MBC Tysons Campus Blog

Of the hundreds of thousands of people who died worldwide on Thursday, Dec. 15, only one could be described as one of the most renowned, caustic atheists on the planet: Christopher Hitchens. If you don’t know very much about him, you owe it to yourself—and to others who ask you about him—to review the BBC News summary of his life at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16212418. (Click on the back button to read more articles.)

I sent out a tweet that said, “Is Christopher Hitchens in heaven or hell? The brain dies in about 2 minutes after the heart stops. Did he talk with Jesus? I hope so.” An atheist replied, “If he talked to Jesus, his brain had definitely stopped.” I sent back the message, “You’re probably right. Therein lays the tragedy.”

If the brain does in fact die two minutes after the heart stops, is that person still able to talk to the Lord? The Bible says that each person is destined once to die, and after that the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). As the thief on the cross had his “last chance” to talk to Jesus and repent, so, I hope that before the brain dies there is also that opportunity. Only the Lord knows what happens during those brief moments of time before a person slips away with finality from this life to the next.

Why not find an atheist and talk to him or her about Christ? A person who says there is no God is declared a fool (Proverbs 14:1). Why? Only an arrogant person could make such a subjective statement, which is clearly based on the assumption that he or she is all-knowing. They are saying that they have thoroughly investigated and inspected every space in the universe and beyond to conclude that there is, in fact, no God.

The core of atheism is deliberate, intentional unbelief. Many, if not most, atheists don’t want there to be a God because they don’t want God interfering with their personal morality. It is of little wonder then that the rest of the verse says, “They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” Of course, there is a continuum between good and evil on which all people fall at some point, whether atheists or not.

While taking a class on logic in college, I soon discovered that the professor (an ex-Southern Baptist preacher who denied the faith) was in cahoots with his protégée, one of the students, to attack Christians in the class. Of course, I was a primary target. While in the parking lot after class, I approached my fellow student and asked him, “Was there ever a time in your life when you believed in Christ, when you claimed to be born again?” He looked surprised and answered, “Yes.” I continued, “Are you doing things in your life now morally that you would have never allowed when you claimed to be a Christian?” I have to admit to being surprised at his honesty when he said, “Well, yes.” My response was, “I thought so. You can’t believe in Christ because you know that by doing so you condemn yourself. You have no choice but to not believe.”

It turns out that atheists do believe in God, after all. Why do I say that? Because they all believe in the kind of life that can only result from people being created by God. Exact atheism would believe in moral relativism, namely, that there is no such thing as right and wrong. Therefore, anything goes by anyone. But, no atheist would admit to murder being a good thing. Their morality is selective, however, in that personal choices such as adultery and lying are off-limits to the judgment of God or others.

In the BBC summary, the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins described Hitchens as, ”a valiant fighter against all tyrants, including God.” I wondered how God could be a tyrant if he didn’t exist. But, evidently Dawkins does believe God exists. Otherwise, his fight against God wouldn’t be so vehemently hateful and life-long.

I wish that Christopher Hitchens had lived a life worthy of his name. Christopher means “one who bears Christ.” It may be coincidence, but it is significant that his death was overshadowed by the season which focuses on the Christ that he rejected, but of whom he is now very much aware.

If I were to ask, “Do you remember September 11, 2001?” you would probably blink in astonishment that the question was even posed. After all, who doesn’t remember 9/11, a day of collective horror shared by most of the nations of the world?

Actually, it’s hard to imagine, but a day will come when 9/11 will be forgotten by most and remembered by only a living few. Survivors of Pearl Harbor understand. Seventy years later, most survivors are now in their 80s or 90s. Because it’s easy to forget, significant events of history need to be showcased at certain times and places. That’s one guarantee that memories live on throughout generations.

What can you do today, December 7, to remember Pearl Harbor?

Remember “the date which will live in infamy.”
That famous phrase, first spoken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he addressed the nation on December 8 referred to the bombing of Pearl Harbor the day before, December 7, 1941. Commemorations will be held throughout the world today. Tune in on the Internet. Watch on the evening news. Take a few minutes to read about it. Ask your family and friends to join you in remembering.

