bible cover to cover , God has inspired men and women to write. So because its God-inspired we need to follow, full-heartedly, the whole thing. Not just the feel good things (marshmallows). But also the things that are harder to follow. The things that aren't easy to stay away from. (drinking, smoking, lying, pride, etc). Remember that the whole bowl of cereal is good, and you have to eat them all. Follow all of God's word and watch how He blesses you in return, could be a whole lot of marshmallows!

Meet Friends: Mercy and Justice

By: Madie


For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalms 30:5)

Lately, I’ve seen so many people under trail. I have one friend who, despite her wanting to stop the physical relationship with her boyfriend, the guy she wants to marry nonetheless, her own effort to stop has become useless. She’s cried out to God in her agony to stop pursuing that type of relationship, only to have the guy eventually end things. She’s under pressure now to let God be the real focus of her life so He can refine her.

I also know someone else who, in the past had gotten pulled over for drinking and driving and ended up in jail over night, with their teen daughter at home not having a clue where her mother was when she woke up the next morning. Her mom had her license taken away and had to see a probation officer for a time. You’d think that would be a lesson learned. But a few years later I watched as this mom was pulled over for speeding, she reached over in her console. Somehow I knew what she was going to do. Then finally while the officer was in his car running her traffic history, she slipped the penny in her mouth. I had learned that she had almost an entire bottle of wine since that afternoon. When the officer came back he told her that since she hadn’t had a history in almost 3 years he was going to let her off with a warning. She didn’t even have to pay the ticket. As we drove off I asked God why He had let her off. Why did he have mercy on her when the officer could have asked her if she had been drinking? He could have done something to make this woman wise up. What I thought was God doing nothing could very well have been something. Having enough fear to put the penny in her mouth was a signal though that for that moment she was under trial. That may have been God’s justice.

God always has His justice, but in Him there is mercy… a mercy that puts fire under the trials… a mercy that transforms the heart. Through trials is God’s justice. Through mercy is His grace.

Don't Worry . . . Be Happy

Dear Diary:

OK, I admit, I'm not a diary-writing person. In fact, this is my first time. But hey, I got this thing for my birthday from Aunt Rosie, and I have to try it out, because I know the next time I see her, she's gonna ask me if I've used the diary.

So here goes.

Hmmm.

I'm not even sure what to put in a diary!

Guess I could just write about my day, huh?

OK. So today reeked. I was so worried about track team tryouts, I bombed my speech for class treasurer. And I was so worried about my speech, I couldn't eat lunch. And I was so worried about being seen with this huge zit on my face when I walked into school, I didn't even look up when Katie said hi. Now she thinks I'm mad at her.

Sigh.

Why is life so hard?

Now that I'm home, I'm worried I won't get my homework done before I have to go to work this evening. And I'm worried my boss is going to yell at me when I do get to work. He's always in such a bad mood. Guess I'm still worried about what happened yesterday at work. It was an honest mistake. I gave a customer change for $10 when he really gave me $20. He came back later and complained to my boss. I apologized and told him I thought he'd given me $10. Now I'm worried he's gonna think I'm trying to rip off the customers.

And I'm worried about the tennis match tomorrow. I'm really not ready for it. I need to work on my serve for about three hours straight. But how can I when I have homework and my job?

And I'm worried people are gonna laugh at me tomorrow cuz I've still got this Mt. Everest-sized zit exploding on my face.

Sigh.

Life is reallyreallyreally hard.

Yep. I can do that - write all weird and stuff. Cuz it's just a diary. It's not like anyone's ever gonna read this, right?

Know It!

God doesn't want you burdened with worry. He wants you to love life and experience the joy He offers. Do you realize that every time you worry about something, you're robbing yourself of God's joy?

Worry is different than concern. It's OK to be concerned - even burdened - about your nonChristian friends, your grandmother who's in the hospital or the fact that your dad was recently laid off his job. But to obsessively worry about things over which you have no control, goes against God's best for you. Worry causes you to forfeit God's peace.

Read It!

Proverbs 3:6; Matthew 6:25-34; Matthew 10:19-20; Philippians 4:6-7.

Pray It!

Dear Jesus, I'm glad that You're concerned about everything that concerns me. Knowing that, You'd think I'd realize I don't have to worry, wouldn't You? But I forget. I take my eyes off of Your faithfulness, and I jump into my worry-mode. Please forgive me, Lord. I don't want to miss Your joy and Your peace.

Nehemiah's Construction Company

You probably remember where you were, what you were doing, and maybe even what you were wearing when you heard the devastating news on September 11 that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Towers in New York City.

I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news that the Alfred E. Murrow building in Oklahoma City had been bombed. Though I was living in Colorado Springs, Colo., my family was in Oklahoma City, and I immediately wanted to find out if they were OK.

Nehemiah was in a similar situation. He was away from his hometown of Jerusalem when he received the news that the wall surrounding the city had been torn down. If he were alive today, he could probably tell us exactly what he was doing when we got the news. Tragic events tend to freeze details in our minds - even the seemingly unimportant details - such as where we were, what we were doing, what we were wearing, who we were with when we received the news.

Nehemiah immediately thought of his family and friends still back in Jerusalem. He yearned to help, so he asked his boss (the king) if he could have some time off to go home.

Nehemiah was a young man of integrity and a hard worker. He kept his word. If he said he'd be on time, he was. When he worked at the palace, he gave 100 percent. He was dependable. The king trusted Nehemiah and granted his request to return home.

It may not sound as though a wall is really that important. After all, a wall is just a pile of bricks and stones, right? Well, yes and no. This was a physical wall of protection that surrounded the city of Jerusalem, but it was also a spiritual wall of morality that encompassed the city.

