“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”—1 Peter 4:1–2

This poem, entitled “The Mad Atom”, was once published in the Saturday Evening Post weekly newspaper:

This is the age
Of the half-read page.
And the quick hash
And the mad dash.   

The bright night
With the nerves tight
The plane hop
With the brief stop. 

And the brain strain
The heart pain.
And the cat naps 
Till the spring snaps—  

And the fun’s done!

Does that describe your life? Many times we can rush to one event just to turn around and run to another one afterwards! The mad atom is right! In the midst of the hustle and bustle, our time with God can be lost.

How long has it been since you talked to the Lord? God is the epitome of gratitude. If we don’t spend time with Him, we forfeit the chance of learning gratitude from the ultimate Teacher.

As we have seen over the past few days, comparison, envy, discontentment, and lack of time with God creates ingratitude in our lives. When we fail to stop and be thankful, we fail to give God praise for what He’s done.

Stop what you’re doing now. For the next five minutes thank God for as many things you can think of. Creation, salvation, health, a home, family, His grace, the chance to serve Him, or His forgiveness. Think of all the things God has given you and spend today thanking Him for His goodness to you!—(Daily in the Word)

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” – Mark 11:22

Adrian Rogers said, I ask some Christians, “How are you doing?” They say, “Okay—under the circumstances.” How did you ever get there?

Circumstances are like a mattress. You’re supposed to be on it, not under it. Under the circumstances, you suffocate; on them you rest pretty well.

The only way you can run the race is to take your eyes off things or people around you and look to Jesus. He’s the author of the race. He’s the goal to which you run. If you look to Jesus to supply your every need for the race, you’ll find faith growing in your heart and in your life. You see, it’s not great faith in God; it is faith in a great God.

Do you have a hymnal in your home? Find the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” by Helen Lemmel and make it your anthem!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature—-  2Cor. 5:17

If I am a new creature in Christ, then I stand before God, not in myself—but in Christ. He sees no longer me—but only him in whom I am—him who represents me, Christ Jesus, my substitute and surety. In believing, I have become so identified with the Son of his love, that the favor with which he regards him passes over to me, and rests, like the sunshine of the new heavens, upon me.

In Christ, and through Christ, I have acquired a new standing before the Father. I am ‘accepted in the beloved.’

My old standing, that is, that of distance, and disfavor, and condemnation, is wholly removed, and I am brought into one of nearness, and acceptance, and pardon—I am made to occupy a new footing, just as if my old one had never been. Old guilt, heavy as the mountain, vanishes; old dread, gloomy as midnight, passes off; old fear, dark as hell, gives place to the joyful confidence arising from forgiveness and reconciliation, and the complete blotting out of sin.

All things are made new. I have changed my standing before God; and that simply in consequence of that oneness between me and Christ, which has been established, through my believing the record given concerning him. I come to him on a new footing, for I am “in Christ,” and in me there has been a new creation.–Horatius Bonar

“He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.”–Proverbs 19:16

When the massive Hurricane Charley slammed into Florida in 2004 with 145 mile per hour winds, it destroyed more than 12,000 homes. But a later study by a group of insurance companies found that almost all of those homes had something in common—they had been built prior to 2001. In that year, a strict new building code was adopted which required homes to be strengthened to withstand hurricane force winds.

Jeff Burton, building code manager for the Institute for Business and Home Safety said, “There is very, very strong evidence that buildings built under the 2001 code that were built properly and inspected…fared much, much better than buildings that were built prior. The building code, as it exists today did its job.” There is a reason for the building code, and those who follow it find that it works. The same is true for the Word of God.

When we view the Bible and the things it tells us to do or not do as a set of restrictions that limit what we can do, we are tempted to resent the commandments of God. Many people completely abandon any pretense of holiness or godly living because they don’t want to be tied down by rules. Yet when the storm winds blow, those who have not built their lives according to God’s code find themselves facing destruction and ruin.

It is important that we understand the purpose of God’s commandments. First John 5:3 tells us, “…and his commandments are not grievous.” They are given for our protection. God does not arbitrarily declare some things off limits to make sure we aren’t having fun. The commands of God are given for our own good. When we follow them carefully, we receive both protection from evil and blessings from above as well.—-View God’s commandments as being for your protection, and you will find them a blessing rather than a burden.–Paul Chappell