Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of a Vineyard Fellowship worship service singing, It Is Well With My Soul… a contemporary arrangement of the classic 19th century hymn by Horatio Spafford, written when the author was in the midst of horrible personal loss but still found peace in His relationship with Christ.
Highlight Passage: John 16:33 [NLT] …
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
… Jesus’ promise that He has overcome all the world’s troubles
============
Highlight Context – John 16: 18-33 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus calms the disquieted hearts/minds of His disciples the night before the worst night of their life. ============
Reference Passage #1 - Isaiah 26:3 [NLT] …
3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust You, and all whose thoughts are fixed on You.
… A God promise of peace for those whose thoughts pursue Him.
Reference Passage #2 - Matthew 11: 28-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus invites us to bring our troubles to Him and He will help us carry them.
Reference Passage #3 - Philippians 4:6-7 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Worry? … NO! … Pray? … YES
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, the Bill Crowder, on this Super Bowl Sunday here in the USA, tells of being a Cleveland Browns fan. Crowder writes: As a lifelong Cleveland Browns football fan, I grew up knowing my share of disappointment. Despite being one of only four teams to have never appeared in a Super Bowl championship game, the Browns have a loyal fan base that sticks with the team year in and year out. But because the fans usually end up disappointed, many of them now refer to the home stadium as the “Factory of Sadness.”
Tho some of my readers here may not be fans of American football, especially my international readers, who are fans of “futbol” (i.e., soccer), … all who read with me here have likely been in a tunnel of sadness, remorse, or loss [see attached photo], seeking for the light of peace to overcome the darkness of the moment.
Horatio Spafford was in such a place of darkness, having lost all of his children to illness and shipwreck in the 19th century. Perhaps you know the story; but not having the space here to share it, LET ME LINK YOU to the story here. In the midst of his grief and pain, Spafford wrote one of the most hope-filled poems, later put to a hymn, Christians have to sing to help them find the peace of Christ in the midst of their personal darkness. You can hear a more modern version of that hymn linked above.
But I think I can say that we all - in times of darkness in our lives - seek the light of peace and solace, don’t we? I have a dear friend, and co-Elder in my church, who just wrote a book on how to solve the formula for peace for Christians. He called the book, The Peace Equation; and like Spafford’s song, Steve Gibbs’ book uses testimony to show believers how to come out of the darkness of that tunnel of anguish into the light of peace. God actually told us that formula thru Isaiah 700+ years before Christ came to overcome the world (see Isaiah 26:3). And the New Testament also gives us guidance in the Scriptures above so that we can find the light of peace in the times of our darkness by focusing on and deeply seeking our Lord in such times.
So, … I invite any who might need some more peace in your lives, to take in the song, the photo, and the Scriptures above; and if you’d like to get my friend’s book, … HERE IS THE LINK to pre-order the book at a discount … . It’s a worthwhile read!!
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … When Your peace like a river restores my soul, ... Lord, ... It is well with my soul. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
No comments:
Post a Comment