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Vol 12 Issue
change your l i fe . change your world
THE ANCHORHolding on through the storms
of life
How Much Does God Care?Involved or aloof?
The Trinity Conundrum1+1+1=1
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Vol 12, Issue 9
P E R S O N A L L Y S P E A K I N G
Long beore a giant shark attacked its frst victim in
Jaws, beore Indiana Jones stumbled onto his frstbooby trap, and beore computer graphics breathed
new lie into zombies, one o the most terriying
scenes on the big screen was when someone stepped
into quicksand. No Tarzan movie was complete until he had rescued some
innocent soul rom certain death in that awul ooze or the villains fnal breath
had gurgled to the surace.
Like that quicksand, problems sometimes threaten to suck us under. eharder we struggle, the deeper we sink. But things are rarely as bad as they
seem. Laws o physics make it nearly impossible or a person to sink more than
about waist deep in real-lie quicksand. It may be dicult and take awhile to
get unstuck, but the person wont go all the way under. Likewise, those who
have a working aith in God can only sink so low or stay so long entangled in
their problems.
Google how to escape rom quicksand, and you will fnd a ew pointers
that together orm a basic plan. Adapted to the aith approach to problems in
general, those points go something like this:
Dont panic. at will cause you to sink deeper. Try to relax. Control yourspirit, and trust that God is in control o the rest.
Pray. God always has a better plan than you can come up with on your
own.
Shed unnecessary weights. Problems have a way o putting lesser things in
perspective.
Spread your weight. Lean on God. Underneath are the everlasting arms.1
Be patient. Slow, deliberate actions produce better results than rantic
activity.
Rest periodically. Clear your mind and reresh your spirit by meditating on
positive, aith-building thoughts rom Gods Word.I the articles in this issue help you apply those principles, then weve
accomplished one o the main aims oActivatedactivating and strengtheningyour aith so youre better prepared to handle whatever lie sends your way.
Keith Phillips
ForActivated
Browse our website or contact one of the
distributors below to enjoy the inspiration
motivational, and practical help offered in
books and audiovisual material.
www.activated.orgActivated Ministries
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E Keith Phillips
D Gentian Sui
P Samuel Keating
www.auroraproduction.com
2011 Aurora Production AG. All RightsReserved. Printed in Taiwan by Ji Yi Co., Lt
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise
indicated, are taken from the New King
James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thom
Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. Other Bible references are from t
following sources: New International Vers
(NIV). Copyright 1978, 1984 by Internati
Bible Society. Used by permission. New Liv
Translation (NLT). Copyright 1978, 1996
Tyndale House Publishers. Used by permis1. Deuteronomy 33:27
2
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The day dawned fine as I set out to walkup the Great Orme, a limestone headland on thenorth coast o Wales. I walked along cheerully in glorious
sunshine, map in hand. e Great Orme stood frm,
unchanged.
e road upon which I walked led me around the
edge o the headland. e gentle sea breeze was invigorat-
ing at frst, but soon a wind blew up over the sea andstorm clouds gathered overhead. In minutes my coat was
becoming heavy with rain. e Great Orme stood frm,
unchanged.
A little less cheerul now but hopeul that the weather
would improve, I continued my walk. Optimism was
rewarded; the sun came out, and soon I was carrying my
coat over my arm, basking once more in warm sunshine.
e Great Orme stood frm, unchanged.
e map directed me o the road and onto a narrow
track that wended through felds and bushes. I made myway up stony stretches, my legs beginning to ache as the
climb grew steeper. Sheep grazed on stubbly grass. Seagulls
gathered on the rocks below beore soaring high on gentle
updrats. e Great Orme stood frm, unchanged.
e time passed pleasantly until at last I reached the
summit. e view was magnifcentthe mountains o
Wales to one side, the open sea to the other. e Great
Orme stood frm, unchanged.
Heaven and earth will pass away
but My words will by no mean
pass away.Luke 21:33
Walking on theGreat Orme
By Abi F. May
My return route was by a dierent path. Despite
studying the map, ater some time I was dismayed to
realize that I was going around in circles rather than
descending. I was also getting weary and starting to wo
whether I was going to make it back to my hotel beor
the sun set. e Great Orme stood frm, unchanged.