Honor survivors of Pearl Harbor
Say “thank you” to someone who endured the war years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I’ll be looking for the 80+-year-old gentleman that I see most Sundays in church. He served in the Army for many years, always wears a pin-on American flag, and smiles as we exchange military salutes. Life was hard for him, other military personnel and civilians alike. I’ll tell my senior friend that if it were not for the enormity of his sacrifice, the United States would not have become the strong nation with which we have been blessed. Germany and Japan would not have been rebuilt. Nations now live in freedom because of Pearl Harbor survivors.

Highlight the power of God
Read about the “miracle of Dunkirk,” as Winston Churchill called it. Talk to others about how God showed his powerful strength against earth’s mighty forces of evil in the turbulent days of war following Pearl Harbor. God directly intervened so that good conquered and wickedness was defeated. Then the Lord went a step beyond, sending an army of missionaries throughout Europe and the world. The result? Millions of people now experience ultimate peace with God in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Make today personal
Look in the rearview mirror of your life. Relive God’s deliverances from your own personal battles. Clap and laugh over victories from attacks by spiritual forces of evil. Throw a party! Design a ceremony of your own.

I saw a license plate that said, “We will never forget.” May that be true for our nation; may it be true for you.

Jesus is on my gift list this year. But, I’m facing the age-old Christmas dilemma: What do you get someone who has everything? In his case, he literally has it all. And, even what he has, he doesn’t really need, like Bentleys or splendid homes on the Riviera.

Blog-talk aside, Jesus is on my list because there is something that he doesn’t yet have, namely, all of me. That’s just another way of saying that I have things that he doesn’t want me to have. So, I’ve decided to give the Lord Jesus the useless – even harmful – things in my life. He loves those kinds of gifts. Here’s a starter list of some of those things:

1. Get rid of elephants in the mind. Those elephants won’t go away because the Spirit of Jesus keeps bringing to the forefront desires and attitudes that are in my mind that he wants to go away. Earlier this month, I wrote in my journal:

“List every thought, behavior, action, attitude, words…everything that my conscience tells me is wrong. The great majority of those things, if not all, is God the Holy Spirit speaking to me. If that is the case – and it is – then I must obey and right the wrong. I obey because I love the Lord…”

 2. Attack problems, not people. Do you know what I did this morning? As I was reading the Bible, I looked up and saw a small fly resting on one of the petals of a beautiful bunch of flowers sitting in the middle of the table in the sunroom. I slowly got the fly swatter and BAM! I took a swing at the fly. Where the fly went, I have no idea. But, half of the beautiful flowers went flying through the air. That’s easy to do when dealing with people who are – regardless of problems they have or cause – of great beauty to God. Wounding a person – even mentally or attitudinally – with malice or slander, under the guise of fixing their problem, is not allowed and has to go.

3. Let go of good things that atrophy the best. “Brother, it’s a sin for you not to preach!” So said a delightful, senior African-American, former preacher himself, as we fellowshipped in the lobby before the start of a service. He chided with a smile, and I knew he was right. Considering the dearth of Bible knowledge in our society, as a seminary graduate, former church-planting missionary, former Dean of a Graduate School, along with many other Christian work and life experiences, I should be teaching God’s Word on a weekly basis. I’m taking good things out of my life to build up the best.

The supremacy of Christ
On the one hand, talking about giving to Jesus what is already his is ludicrous. After all, “you are not your own, you are bought with a price.” On the other hand, it’s the highest act of worship I can give, as God’s Word says, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” The supremacy of Christ is at the core of all gifts offered to the one who is Lord of all.

I want to give my gifts to Jesus this year. He won’t be surprised, because he’s been telling me what he wants on that list.

Word on the Google street is that Black Friday began with a sinister motivation: Retailers make an early profit off of Christmas so they can go into the next year in the black. And all this time you thought it was about you!

Making big bucks off of values
Commercialization overshadows every holiday of American and Christian history that’s rooted in noble thoughts of significant events. Valiant efforts to emphasize the values of gratitude at Thanksgiving, celebration at Easter, and wonder at Christmas have stiff competition from the allure of sirens beckoning at the doors of Wal-Mart, Target and Costco.

