Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Don Moen singing the old hymn … Wonderful Peace … poignantly singing how we, as Christians, can find peace in our vision on the horizon of hope in Christ.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Hebrews 11:13 [NKJV] … 13 These [of faith who are now with God] all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
… When we focus on our here-and-now troubles, we can lose perspective on the hope we have in heaven and the peace which comes from that hope.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Hebrews 11:8-16 [NKJV] …USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru the author of Hebrews, gives persecuted Christians the perspective of peace which comes from looking forward to our ultimate home with God in Heaven.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Solomon, helps us to gain a Godly perspective by taking our focus off of self and onto our Savior.
Reference Passage : … Isaiah 26:3 [NKJV] … 3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
… Isaiah, helping believers who were troubled by their present to focus on God to help us look to our eternal future with the Messiah.
Reference Passage : … Romans 8:18 [NKJV] … 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
... Focusing on the here-and-now struggles we have will cause us to lose the peace we should have by focusing on our relationship with Christ and where that will take us ahead.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 5:8 [NKJV] … 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
… Focusing on what is to come in Christ takes our perspective off of self and onto our Savior.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Keila Ochoa, used a reference to how trust and faith in the hope of Christ can help us take our mind off of present troubles, providing us with the peace which comes from our hope in heaven. The ODB author wrote: Almost as soon as the ferryboat started to move, my little daughter said she felt ill. Seasickness had already begun to affect her. Soon I was feeling queasy myself. “Just stare at the horizon,” I reminded myself. Sailors say this helps to regain a sense of perspective. …
We can regain perspective by focusing on the distant but steady point of our destiny.
When we focus on the perspective of the “here-and-now,” especially when that involves the trials/troubles of life, it’s so easy to focus on self and away from the hope we have in Christ, doesn’t it? But today, the ODB author, helps us to realize that our peace, as Don Moen sings about, comes from the perspective of the trust and hope we have in what lies ahead. And looking ahead, as the sailors did at the horizon (see photo) when they were getting ill, we gain the peace and perspective which God gives us in His promise of heaven.
So, dear one, if you’re experiencing stress or anxieties in this here-and-now life, let’s all do what the truth of God directs us to do … and that is to focus on Him (Is. 26:3, … to trust in The Lord (Prov. 3:5-6), … and to look ahead to the hope we have in Christ (Rom 8:18 and 2Cor 5:8).
So, the question becomes … do we really want God’s peace enough to trust Him and look past our selves to our hope in Heaven? I, for one, will be looking ahead … WAY AHEAD!!
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for the peace I have in my heavenly hope.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to keep focused on where You are leading me; and most certainly away from my here-and-now. … 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.
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