I crossed paths with an experienced walkera local
man out with his dogs. He showed me a short, directroute. I was still tired, but invigorated by the expectati
o arriving back beore dark. e Great Orme stood fr
unchanged.
e highs and lows o the walk o aith are much lik
my day on the Great Orme. Our aith may reach high
ground or descend into valleys, and sometimes we are
bueted by the storms o lie or wearied by the journey
but no matter how we eel, Gods Word, the oundatio
upon which our aith is built, stands frm, unchanged.
Abi F. May is an English educator and writer ba
in Great Britain, and an Activated staff writer.
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Within the span of a week,I heard three people say three di-
erent things that got me thinking
about Gods involvement in my
lie.
Person one said that he didnt
know i God actually cares about
what we do, and that He may not be
particularly interested in the choiceswe make beyond accepting salvation,
especially the less important ones.
Person two said that he believed
that God only intervenes in our lives
ater we have done all we can to
fnd His willthat He expects us to
exhaust all available means beore He
will intervene.
Person three expressed the point
o view that when God made theworld, He was like a clockmaker who
assembled and wound up the clock
and then let it to run on its own.
God designed the laws o nature that
would govern and perpetuate His
creation, but rom that point on, He
has let things run themselves without
His intervention.
Each o these outlooks disturbedme, and in the days that ollowed, I
reected on them. Something inside
me rebelled against the thought that
either God didnt care enough to be
involved in my lie, or I had to work
as hard as I possibly could beore He
would give me His attention.
I any o those three concepts were
true, what could I count on God or,
besides orgiveness or my mistakesand sins? What good was He? In
times o tumult, I need help and
direction, not to be worried about
whether He cares enough to help
or whether things have gotten bad
enough or Him to get involved.
When I mulled over those three
points o view, I was reminded o
three proos that stood in direct
contradiction to them.
1. Personal experience
God has intervened in my lie on
several occasions in ways that made
it clear He wasinterested in thedecisions I made.
Once, years ago, I had a dream
that gave me an answerbeore I even
How MuchDoes God Care?By Peter Amsterdam
knew the question. A ew days atethe dream, I was oered two jobs.
e dream had made it very clear
which oer to take, and doing so
put me on the path that led me tothe work I have been doing or th
past 15 years as one o the directo
o the Family International. I hadn
done anything to fnd that answer
let alone exhausted all the means a
my disposal.
On numerous occasions when
have sought the Lords guidance in
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prayer and have received direction
rom Him. Ive asked Him to give me
answers and He hasin meditation,by speaking to my heart, through my
reading His Word, by relaying His
wisdom through others, and through
circumstances. Hes given me clear
counsel and direction that, when
ollowed, has worked. I know rom
personal experience that God cares, is
interested in me, and will participate
in my lie when I am open to Him.
2. Gods Word
In both the Old Testament and
the New, there are many examples
1. Acts 16:610 NIV
2. Proverbs 3:6
3. Psalm 32:8
4. Psalm 143:8
God clearly had preerences as
where they should and shouldnt g
and He made those known to them
e Bible explicitly states that w
should look to God or guidance a
part o our decision-making proce
and that i we do, He will give us
direction: In all your ways acknowedge Him, and He shall direct your
paths.2 I will instruct you and teayou in the way you should go; I willguide you with My eye.3
In the book o Psalms, David
clearly showed that he believed in
Gods guidance when he prayed,
Cause me to know the way in wh
I should walk, or I lit up my sou
to You.4
o Gods interaction with manHis
intervention in events, and His
giving guidance or warning.
ere are also plenty o
examples o Gods involvement in
the decision-making process o Hisollowers, but there is an especially
good one in the book o Acts:
Paul and his companions traveledthroughout the region of Phrygia andGalatia, having been kept by the HolySpirit from preaching the word in theprovince of Asia. When they came tothe border of Mysia, they tried to enterBithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would
not allow them to. So they passed byMysia and went down to Troas. Duringthe night Paul had a vision of a man ofMacedonia standing and begging him,Come over to Macedonia and help us.After Paul had seen the vision, we gotready at once to leave for Macedonia,concluding that God had called us topreach the gospel to them.1
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Jesus said that when we have
needs, we should look to God and
expect Him to meet those needs.
Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will fnd; knock, and it
will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks receives, and he who seeks
fnds, and to him who knocks it will
be opened.5
Jesus believed His Father would
guide Him in making decisions,
as evidenced when He selected theapostles rom among His disciples:
He went out to the mountain to
pray, and continued all night in
prayer to God. And when it was day,
He called His disciples to Himsel;and rom them He chose twelve
whom He also named apostles.6
Its evident rom Scripture that
God wants to and will interact with
us i we want Him to.
3. The Holy Spirit
Along with personal experience
and examples ound within the
Word, I thought about how Jesus
promised that once He physically let
our world, the Father would send the
Holy Spirit to dwell in believers. He
said that the Holy Spirit would live
in us.I will ask the Father, and He will
give you another Counselor to be withyou foreverthe Spirit of truth. e
If you havent connected
with the interactive God,
you can right now by
receiving His Son, Jesus, as
your Savior. Simply pray aprayer like the following:
Jesus, I want to experience
Gods love and care, which
is promised through You,
the way, the truth, and the
life.8 I open my heart and
invite You in. Amen.
world cannot accept Him, because itneither sees Him nor knows Him. Butyou know Him, for He lives with youand will be in you. On that day youwill realize that I am in My Father,and you are in Me, and I am in you.7
I God was going to send His
Spirit to dwell within me orever,
then it stands to reason that He
is interested not only in me as an
individual, but also in what I do and
the decisions I make. I would evenmake the case that Hes not merely
interested, but involved.In various English translations
the Greek wordparakletos, whichis used to describe the Holy Spirit,
is rendered Counselor, Helper,
Intercessor, Comorter or
Advocate. I like those images
Gods Spirit being all those things to
me. I love it that God is active in mylie, that He is interested in me, in
who I am and what I do.
I see plenty o evidence that God
wants to be part o my lie, to play
an interactive role. He and I are
working together. His Spiritdwell-
ing within me, guiding my decision
makinghelps me in my journey
through lie. Im so grateul that He
didnt just wind me up and walkaway, but instead gave me the means
to interact with Him through His
Word and His Spirit.
Peter Amsterdam and his wife,
Maria Fontaine, are directors
of the Family International, a
Christian community of faith.
5. Matthew 7:78
6. Luke 6:1213
7. John 14:1617, 20 NIV
8. John 14:6
6
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is hope we have as an anchor othe soul, both sure and steadast.
Hebrews 6:19
We have someone in whom we can
rest assured, eternally secure. We
know that God is watching out or
us wherever we are and whatever
were doing. We have that anchor. It
hardly matters what happens around
us on the constantly changing sea olie. We can survive it and surmount
it, because we have Him.
David Brandt Berg
To realize the worth o the anchor,
we need to eel the storm.
Author unknown
e act that the early Christians
oten used the symbol o the fsh tosignal their aith to ellow-believers
is common knowledge; their use o
an anchor is less well known. From
ancient times, the anchor was viewed
1. My Hope Is Built, Edward Mote, 1834
as a symbol o saety. For Christians,
the anchor symbolized their hope
in Christ, who would bring them
to the sae harbor o His heavenly
kingdom. Anchors adorn numerous
tombs o early Christians buried in
the catacombs beneath Rome.
Christine Hunt
We do not steady the ship by fxing
the anchor on anything that is inside
the vessel. e anchorage must be
outside o the ship. And so the soul
does not rest on what it sees in itsel,
but on what it sees in the character
o God, the certainty o his truth, the
impossibility o his alsehood.
Adapted from Dr. omas Chalmers
(17801847)
Jesus Christ is the anchor o your
soul. Dont needlessly ret about the
details o lie. You belong to God and
there is nothing that can orce you
to crash on the rocks. You are secure
because He is secure. Trust Christ i
every circumstance. en relax. En
the sunset. Savor the avor o lie.
Rest, knowing that in every high
stormy gale, my anchor holds with
the veil.1
Steve McVey (b.1954)
Ive an anchor sae and sure, that c
evermore endure.
[I withstand] the tempests shock,
my anchor grips the rock.
rough the storm I saely ride, til
the turning o the tide.
For in Christ I can be bold, Ive an
anchor that shall hold.
And it holds, my anchor holds;
Blow your wildest, then, O gale,
On my bark so small and rail;
By His grace I shall not ail;
For my anchor holds, my anchor
holds.William Clark Martin (1864191
Points to Ponder
teAnchor
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In the middle of math class,one o mysecond graders made this startling declaration:
ere is no God!