Go for good deals
We understand that’s how it is and we fight it with minimal success. I say if you can’t beat it, use it for good! Here are some ways to make a good deal out of Black Friday:

1. Cash in on great deals. Buy your presents and needs for the house now. That’s not only good stewardship of God’s money, but it stimulates the economy.
2. Don’t overspend. Overspending is a signal that some other spirit—like greed and coveting—is controlling you, not the Holy Spirit.
3. Get gifts for others in need. You were created for doing good works, so look for people who can’t get deals on Black Friday because they’re out of cash. Like a refugee family, a single parent, a family with a spouse on deployment, a homeless person…. The list is endless. Surprise them with a good deal you got on Black Friday.

Talk about Good Friday
Here’s the best deal of all: Tell someone on Black Friday about Good Friday. Share with a family member, colleague, friend, an enemy or stranger about the out-of-this-world “deal” God gave us in Christ. Forgiveness of sins, freedom to live a life of meaning, restored honor, adoption in God’s family…and, Christ paid the price for us to have all this for free. You don’t have to stand in line and pay the cashier; you kneel at the cross and say thank you to Jesus.

“How do you prepare to die?” one of my sons asked me. A crowd of answers raised their hands in my mind, each clamoring, “Pick me! Pick me!” They cried out, “Use your talents!” “Be productive!” “Hurry, get rid of that sin!” “Did you promise God you’d do something? Quit wasting time! Move on it!”

All are true. Each is urgent. None by itself fully captures the Spirit of Jesus. So, take a deep breath. It’s not that hard to be ready to die. Martin Luther is quoted as saying, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” Paul said, “Christ is my life, death is my gain.” Luther and Paul were going about their business as they understood their part in the Lord’s business to be. I feel the same. I’m not particularly looking forward to dying. But, I am keenly interested in living. A couple of days ago, the wind’s strong puffs were blowing down the mountain. I stood outside mesmerized, watching a large bird soaring above, swooping up and down with hardly a flap of its wings. “That’s the kind of life I want Lord,” I prayed, “to soar with freedom, no matter how the winds may blow.” The more you fully live here, the more you’re ready to keep on living forever.

When you look at yourself in the mirror of your mind, what do you see? Whatever it is, I have a prediction. Your life will be an exact reflection. Why? Because what you see is what you think God sees. That’s a big time thought. So big, in fact, you can’t help but live what you think you see.

Sinner or saint?
People who see a sinner in the mirror will be like my friend who used to be in the military. As he walked along (well, he marched), he would repeat in cadence, “Obedience! Obedience! Immediate obedience!” It seemed like life was made of check marks next to spiritual successes, things that he did in order to sin less.

On the other hand, if you see a saint in the mirror, you’ll see something that the Holy Spirit has put in you, a nature called “God’s seed”[1], or, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”[2] It is absolutely impossible for this part of you to sin. I think that if you could see that nature as God sees it, you would be stunned by its brightness! So, if you see a saint, how would you spend your day? Focus on how you could live and look like the pristine truth, beauty and goodness of the nature of Christ in you.

How you start the day is how you’ll live it. What you first see is what you’ll look and live like.

A right motivation
While Christians who see themselves as primarily sinners can still have lives that honor the Lord, the Lord cares about not just what we do, but why we do it. He wants outward manifestations to match inner motivation. It is at this point that the all-important difference of thinking, more than just a nuance, comes into play. Intentions (outcomes) may be the same, but two people can look the same outwardly and, yet, have two different motivations.[3] One is motivated by fear, the other by love. One starts the day with a sense of weakness because of self-reliance, the other with strength that is given by Christ.[4]

Take a look for yourself
Browse Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Circle “riches” (five times), “grace” (twelve times), “glory” (eight times) “fullness” or “filled” (six times), “in Christ” or “in Him” (about twelve times), “in”, “with” or “through” Christ (some thirty times). Go back to the mirror. Now ask, “Mirror, mirror of my mind, am I of sin or in the Divine?”

Whoever thought of a straitjacket needed to be in one. Okay, the original intention was worthy – keeping deranged or angry people from harming themselves or others – but, the misuse of it must have been torturous. Can you imagine being in a straitjacket against your will?

Actually, that may be how you feel about your job, what you’re obligated to do day-by-day. No freedom to influence decision making. No prospect of using the skills and talents God gave you. You feel guilty. “Doesn’t he hold me accountable?” you ask yourself in despair. “I’m in a straitjacket. My life is going by. How can I escape?” Here are some ideas…choose the one(s) that fit best.

