My Journey 7/5/2010

God's insight to me:

The Test

My heart is at unrest,
day after day,
as I go through this life,
trying to find a better way.

What can be found,
to give me the peace,
to satisfy my heart,
that beats within me?

Each day is a struggle,
as we travel life’s way.
Just another daily test,
then from His Word, I read today,

In Luke chapter 1, verse 79, to give light to those
who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Jesus gave me the answer to life’s test.

See, it doesn’t matter,
what life throws your way,
what is most important of all,
Is that Christ is the center of our day!

E. P. Shagott
7/5/2010

From God's heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

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July 5

Don't Think Like the World
by Kenneth Copeland

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
– 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

If you think like the world thinks, eventually you will act like the world acts. Unrestrained thoughts produce unrestrained actions. So control your thoughts by bringing them into obedience to the Scriptures.

Program your mind with the Word of God. The Word is spirit and it is life. When your mind is totally saturated with the Word of God, your will becomes strong to exercise authority to overcome every ungodly thought and evil habit.

Don't let Satan deceive you into sacrificing the glory of God in your life for a few moments of self-indulgence and sin. Restrain your thought life. Meditate the Word instead of selfish, carnal thoughts. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.

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July 5

A Nation Gone Astray
by Dr. Charles Stanley

Isaiah 59

The principle of sowing and reaping applies not only to individuals but also to nations. A country that ignores or rejects God and His Word will suffer the consequences of that choice. Though Israel had once honored the Lord, it went astray during the days of the prophet Isaiah and suffered the dire results of turning from the heavenly Father.

When a nation begins ignoring biblical commands and principles, truth becomes relative as false philosophies and "liberated thinking" take root. Leaders tend to consider themselves advanced and intellectual, but in reality, if they are separated from God, their thinking is foolish and their understanding darkened (Eph. 4:17-18).

A society always behaves according to its belief system, so the inevitable result of skewed thinking is sin. Once sin becomes acceptable in the eyes of the people, sensuality and self-gratification dominate as restraint is lifted. The baser nature of man emerges in the form of immorality, greed, and violence. Injustice reaches its peak when laws permit the killing of the most helpless and innocent of all its citizens—unborn children. Even if the majority of citizens disapprove of the injustice and immorality, unless they act, that nation will continue its downward spiral into depravity.

Our ultimate hope, of course, is in our coming King who will reign on earth with righteousness and justice. But the church must still awaken to its responsibility to be salt and light in a depraved world. Each generation is called to be alert and active during its appointed time on this earth.

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July 5
From Streams in the Desert devotional

The Power of Silence

"Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).

There is for the heart that will cease from itself, "the peace of God that passeth all understanding," a "quietness and confidence" which is the source of all strength, a sweet peace "which nothing can offend," a deep rest which the world can neither give nor take away. There is in the deepest center of the soul a chamber of peace where God dwells, and where, if we will only enter in and hush every other sound, we can hear His still, small voice.

"All-loving Father, sometimes we have walked under starless skies that dripped darkness like drenching rain. We despaired of starshine or moonlight or sunrise. The sullen blackness gloomed above us as if it would last forever. And out of the dark there spoke no soothing voice to mend our broken hearts. We would gladly have welcomed some wild thunder peal to break the torturing stillness of that over-brooding night.

But Thy winsome whisper of eternal love spoke more sweetly to our bruised and bleeding souls than any winds that breathe across Aeolian harps. It was Thy 'still small voice' that spoke to us. We were listening and we heard. We looked and saw Thy face radiant with the light of love. And when we heard Thy voice and saw Thy face, new life came back to us as life comes back to withered blooms that drink the summer rain."