Considering that this was a Christian school
and Martin was the son o a pastor, I had to won-
der how he had suddenly come to this conclusion
in my classroom. When asked, he proclaimed,
My dad says that theres God, Jesus, and the
Holy Spirit, but also that theres only one God. It
makes no sense.
What to do? I was sure that greater mindsthan Martins had contemplated the Holy
Trinity and run into the same problem, but
at the moment I really preerred to stick to
multiplication.
Martin, were in math class. We can talk
about that later.
It isa math problem, Martin replied. reeis not the same as one!
What parent or teacher hasnt been similarly
ambushed? From the lips o children come alot o tough questions. Ive learned that the
best thing I can do in such cases is ask God
or wisdom, because what I may interpret as
cockiness or contrariness on the part o the child
may in act be divinely instilled inquisitive-
ness and a great teaching opportunity. I didnt
1. Song of Solomon 2:1
The Trinity
ConundrumBy Jessica Roberts
eel suciently brushed up on my theology toexplain the concept o the Trinity to Martin and
his classmates. ...
Recess. Saved by the bell!
For the next ten minutes, while the children
played, I prayed. And an answer came to me. It
was a bit simplistic and probably not how St.
Augustine or other Christian thinkers would have
explained it, but it worked or Martin and the
others when math class resumed.
e Bible calls Jesus the Rose o Sharon,1 Itold them. God is like the root o the rose bush.
Hes hidden, but thats where the rose had its
beginning and grew rom. Jesus is like the rose
blossom. He is the showy part o Gods love that
we can see and sense. e Holy Spirit is like the
sap that ows through the bush, keeping it alive.
ree aspects, but the same rose bush. See?
I imagine Martin will have even tougher ques-
tions in the uture, and o course I have plenty o
questions mysel. ankully, God always answerswhen we ask sincerely. He may give a simple,
straightorward explanation like the one He
gave or Martin, or one thats more involved, or
He may simply give us peace to accept what we
cannot yet understand.
Jessica Roberts is a member of the Family
International in Mexico.
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1. Acts 17:11
Crisis
ofFAITHBy Mari a Fontaine
Believing purely by faith,having notangible evidence, is not a natural approach or
everybody in all cases. Just as the Lord made people
very dierent in their personalities and physical
makeup, there are also dierent kinds o aith.
Whether you need time and study to reach a place
o belie, or whether you embrace concepts with
little questioning, the goal is what countsbuild-
ing a living aith.
Its not unusual to go through crises o aith and
to question points o doctrine or even oundationalChristian principles. e Lord oten works through
such battles o the mind and spirit and uses them
to strengthen us. He can use this process to help us
to go back to the oundation o our aith, to rea-
frm our belie system, and to gain greater clarity. It
can help us reach a better understanding as to why
we believe certain things to be truethe scriptural
oundation or our aith.
Many Christians have experienced crises o
aith or grappled with bouts o doubt. Some note-worthy examples come quickly to mindMartin
Luther, Mother Teresa, and the pioneer missionary
Adoniram Judson. eir crises o aith and the
battles they ought to reach a place o aith and
understanding have been documented. e result
o their experiences, however, was a stronger aith,
a deeper understanding o God and the intimate
relationship He seeks with each o us. eir
battles and victories have inspired many. I would
venture to say that their struggles also gave them
a deeper understanding o the battles people ace
in arming their aith and how these can be usedto ultimately strengthen their aith. You may have
had similar experiences.
Rather than looking at doubts and crises o aith
as a potential threat to our aith, to be resisted and
pushed out o mind and heart, we need to bear
in mind that questioning, doubt, and skepticism
can also be stepping stones to a strong and mature
Christian aith. ey can help us to reason and
understand our aith, to research and to determine
whether these things [are] so,1 and to reach aplace o personal and reasoned aith. A aith built
on these premises will not be easily swayed when
challenged by contrary arguments or belies,
or by the intellectual reasoning o unbelievers.
Ultimately, the result can be a stronger and more
seasoned aith.
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When I first found my faith as a youngwoman, I was told that I should read the Bible, buthad no idea where to start. With other books, I was
in the habit o glancing at the last ew pages to fnd
out how the story would end, but skimming the last
pages othisbook meant plunging into Revelation.at book made no sense to me whatsoever!