Accept slave-status. In his predictable counter-intuitive thinking, God raises the status of a slave to heaven’s highest regarded servant. To Roman slaves, with no chance of escape, often brutally treated, Paul writes, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.”[1] No matter what your job requires, it’s Jesus himself that you’re serving. You can’t get a better job than that.

Frame your own room. An architect wrote that his toughest job was to redo a condo with room requirements that the current structure would not allow. His solution? Build inside the unchangeable structure the framing that would allow for the new rooms. That’s what Paul and Silas did while in prison. Intimidation and being beaten up didn’t keep them from doing what they loved: singing hymns and spreading the joy of the Gospel to others. Within the confinements of your job, create your own rooms in which you can use and express your talents. You don’t need permission.

Work inside, live outside. Many people don’t make their fortunes from their jobs. They invest their wages elsewhere. Work at your job and have the enjoyment of investing your talents and gifts elsewhere. That’s what my father-in-law did. On the weekends and holidays, he started a camp for kids while still running his asphalt paving business in Washington, DC.

If the door opens, leave. Paul wrote to Roman slaves who had become Christians, “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so.”[2] There isn’t necessarily a virtue staying in a hard place of restrictions. If the door of freedom opens, sprint!

Look to leave and do what you love. God preordains the good works he wants you to do[3]; he gives you the talents and gifts for those works[4]; he expects you to get on the move, use your own creativity as you choose the context. Keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking for the place of your choice and his leading. The Lord will guide you, as he did the servant of Abraham who was on the move.[5]

Remember that there is no correlation between straitjackets and joy. Your relationship with the Lord, your source of deepest joy, can never be laced up by anyone or anything. You’re free! So act that way.

Some things are easier to figure out than others. Take the horrible boss who’s proud, arrogant and rude. That’s easy because our theology says that person is a sinner, and some sinners turn out as narcissists. We say good, biblical things like, “pray for them, overcome evil with good, and have pity on them.” But, figuring out God isn’t as easy. Worldwide, evil is allowed to roam with its random rampages of pain and suffering. People ask, “Isn’t God all-knowing, all-compassionate and all-present? If we were all those things, we wouldn’t allow evil, so why does he?” Theodicy attempts to explain, even defend, God as we respond to others who ask the question, “Why?”

There’s still much to do about theodicy. So, what can we do?

1. Study to explain. Prepare to answer others who ask about the hope you have in your God.[1] At least browse to read the response of apologists like Bruce Little, Gary Habermas, Norm Geisler and Ravi Zacharias.
2. Live to show. Blend God’s words with yours, God’s ways with yours. The best argument for the goodness of God is by showing his goodness in daily life.[2]
3. Trust when you don’t know. All that I know about Jesus convinces me that he is perfect in all he knows and does. I trust him, knowing that my understanding is limited, his is infinite.[3]

Be at ease. We’ll never figure out things that are beyond us. Let’s focus primarily on applying the things we do know. As Mark Twain said, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand.”

Often I get the impression that the New Testament writers lived in another world. They had found the fountain of life and were living with superhuman vitality on a dimension elevated beyond what I have yet to experience. When reading the letter Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus or Philippi, Dallas Willard observed, “…there arises the irresistible impression that the writer really is living from within another order of things.”[1] They actually believed and practiced what they wrote. Imagine that?!

Throughout the centuries, others have lived in that same order. They discovered a key of living according to the wisdom of the righteous, God’s Perfect Match. Below are two examples of people who have taught me more of that life.

• Nell found it hard to live life as a single mom. Her husband had divorced her to marry her best friend. Somewhere in that messiness of life, she believed in Christ. Later she told me with a countenance sparkling with joy, “I thank God for my divorce because it was through my sorrow that I now know Jesus and his strength in my life.”

• Then there’s Pete and Joanne, my friends who told me that they had prayed at the beginning of the year for the Lord to use them as never before. A few months later, Joanne was diagnosed with cancer. Their response? Pete told me, “We were so excited, just waiting to see how the Lord would use all this for his purposes in answer to our prayer.” It wasn’t long afterwards that Joanne died. Pete later told me, “I’ve written a tract that I now share with anyone God brings my way how he helped us to thrive in a time of great trouble.” With deep passion, he said, “God is answering what Joanne and I prayed!”

