Perfect Peace – Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. – Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

What is perfect peace? The original Hebrew text says shalom, shalom. A single shalom is peace; a second shalom intensifies the meaning from ordinary peace to “perfect peace.” God is offering us perfect peace, an abundant, and complete peace.

When you are worried, overwhelmed, and life’s storms surround you, how do you find perfect peace? By trusting in God, believing His promises, and keeping a steadfast mind firmly focused on the Lord.

And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7 (NET)

However, perfect peace isn’t an absence of difficulties, it instead is a profound sense of security, a peace that surpasses all understanding, when we focus our minds on Jesus.

I have told you this so that through me you may have peace. In the world you’ll have trouble, but be courageous—I’ve overcome the world!” – John 16:33 (ISV)

Trusting in the Lord and anchoring our hearts in Him allows us to accept God in our minds and maintain perfect peace.

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Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace. Teach us to be steadfast in faith and to follow You. Help us keep our minds focused on You rather than on our difficulties. Like the gerbera daisy petals are open and reaching toward the sun, let us be open-hearted and follow Your Son, Jesus. Amen

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Worries and Cares: 1 Peter 5:7

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 (NLV)

Peter is writing to the Christians in Asia Minor, encouraging them to take their heavy burdens and give them to God. When we try to carry our worries and concerns on our own, we become weary and discouraged.

Why should we give our worries and cares to God? Because He cares for us. By casting our cares and worries on God, we are showing our trust in Him and His promises, realizing that He is willing and able to carry our heaviest burdens. When we give the Lord our worries, He gives us rest.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

How do we give our burdens to God? By reaching out to Him in prayer, understanding God cares about us and that he will sustain us and get us through this.

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Do you let go of your burdens by giving your cares and worries to God in prayer?

Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for your care and love for us. Teach us to turn our worries and cares over to You. Help us to grow in trust and faith. Guide us, teaching us to be humble and loving to others. Like chrysanthemum flowers brighten autumn days, let us brighten everything around us with Your light. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen

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Seek His Kingdom: Matthew 6:33

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

To seek means to strive after, endeavor to find, and tenaciously look for; to strive after something. In other words, Jesus tells us to strive after the Kingdom of God above all else. Instead of fruitless worry over worldly concerns, Jesus tells us to trust the heavenly Father; He provides His children with what is needed.

We need to pursue the kingdom of God, trusting in God’s righteousness and His love. God knows our needs. He will provide for our basic needs when we live righteously and trust in Him. We need to change our focus from material things instead make our priority focusing on seeking the Kingdom of God. When we make our relationship with God the center of our life, he will give us everything we really need. ⁂

Do you try to solve your problems and worries elsewhere, or do you turn to the Kingdom of God?

Prayer; Our Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and care. Lord, teach us to reach out to you instead of relying on our understanding. Help us to live righteously and have faith and trust in Your care for us. Guide us to pursue Your kingdom and accept Your will. Like the Ranunculus blossom opening in the sunlight, let us be open-hearted and turn toward and share Your light, Lord Jesus. Amen

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Pursue Peace: Psalm 34:14

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 34:14(NIV)

Psalm 34 talks about how to live a good life. Verse 14 encourages us to choose good over evil and peace over sin. Shun sin and turn away from evil, pride, and arrogance. We honor the Lord when we turn from evil.

To honor the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and false words.
Proverbs 8:13 (GNT)

Embrace righteousness, truth, and godliness. Seek and pursue peace; let the peace of Christ rule in your heart.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9 (King James)

Strive to live in peace and do good. Be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving, as God forgave you. Be rich in good works, generous, and ready to help those in need.

14 Turn your back on sin; do something good.
Embrace peace—don’t let it get away!

15 God keeps an eye on his friends,
his ears pick up every moan and groan.
Psalm 24:14-15 (MSG)

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Is your focus on avoiding evil, doing good, and pursuing peace?

Prayer; Our Heavenly Father, teach us to turn away from evil and do good. Guide us to follow Your will; and practice virtue and righteousness. Let us spread love, do good, and pursue peace. Like the snapdragon is facing forward, teach us to face forward, turn our back on sin, embrace peace, and honor You. In Jesus’ holy and loving name. Amen

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True, Honorable, and Right: Philippians 4:8-9

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT)

Paul is writing the Philippians, advising how to handle disagreements, and explaining how to focus on things that are pleasing to God instead. He stressed the importance of deliberately focusing on positive things; true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable things. To meditate on these good things, not the bad things; to focus on things to praise rather than bemoan; to exhibit fruits of the Spirit. To embrace spiritual fruits; like love, kindness, patience, gentleness, and self-control. These spiritual fruits increase when we have strong faith and; our minds are focused on Christ; instead of on problems and difficulties. Practice kindness and love, have holy thoughts, and live holy lives; and the God of peace will be with you and guide you.