Fortunately, some more experienced Christianscame to my aid and gave me some good advice on
Bible reading. e Gospels are written in straight-
orward language and will help you learn about the
lie and teachings o Jesus. To understand the heart
o Jesus message, they advised, the best place to
start is the Gospel o John. It was also interesting
to fnd out that the Gospel o John contains more
o the words o Jesus than any other book. Each
chapter reveals another aspect o His character,
message, and lie.
But soon I ran into a problem. When I read
through the our Gospels, it appeared there were
contradictions. I this was the inspired Word o God
why did the authors render certain stories or quotes
dierently? Someone helped me out. When youdescribe a flm to a riend, you dont tell the whole
story. You just tell the parts that stood out to you.
Another person would probably describe dierent
parts, what was most signifcant to him or her. at
how it was with the Gospel writers. ey each told
certain aspects and let out others. is made sense
e books o Psalms and Proverbs were the next
recommendations. Psalms is an inspired mix o
prayers, pleadings, praises, promises, and prophe-
cies. Proverbs contains a wealth o practical wisdom.Conveniently, there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, so it
easy to read through in a month, one chapter a day.
But i you want a blueprint or actioni you
want to not only grow in aith but to learn to share
it with othersturn to the book o Acts. is book
recounts the disciples activities during the frst 30 o
so years ollowing Jesus resurrection as they worked
together and spread the Good News.
O course, there is a lot more in the Bible than
the books Ive mentioned here, but this was a goodplace to start in my journey o aith, and these book
are still avorites to this day.
Chris Hunt lives in Great Britain and has
been reading Activated since it was first
published in 1999.
Whereto Start?A Rcti BiB RAdig
By Chris Hunt
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Finding Jesus in theBook of JohnBy Gretchen Stein
A key Bible verse is John 20:31: ese [words]are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son o God, and that believing you may have lie in
His name. Jesus as the Son o God is one o the main
themes o the book o John, along with aith and eternal
lie. John recorded what Jesus saideven more than whatHe did.
In the frst ew chapters o the book o John, Jesus
gives the most complete picture o Himsel and God,
and in the fth and sixth chapters Jesus repeatedly
declares that He was sent rom God.
A quarter o the bookchapters 13 through 17is
devoted to Jesus fnal hours with His disciples the
evening beore His crucifxion, as He prepared them
(and us) to keep the aith and carry on without His
bodily presence.
Jesus used I am... to describe Himsel 14 dierent
ways in the Gospel o John.
I am the Messiah.John 4:26
I am the Bread of Life.John 6:35
I am from above.John 8:23
I am the Light of the World.John 9:5
I am the Door.John 10:9
I am the Good Shepherd.John 10:11I am the Son of God.John 10:36
I am the resurrection.John 11:25
I am teacher and Lord.John 13:13
I am theway, the truth, and the life.John 14:6
I am the true Vine.John 15:1
Gretchen Stein is a member of the Family
International in Europe.
dig RAdigthe gospel of John
Chapter 1: Christ, the Son of God
Chapter 2: Christ, the Son of Man
Chapter 3: Christ, the divine teacherChapter 4: Christ, the soul winner
Chapter 5: Christ, the Great Physician
Chapter 6: Christ, the Bread of Life
Chapter 7: Christ, the Water of Life
Chapter 8: Christ, the defender of the we
Chapter 9: Christ, the Light of the World
Chapter 10: Christ, the Good Shepherd
Chapter 11: Christ, the Prince of Life
Chapter 12: Christ, the King
Chapter 13: Christ, the servantChapter 14: Christ, the consoler
Chapter 15: Christ, the true Vine
Chapter 16: Christ, giver of the Holy Spiri
Chapter 17: Christ, the Intercessor
Chapter 18: Christ, the model suerer
Chapter 19: Christ, the uplifted Savior
Chapter 20: Christ, the conqueror of deat
Chapter 21: Christ, restorer of the peniten
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One of the greatest
prayers ever taught goesback two thousand yearsand contains a simple point that
helps me ocus on living in the now:
Give us this day our daily bread.