How was Nell, or Pete and Joanne, able to even think this way? They had discovered that God perfectly matches his strength with our weakness.

Matching his strength with your weakness. Every day of your life, you have unexpected trials and predictable temptations. This double whammy spells trouble, if you yield to them. Use trouble as a just-in-time opportunity for his strength to match your weakness.

Kaleidoscopic troubles and grace
The New Testament word, “various,” used to describe both trials[2] and grace,[3] literally means “multicolored”. We intuitively know what trials and temptations are, but, what is grace? Here’s an example of its meaning: “My grace is sufficient for you”[4] was Christ’s response to Paul’s plea for help from a serious affliction.[5] What did Christ mean? He certainly didn’t imply that Paul’s contemplation of an abstract quality of God (e.g., “God is gracious”) was going to do the trick. Jesus declared his intention to personally act in Paul’s favor, infusing in him a perspective of wisdom and inner strength of such generous proportions that Paul would be overwhelmed with the grandeur and power of Christ. The pain of the trial and the intensity of the temptation would fade in significance.[6]

Exchanging weakness for strength
“We are more than conquerors!”[7] Paul exclaimed. What fueled such combustible exuberance? Simple. We were once prisoners sentenced for life with no parole, destined to exist forever in a dark world sealed tight with laws guaranteeing sin and death, fear and pride, and everything evil. But, Christ set us free! That’s why we’re called conquerors. Now, we are children of God for eternity. We live in his world where the law of the Spirit of life rules. The lights are always on. Singing and joy, strength and honor, love and humility, we eat and live such fruit abundantly and freely. Yet, even though you are a conqueror, it takes time for our mind to perfectly match what we experience daily, to what we are eternally. Here are some steps you can take:

1. List your trials and temptations, both great and small. Put the three that trouble you the most at the top. Prioritize the rest.
2. Give each one to the Lord. I mean that literally, especially the dirty temptations.
3. Trade in each weakness for his strength. This is the ultimate exchange program. Ask him to perfectly match each weakness with his strength.

We don’t know if the thorn ever left Paul. We do know that Paul went on his way whistling because Christ would never leave him. Paul’s trial was perfectly matched with Christ’s grace.

Choose to do likewise. Live with that confidence.

Why not buy a kaleidoscope and keep it by your desk? It will be your reminder that whatever your trouble’s shape or color, there’s a perfect match of grace.

If you’ve ever gone fishing and looked for worms, the first place you looked was under a rock. Turn that rock over and you’ll find all kinds of creeping, crawly creatures living under that hard surface. Many people are like that rock. They look and talk like everything is cool and under control…everything’s put together, nothing bothers them. But, often, just one centimeter under that rock-solid appearance, slimy things like worry and fear are thriving. Most people wish that were not true about themselves, but it is. Do you remember Bobby McFerrin’s song, “Don’t worry! Be happy!” Why was it such an instant success? Because most people think that life would be wonderful if it were just possible to live worry free as an everyday normal part of life. Well, you can live worry free. And, that’s exactly what I want to talk about, “Living Worry Free.”

First of all, what is worry? It’s an awful feeling of powerlessness that something or someone bigger and stronger than you wants to harm you or someone you care about…and there’s nothing you can do about it. You feel smaller and weaker than, let’s say, the bill collector, the cancer, the calculus exam. The Old English and High German words from which we get worry are wyrgan and wurgen. It means to “choke” or to “strangle.” Worry is like being in the grip of the legs of an octopus, its tentacles sucking the life out of you. You’re doomed. What’s the difference between worry and a concern, burden or sorrow over some situation? Those things are normal. But, it’s when what’s normal goes beyond its legitimate boundaries, when you feel your stomach churning all the time, when you’re basically miserable to be around, when you can’t focus…you’ve crossed the line into the forbidden world of worry.

Okay, so, how is “Living Worry Free” possible? Here are six things you need to do:

Stop worrying.
Look in the mirror and command the person you see, “Stop worrying!” “I can’t do that!” you might be saying. Listen, if you’re a parent, you tell your kids to stop doing something and expect immediate obedience, don’t you? Why not expect the same of yourself? Command yourself to stop it!