Do you allow disagreements and discord to rule your life, or do you fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right?

Prayer; Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your guidance, forgiveness, and grace. Teach us to respond to others as You do to us; with love, kindness, and gentleness. Encourage us to fix our minds on Christ; and focus on what is true, honorable, right, and admirable. Like the daisy flowers are open and reaching toward the sun, let us be open to positive actions, and reach toward You and receive peace. In Jesus’ holy loving name. Amen

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I believe in the power of prayer. If you need prayer, I would be glad to pray for you. Leave a comment or message me on the contact page.🌺

Harmony and Peace: 2Corinthians 13:11

Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)

Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, where they were struggling to keep a Christian lifestyle. Many of the believers were being swayed by the city’s immorality, idolatry, and false teachers. Paul is seeking for them to mend their ways and restore their unity of purpose. He encourages them to be joyful, to grow in maturity. To repair their relationships so they could work together and encourage one another. To be of one mind, with shared values; to become complete, restored, work in harmony, and live in peace. Traits church people are still in need of today. For God’s love and peace surround those who work in unity for His good.

In today’s world, we are bombarded with bickering, name-calling, and disagreement daily. Are you encouraging harmony and peace in your church/community?

Prayer; Our Heavenly Father, you are a God of love and peace. We thank you for your compassion and grace to us. Teach us to mend our ways and live in unity, harmony, and peace. Keep us strong, in Your way, unswayed by false teaching and immorality. Guide us in your truth and light. Like the Echinacea flower’s beauty is enhanced when grouped together; let our life be enhanced with harmony and peace when we go forward in unity. In Jesus’ holy and loving name. Amen

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Need prayer? I believe in the power of prayer and would be glad to pray for you. Leave a comment or message me on the contact page. 🌺

Peacemakers: James 3:18

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
James 3:17 (NIV)

When you plant seeds, you harvest what you sow. When you plant a cucumber seed, you grow a cucumber plant that produces cucumbers. Peacemakers live peacefully with full confidence that God will take care of them. Peacemakers seek Godly wisdom rather than striving for worldly self-center lives. Peacemakers plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. What is righteousness? A simple definition is to be right with God and follow His wisdom. When your heart and actions are right with God, you will bear fruit. When you plant peace, along with gentleness, mercy, and compassion, you reap a harvest of righteousness.

“And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”
James 3:18, (NLT)

Are you a peacemaker planting seeds of love, kindness, and peace?

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

The world tells us to seek success, power and money; God tells us to seek humility, service and love.
Pope Francis

To be a peacemaker, you must know the peace giver.
Billy Graham

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
Mother Teresa

Prayer; Our Heavenly Father, teach us to embrace Your wisdom. Let our hearts be open to You and our actions kind, compassionate, merciful, and gentle. Lord teach us to be peacemakers, planting seeds of peace and harvesting righteousness. Like the chrysanthemum flowers reach upward reflecting light, let us learn to reach upward to You for wisdom and to reflect Your love. In Jesus’ holy and loving name. Amen.

I Will Be With You – Isaiah 43:2

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

What a beautiful promise the Lord has given us, that His protection and help are available to those who have faith and trust in Him. Fire and water are water in the Bible are often used to symbolize trouble and peril. No matter what happens, the Lord has promised to be with us, not to leave us or forsake us. As believers, we are children of God, precious in His sight. When going through deep waters, God states I will be with you.

Are you overwhelmed, floundering in the waters of life? Remember God’s promise, in times of trouble; I will be with you.

Prayer; Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for Your mercy and grace. Lord, help us to trust You and guide us on our path. Help us to find peace in knowing; that You will be with us always. When life is overwhelming, teach us to trust in You. Like the beautiful azalea flowers, need water and light to grow, let us grow in faith, knowing that You are with us through deep water, Your light safely guides us. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen

This is a favorite song of mine, I Am Not Alone, sung by Kari Jobe.