For 25 years, my dependence on
alcohol and drugs took away my
ability to enjoy lie. I became so
remorseul o the past and so earul
o the uture that I was constantly
terrorized by the thought o whatanother day might bring. en,
in that single sentence rom the
Bible, I ound a whole new concept
or living. When I live in the day,
Im reed rom that lie o ear and
torment.
I cant expect to have my needs
guaranteed or the next week or
Today, positive signs o spiritua
rebirth are showing in my lie. Eacday I gain more spiritual energy an
zest or living. I fnd joy in others
and mysel. I have rediscovered the
pleasure o laughter.
I know that not every day will b
bed o roses, and I will always have
ace pain and disappointment. Free
rom the weight o past mistakes an
ear o the uture will not always sh
me rom the pain o the present or consequences o past actions. e b
thing I can do is pause, look deeply
within mysel, ace todays problem
with determination and honesty, an
make the choices the day demands,
knowing God is with me.
e burden o my yesterdays o
becomes too great or me to bear
ONEDAYAT
ATIMEBy Kevin Langam
month or year. All I really need is
what I need or today. at is why Imust strive to live my lie that way
one day at a time.
I have come to understand that
today is the only time I have. ere
is no guarantee o tomorrow; and
yesterday, with all its mistakes and
sorrows, is gone orever. Today, this
present moment, is precious.
Even though I know this now, I
can still waste my day by reliving thepast or worrying about the uture.
e eect addiction had on me
was that I took mysel and my sordid
circumstances very seriously, oten to
the point that I lost contact with real-
ity. ere was no joy or humor or real
satisaction in what I did. Everything
around me became grim and dark.
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If faith no larger than a grain of
mustard seed can move an enti
mountain,1 then it shouldnt eve
take a microscopic speck of fait
to keep you doing all the things
that you need to do to make it
through a day. So dont worry.
God will help you when the hou
comes.David Brandt Berg
WHY WRRY?That is why I tell you not to wo
about everyday lifewhether y
have enough food and drink, or
enough clothes to wear. Isnt life
more than food, and your body
more than clothing? Look at the
birds. They dont plant or harves
or store food in barns, for your
heavenly Father feeds them. An
arent you far more valuable to
him than they are?
And why worry about your
clothing? Look at the lilies of the
eld and how they grow. They
dont work or make their clothinyet Solomon in all his glory was
not dressed as beautifully as the
are. And if God cares so wonder
fully for wildowers that are her
today and thrown into the re
tomorrow, he will certainly care
for you.
So dont worry about these
things, saying, What will we eat
What will we drink? What willwe wear? Your heavenly Father
already knows all your needs. Se
the Kingdom of God above all e
and live righteously, and he will
give you everything you need.
So dont worry about tomor
row. Todays trouble is enough f
today.Jesus 2
1. Matthew 17:20
2. Matthew 6:2526; 2834 NLT
alone. And i I think o my lie in
terms o all the things I must dotomorrow, next week, or next year,
the sheer weight o the resulting
worry overwhelms me. Whenever
I fnd mysel approaching either o
those states o mind, I must ask God
to bring me back to the now, where
the burdens are more manageable
and where I am able to either do
something about them i I can with
His help, or accept them i I cant.For most people, planning is a
normal, healthy unction; or me it
is a two-edged sword. A good plan
can keep my lie manageable and
help me get things done, but when
planning leads me to hinge my
happiness on the way I expect thingsto turn out, I am headed or trouble.
ats because, based on my past, I
am more likely to expect problems
than positive outcomes, tragedy
rather than triumph.
e present can be large and
interesting enough to occupy all my
attention i I can stay ocused on it.
By concentrating on the here and
now and opening mysel up to others,God, and the good around me, I can
live a happy lie, one day at a time.
Kevin Langam received a BA
(hons) in psychotherapy and is
now head therapist at an addic-
tion center in England. He has
been in recovery for 19 years.
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Youre r eading theBible or an article thatincludes Scriptures,and averse seems to jump o the page; it
speaks to you in a special way, givingyou encouragement, inspiration, or
guidance. Sometimes, this realization
comes in a ash o understandinga
eureka moment. Other times you get
a sense that the verse you have just
read holds special meaning or you,
or that it applies to a specifc situa-
tion or problem you ace at the time.