Upload your worry.
Talk to God about the whole situation, just like you would with your closest friend. Rehearse everything. Tell the Lord about your fears, how you blame yourself, how you blame others. Pour out all your feelings, positive or negative. He can handle it.

Tell God what you’d like for him to do.
Clearly, you want things to change, so be specific. Ask him to change the situation, like getting healed of a sickness or an injury. Or, ask him to change a person who’s basically proud, arrogant or rude. But, keep something in mind. Changing a situation or a person could take a long time or, quite frankly, it might not happen in your lifetime. So, it makes a whole lot more sense for you to ask God to first change you. Then at least you can work with him on the person in the mirror. After all, you can control yourself. You’ll always feel helpless and hopeless if you believe that situations or people need to change before you can be happy. Ask God to help you be a person who is calm and confident. Then you’ll have inner strength.

But, it’s not enough just to ask God for this.

Thank God.
Thank him for all things he has already given and thank him that he’s answering your prayers right now, this very instant, according to the counsel of his will. Either you believe that or you don’t. Maybe that’s why the Greek word for worry is “a divided mind.” Worry is like being on a seesaw. Sometimes you believe your problem is bigger than God. Other times you believe God is bigger. Up and down you go. But, it just doesn’t make sense to pray and ask God to do something and then not thank him, in faith, for answering! Otherwise, it’s like buying a plane ticket to a city close by because you don’t believe that the plane actually has the power to get you to your real destination overseas. If you want God to answer your prayers, you have to believe that he is willing and able to answer, and that he will reward you in a way of his choosing for not giving up in faith.

Think right.
There’s a direct correlation between a healthy and strong mind and your ability to repel worry. If you think right, you’ll always have a positive, Christ-like response. Otherwise, your life will be but one negative reaction after another. How can you know that you’re thinking right? By making sure that certain words are guiding your thoughts. Have you ever driven a speedboat on a lake, maybe when you were fishing or water skiing? If so, you saw buoys along the lake that were your markers for making sure you stayed safe. If you went to the wrong side of the buoy, you’d be in shallow or dangerous water and get in trouble. To be safe, you always asked, “Am I on the right side of that buoy?” Key words are like those buoys. As you think throughout the day, ask yourself, “Am I thinking along the path of my key words?” You might be asking, “What key words?” Here are six, for starters:

Think thoughts that are…

1. True: it’s the kind of thought that God would think; you could find it in the Bible
2. Noble: it’s worthy of respect; it could be printed on the front page of the local paper
3. Right: it promotes good relationships with others; if someone knew that’s what you were thinking, they’d feel good about you
4. Pure: it helps you have good motivations for what you want to do
5. Lovely: it causes you to have a friendly disposition towards life
6. Admirable: if that thought were put into action, others would admire it

Think only these kinds of thoughts and you’ll know more of how Jesus lived his life with such power, free from worry, and able to tell the crowds, “I tell you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear…Can worry make you live longer?…Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself.”[1]

But, it’s not just thinking right, you need to…

Act right.
You can’t think one thing and do another. Synapses and dendrites of the brain have to match that of the body. We were created for head, heart and habits to be in alignment. “The human body is the primary field of independent power and freedom given by God to people. Put simply – no body, no power. People have a body for one reason – that we might have at our disposal the resources that would allow us to be persons in fellowship and cooperation with a personal God.”[2]

Paul, the Apostle, wrote in his letter to the Christians at Rome, to renew their minds and to present their bodies to God so that both the mind and the body would do the good and perfect will of God.

In summary
So, to “Live Worry Free,” we said to 1) Stop worrying, 2) Upload your worry, 3) Tell God what you would like for him to do, 4) Thank God, 5) Think right, and 6) Act right.

These points come from a letter written by Paul to Christians in the ancient city of Philippi. Here they are in his own words:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”[3]

If you choose not to worry and trust God, two promises of peace will be yours to enjoy. God’s peace will be like a fortress around your mind and heart. And, you will experience the company of the God of peace every day of your life.

It’s pretty amazing to think that you can live worry free, isn’t it? Jesus made it possible so why not start doing that today?