And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.–Acts 16:26   Do you ever feel trapped? Don’t we all at some time or another? Maybe this is one of those days when you feel like a prisoner to your unpleasant circumstances. Perhaps you feel doomed to a life of despair, forced to live without help or hope.   It’s in times like these that we need to be reminded of the greatness of God’s power. And, that’s just what we see in our text. Paul and Silas had been beaten and cast into prison, but God moved the earth to deliver them! If it fits with His purpose He will do the same for you. In 1904, J.R. Miller wrote:”There is no prison too strong for God to break open; there are no chains too heavy for Him to snap asunder, there are no walls too thick for Him to shatter. There are other kinds of prisons besides those built with stone–prisons of trial, of temptation, of trouble, of circumstances. If we are in any of these prisons, God is just as able to bring us out of them!”   Dear friend, don’t give up hope. With God all things are possible and as long as you are on this earth God still has a plan for you. When things seem most hopeless, remember–if need be, God will move all heaven and earth to meet your need. He’s done it before and He will do it again.

I often say,”It’s what the Word of God says, not what we say about the Word of God, that is most important.” We need to remember that! The sad truth is that most people are bored by the Bible. They would rather read what some man wrote about it than to read the Bible itself. That’s sad indeed.   Samuel Bagster understood the importance of God’s Word. Many years ago he wrote a daily devotional called “Daily Light on the Daily Path.” It’s a compilation of nothing but scriptures. It’s one of the devotionals that I read often. May I make a suggestion? Do yourself a favor, purchase a copy and read it every day. You will be glad you did. Here’s the reading for this morning:

Whom having not seen, ye love.

We walk by faith, not by sight. – We love him, because he first loved us. – And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. – In whom ye trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. –  God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. – Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

I PET. 1:8.   II Cor. 5:7. ‑I John 4:19.  ‑I John 4:16. -Eph. l:13. -Col. 1:27. I John 4:20. John 20:29. ‑Psa. 2:12.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”–1 Peter 5:7

How much time a day do you spend worrying? Have you ever stopped to think about how much you worry? Consider these statistics from a recent study on the focus of people’s worries:

40%-things that will never happen
30%-things about the past that can’t be changed
12%-things about criticism by others, mostly untrue
10%-about health, which gets worse with stress
8%-about real problems that will be faced

Most of the time spent worrying is spent on things that will never happen. Have you ever worried about a potential problem at work, a possible catastrophic event, or a supposed circumstance only to have it not come true?

I’m sure we’d all admit that we’re good worriers. We naturally seem to fret over events that could possibly happen and how we would react to them. While planning ahead is beneficial, worrying about a possible event is against God’s command to trust Him.

First Peter shows us a promise that helps in times of worry, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Our job isn’t to worry about what will happen to us, but to trust that God has everything under control.

God loves us and doesn’t want anything to harm us, yet many of us believe we need to look out for ourselves. As is the mindset in our world, looking out for yourself and preparing for the worst is the only way to assure you’re taken care of. Yet God teaches that because He knows the future, we should trust Him to care for us.

Hudson Taylor, a well-known missionary to China, once said about worry, “Let us give up our work, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into [God’s] hand; and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled about.”

Worry is the act of distrusting God and trusting self. It is a statement to God that you know more than He does, and you can better care for yourself than He can. How foolish a statement! No one could ever care for you like your Heavenly Father. He loves you so much He offered His own Son as a payment for your sins. Even so, He daily watches over you and cares for you.

How much time do you spend worrying about the future? God desires that you would cast your cares on Him and forget about them. Let Him take care of you. The next time you’re tempted to worry about something, ask yourself these questions:

Is God still on His throne in Heaven? (Psalm 93:2)
Does God love me? (Romans 8:35-39)
Will my worrying about this situation help anything? (Matthew 6:25-34) Am I trusting myself more than I am trusting God? (Proverbs 3:5)
Have I surrendered this situation to God? (Psalm 9:10)

Take time now to hand over your worries and cares to God. Trust Him with your immediate future just as you trust Him with your eternal future.–From Daily in the Word

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficent unto the day is the evil thereof.–Matthew 6:34

One day, a young, new preacher was walking with an older, seasoned preacher in a garden. Feeling uncertain about God’s plan for his life, the younger man asked the older man for some direction.

The veteran preacher picked a rosebud from a nearby bush and asked the younger man to open it without tearing any petals. The young man wondered what a rosebud could possibly have to do with knowing God’s will for his life and ministry, but attempted to open the rosebud anyway.

It wasn’t long before he realized how impossible this task was. Noticing his difficulty, the older and wiser preacher said:

“It is only a tiny rosebud…a flower of God’s design;
But I cannot unfold the petals with these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers is not known to such as I.
God opens this flower so sweetly, then in my hands they die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud, the flower of God’s design,
Then how can I have the wisdom to unfold this life of mine?

So, I’ll trust in Him for leading each moment of my day.
I will look to Him for guidance each step of the Pilgrim’s way.

The pathway that lies before me only my Heavenly Father knows.
I’ll trust Him to unfold the moments just as He unfolds the rose.”

No matter what age you are, it can be frustrating to figure out God’s will at times. But we serve a God who knows how many hairs are on our heads…and His plan for your life is perfect! Instead of worrying about what tomorrow or the next day holds, take one day at a time and trust in the Savior for His faithful guidance.

Pray that God would help you focus on today, not tomorrow. And ask Him to give you wisdom as He reveals His plan for your life one day at a time. (From Senior Living)

Stir up the gift of God–2 Timothy 1:6   Maintaining enthusiasm can be difficult, especially for Christians who are going through tough times. At the beginning of our Christian life we are excited–“pumped-up” as some would say. We are so thrilled with our new life in Christ that we can’t keep our feet on the ground. If you are saved you know exactly what I mean. We start off with high ideals and a wagon load of determination, it seems that nothing can stop us. We are highly motivated and we press on toward our goals, accepting challenges that stretch us to our limits. We are excited and it shows. Life is adventurous. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.   Then “it” happens–whatever “it” is. We’re slowed down by some unexpected and unpleasant experience. We’re disappointed, but we press on because we know we should. Then another “it” hits us and this time our recovery period is longer. We are still headed in the right direction, but we’ve lost our zip, now we’re dragging our feet as we trudge along. Then, from out of nowhere, another “it” smacks us, and another and another. Finally we find ourself living in a survival mode, just trying to hang on for dear life!   It might be that Timothy was in this condition when Paul wrote this letter, telling him to “stir up the gift of God”. That simply means to fan the embers, kindle, or keep the fire alive. But, notice that, although Paul tells him what to do, he doesn’t tell him how to do it. The idea seems to be, do whatever it takes. Dear friend, that’s what we must do.   For some that means going into your prayer closet, falling on your face and crying out to God in a spirit of desperation. Others need to knock the dust off their Bible and get into the Word and stay in it until the fire is ablaze. Some need to exercise their gift God has given them. Life gets stale when you don’t live what you learn. Students ought to become servants. As Vance Havner said, “We need to take ourselves by the nape of the neck and make ourselves do the thing we know we ought to do, whether we feel like it or not.” He was right. You will be amazed how much better you will feel when you put your head on the pillow at night knowing you’ve done your duty during the day. Do with all your might what God has planned for you and your life will be a bright and shinning light in the midst of a sin-darkened world.