God gives us these special passages to
increase our understanding o Himand His ways, and to provide a rock-
solid oundation or our aith. Faith
comes by hearing the word o God.1
e ollowing verses are some
that have strengthened the aith o
Christians throughout the ages. Start
by committing some or all o these to
memory, and then move on to other
scriptures that are special to you. Try
to memorize at least one verse each
week or the next month. It will geteasier with practice.
Salvation
John 3:16: For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting lie.The Word
Psalm 119:11: Your word I have
hidden in my heart, that I might notsin against You.
Matthew 24:35: Heaven and earth
will pass away, but My words will by
no means pass away.
Prayer
Jeremiah 33:3: Call to Me, and I will
answer you, and show you great and
mighty things.1. Romans 10:17
You Are WhAt
You MeMorize
Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32: Be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, orgiving
one another, even as God in Chris
orgave you.
Giving
Acts 20:35: It is more blessed to g
than to receive.Finding Gods will
Psalm 143:8: Cause me to know t
way in which I should walk, or I
up my soul to You.
Proverbs 3:6: In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths.
Protection
Psalm 46:12: God is our reuge
and strength, a very present help itrouble. ereore we will not ear
even though the earth be removed
and though the mountains be carr
into the midst o the sea.
Supply
Philippians 4:19: My God shall
supply all your need.Comfort
John 14:18 (KJV): I will not leave
you comortless: I will come to yoHebrews 13:5: I will never leave y
nor orsake you.
Healing
Exodus 15:26: I am the Lord who
heals you.
Jeremiah 30:17: I will restore
health to you and heal you o you
wounds.
A spiritual exercise
14
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Many books in my library are now behind and beneath
me. ey were good in their way once, and so were the
clothes I wore when I was ten years old; but I have out-
grown them. Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book
widens and deepens with our years.Charles HaddonSpurgeon (18341892), British preacher and writer
I have ound in the Bible words or my inmost thoughts,songs or my joy, utterances or my hidden gries, and
pleadings or my shame and eebleness.Samuel TaylorColeridge (17721834), British poet
ere is abundant evidence that the Bible, though
written by men, is not the product o the human mind.
By countless multitudes it has always been revered as a
communication to us rom the Creator o the universe.
We must not build on the sands o an uncertain and
ever-changing science but upon the rock o inspiredScriptures.Sir Ambrose Fleming (18491945), Britishelectrical engineer and inventor
e Bible is a rock o diamonds, a chain o pearls, the
sword o the Spirit; a chart by which the Christian sails
to eternity; the map by which he daily walks; the sundial
by which he sets his lie; the balance in which he weighs
his actions.omas Watson (c.16201686), Englishpreacher and author
For me, the Bible is the Book. I cannot see how anyb
can live without it.Gabriela Mistral (18891957),Chilean poetess and Nobel Prize winner
All human discoveries seem to be made only or the
purpose o confrming more and more strongly the
truth contained in the Sacred Scriptures.Sir William
Herschel (17381822), British astronomer
We must make a great dierence between Gods Word
and the word o man. A mans word is a little sound,
that ies into the air, and soon vanishes; but the Wor
o God is greater than heaven and earth, yea, greater
than death and hell, or it orms part o the power
o God, and endures everlastingly.Martin Luther(14831546), German reformer
is book [the Bible] had to be written by one o thrpeople: good men, bad men, or God. It couldnt have
been written by good men because they said it was
inspired by the revelation o God. Good men dont
lie and deceive. It couldnt have been written by bad
men because bad men would not write something tha
would condemn themselves. It leaves only one conclu
sion. It was given by divine inspiration o God.JohWesley (17031791), English theologian and founder ofMethodism
BIBLE FANS
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From Jesus with Love
The lighThouse
1. Psalm 119:105
My Word is like the beacon o a lighthouse, shining in the darknessto guide vessels through the sometimes dark and stormy sea o lieand into My sae harbor. I placed it on the shore, acing the sea, sothat as many as possible will see its light and be drawn to Me.
You are like a sea captain piloting his ship through rough waters ona dark night. I you had no light, you could not see the shorelineand your ship could be dashed against the rocks and lost. Butbecause I love you, I send out My Words like the huge beam o alighthouse to help you fnd your bearings. My light illuminates thedangers and points the way home.
My Word is a lamp to your eet and a light to your path.1
Lookto it or light and guidance, so you can make it saely to port nomatter how dark the night or how intense the storm.