Do Good; Live In Peace

Psalm 37:1-11

Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

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Do not fret! Do not be angry or jealous of those who appear to have more or be happier than you are! The Lord will provide for you. Those who live life focusing on the good gifts of God will delight in an abundance of peace.

So much time is spent feeling sorry for oneself; for lamenting their perceived trials and troubles. There are real troubles in this world and then there are also those that are contrived in one's head. That is not to say that we should not strive to help those in real trouble. But, sometimes it might be good to recognize that others have much more serious problems than our own.

When Jesus died he gave it all for us. He gave his life for us and then he rose from the dead to reign in the Kingdom that we hope for. That old addage that says it is better to give than to receive is not wrong. He gave it all! What would we be willing to give? 

It does not do any good to complain about our lives. Take a look at the world around you and consider what you might do, following in the footsteps of Jesus, to do good for others. If and when you do this you will find that your own perceived troubles will begin to disappear. You will not have time to fret about your life. Those things that once bothered you will mean very little to you.

Do not fret! Trust in the Lord! He will provide for you.

God's Peace - Judy

God Worketh In You

 

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. 

                                                                                     (Phil 2:13-16 KJV)

God has a plan for us; a good plan. He does not leave us alone to do it. He works in and through his children that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But, often we object to his plan and purpose. We rebel and complain that we should have to assist others in their time of need. We complain because we have to be responsible children of God serving Him and others.

God has a plan for us. His desire was to reconcile us to Himself even though we rebelled against Him. He sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die for our sins that we might receive forgiveness and be reconciled to Him. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Jesus did not complain about the work he did for us on the cross. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." (Isa 53:7)

Let the world around you complain and argue with one another about what they should or should not be doing instead of doing what they ought to do or refraining from doing what they ought not do. The world tends to be overrun with too many talkers who do not know what it means to actually do. Followers of Jesus have better things to do than to complain about what they already know within themselves is good and right. We are to be the light to the people around us doing what God has called us to do; yet, it is not us who do these things, but, Christ who does all things through us. (see Gal 2:20; John 15:4,5)

Quit complaining and "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt 5:16)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Blessed Are They...

Praise the Lord.

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
  who find great delight in his commands.
Their children will be mighty in the land;
  the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
  and their righteousness endures forever.
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
  for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,

  who conduct their affairs with justice.

                                                Psalm 112:1-5 NIV

So often I hear people complain about how the younger generation does not worship the Lord; is selfish and greedy; and really does not care about anyone's well-being except for their own. How did the world get like this? 

I would surmise they have learned it from the generations before them; that would be us. Not just the non-Christians; but, Christians also are guilty of not teaching that God so loves the whole world and not just you or me. When we teach children to worry more about themselves than others than that is exactly what they will do and those children will teach their children to do the same with each generation being more and more self-centered willing to do whatever it is they need to do to get what they desire. Consequently, each generation sees less and less justice. Each generation will be less willing to be compassionate and generous.  When I was young, I knew a few narcissists. Today, I know multitudes who are the center of their universes and not only the center they are their whole universe. No one else matters to them.

May God teach us to teach our children to turn to him and to live compassionately and generously as he compassionately and generously has given to us through his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J