A physical wall protected the citizens from neighboring enemies, war and terror. When the physical wall was torn down, the spiritual atmosphere was also damaged. It gave immoral people from other cities, a chance to invade Jerusalem with their evil ways. Nehemiah cared about his people too much to let neighboring influences flaunt sin and wickedness inside Jerusalem's city limits.

So he headed home to begin reconstruction on the city wall. A big task? Yes. A bigger God? Definitely.

Know It!
God will sometimes ask you to step out in faith and complete a big task. Know this: He will never ask you to do something without equipping you with everything you need! Think about your own life right now. Do you have a spiritual wall of protection around yourself? Have you established accountability with other Christians? Or are you leaving yourself wide open to the attacks from Satan your enemy?

Read It!
Nehemiah 1-3; 1 Peter 5:8-9.

Pray It!
Jesus, I confess I often leave my spiritual wall in shambles. Help me make time to build a strong spiritual wall around my life by reading the Bible daily and developing an intimate prayer life with You.

Nehemiah's Building Crew

Nehemiah arrived home and immediately began recruiting a construction crew. Imagine the excitement of the Jerusalem citizens when they saw Acme Brick Company's trucks pull onto the work site. Next came the concrete mixers, the building supplies and the youth group across the street who had set up a hot dog stand to earn money for next summer's missions trip.

Nehemiah and his building crew got right to work. They built with purpose and determination. They were extremely focused on this all-important task. That is . . . until Sanballot and Tobiah tried to get in on the action.

Sanballot and Tobiah were neighboring officials in nearby cities. They didn't want Jerusalem's wall rebuilt, because that meant they'd no longer be able to influence the people of God's city with their wicked ways.

So Sanballot flew into a rage and recruited the Samaritan army officials to help him mock, insult and laugh at Nehemiah and his crew. When that didn't stop the construction process, Tobiah and his cohorts began mocking the building crew. (Who knows? With names like Sanballot and Tobiah, these two probably suffered major inferiority complexes!)

Nehemiah's instructions were direct: “Keep working!” He reminded his crew that nothing was more important than doing God's work. Sanballot and Tobiah then launched into Plan B: They began physically attacking the construction crew. Nehemiah merely paused long enough to put half his crew on guard against the attacks and instructed the other half to continue their diligence for the task ahead.

Time for Plan C. Sanballot and Tobiah sent a prestigious note to Nehemiah inviting him to an elegant meeting with important officials. God enabled Nehemiah to see through their evil plot (they actually planned to kill him), and he continued building the wall.

Finally, just 52 days after they'd started construction, the wall was complete! Amazing! Nehemiah and his crew rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem in only 52 days! Question: How in the world were they able to accomplish such an incredible task in such a short amount of time? Answer: Nehemiah refused to be sidetracked! Despite all that was going on around him, Nehemiah determined to keep intensely focused on his goal. And what was his goal? Doing God's work. And what was God's work? Building the wall of righteousness that would guard the city.

Know It!
God is calling you to build a strong, spiritual wall of righteousness around your own life. Question: How do you do that? Answer: First you lay a solid spiritual foundation in Jesus Christ. Then you lay spiritual brick upon spiritual brick upon spiritual brick. Make reading your Bible and praying a daily priority.

Read It!
Nehemiah 4-6; Isaiah 40:31; Proverbs 4:25.

Pray It!
Dear Lord, I never thought of building a spiritual wall around my life. But it makes sense! Like a hedge protects a backyard, and like a fortress protects a village, a spiritual wall can protect my relationship with You. Help me as I begin to lay my spiritual bricks.

Nehemiah's Wall of Righteousness

Imagine the shock (and disappointment) of Sanballot and Tobiah when Nehemiah's building crew completed the entire wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem in just 52 days! They were boiling mad. They'd tried to stop the construction through mockery, physical attack, emotional abuse and intimidation. But nothing worked.

Know this: When you're smack-center in God's will, others will try to lead you astray. Remember Satan hates you, and he'll stop at nothing to discourage you and tempt you to toss in your spiritual towel. He'll use people to make fun of you, gossip about you, lie about you and laugh at you. Don't give up! There is absolutely nothing more important than being in the smack-center of God's will doing what God is calling you to do.

And just what is He calling you to do?

1. Lay a strong spiritual foundation upon Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

2. With the help of the Holy Spirit, build a strong wall of righteousness around your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you set up defenses against worldly things that could knock holes in your spiritual wall.

3. Reach out and help others lay a strong spiritual foundation upon Jesus Christ.

4. Aid others in building a wall of righteousness around their lives.

Nehemiah was not only physically successful in rebuilding the wall, he was also spiritually victorious! How?

He realized the importance of the individual. (Reread Nehemiah 6:3.) He knew that what he was doing mattered! Do you know that? Really know that? What you do for God matters! It may seem insignificant to you, but your spiritual activity is important to the Almighty! So, what specifically are you doing for God right now?

Nehemiah knew how to protect himself from attacks. At one point, he paused long enough to put half his crew on guard while the other half continued to build. What are you doing to protect yourself spiritually? Do you take time daily to clothe yourself with spiritual armor? What are you doing to protect yourself against movies, music, relationships and activities that go against God's will?

Know It!
God's plan for your life will involve a variety of things through the years. But His immediate plan for you right now is for you to develop a solid, intimate, growing relationship with Him and to guard that relationship (wall) with your life!

Read It!
Nehemiah 7-13; Jude 24-25.

Pray It!
Jesus, I confess that I haven't spent time with You every single day. I want to be more consistent in reading the Bible, and I want a tight prayer life with You. I realize doing those things will help strengthen my spiritual wall - my relationship with You. And Father, please help me say no to the stuff that's harmful to my relationship with You. I realize what I do matters. So guide me in my involvement with spiritual activities.