Praise you, Lord Jesus, that in your wisdom you always do the right thing,

allowing us to make choices for good or bad and

allowing us to live out the consequences of our decisions, whether wise or foolish.

Then you take all this and weave it into your great plan

for bringing about the end of history and the beginning of eternity.

In this You are working towards securing the salvation of as many as possible,

as well as bringing about the end of evil, which you will lock up in the lake of fire.

Praise you for your unlimited power to bring all this to pass,

your unwavering faithfulness to follow through

and your high and wide wisdom in doing it all in rightness and righteousness.

You are certainly worthy of all praise, honor, worship and obedience.

In the light of all this truth, it is certain that you have the wisdom and power

to guide me in the day before me.

Help me to walk in faith, in the light of your presence

so that I may bring glory to you. Amen.”

Picture: God reaching  into history to save another person  [from wall/Bible art]

Praise be to you this morning, Lord God, for your wonderful Word:

living, powerful, deep, transforming and encouraging.

It is life-giving, guiding, convicting, protecting.

For instance,  Psalm 94:18,19 says, “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ Your love, O Lord, supported me.” This is so true;

when I have felt abandoned, a failure, useless, attacked or unloved, your Word has supported me.

Your Spirit brought to mind passages of power, towers of Truth to flee to for help and protection.

Such as, when attacked by others, Psalm 37 is my favorite fortress, providing powerful protection and direction:

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers…for they shall be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb” (verse 1).

This Psalm is a beacon of Truth, giving perspective and guidance going on to say: “Trust in the Lord and do good, so shall you dwell in the land and be fed.” (verse 3).

It gives the high and protecting wall of Hope: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart” (verse 4).

And as I trusted these verses, the Lord worked things out in multiple difficulties. He is faithful as I stay up in His high tower:

“The Lord is my rock, my salvation and my high tower…” And if I stay in the high tower, “I will never be shaken.” Psalm  62:2

We stay in the tower when we trust, wait for His direction and praise Him for the outcome before it is seen.

Picture: my own blue  tower on my house

While looking at some of my writings from our first year in the Middle East, I came across the following.

One area where we are really encouraged is our health: we are all remaining healthy and strong

in spite of the daily pressures of language study, teaching English nights and bureaucratic demands.

And then there are  the cold temperatures in our apartment. Although it is only mid October,

the temperatures are down in the 30s at night and 40s F in the daytime, not bad if you have heat.

However, by law, the central heating won’t be turned on until Nov 15—a month away!

So we just dress more warmly and heat up one room with an electric heater–when the electricity is on; and it’s off more often than on here.

But, God is our provider and we will praise Him for whatever He allows, even when we are shivering in our apartment!

Prayer: “Father, forgive me for my tendency to complain;

help me to reject the natural, negative thoughts that rise up from my selfishness

and help me to think instead of you in all your excellence and perfection,

and of all the good things you provide. Make praise the keynote of my life. Amen.”

Picture: the boys and Barb keeping warm together

God’s Antidote for anxiety from Phillipians 4

Note that the steps God gives here us are all commands, not suggestions.

1. “Rejoice in the Lord always… (see Habbakuk 3)
2. do not be anxious about anything  (choose to recognize and confront confront your anxiety and worry by:)
3. in everything by prayer, supplication and thanksgiving (note the thanksgiving, thanking God for what we don’t like because we know he has a plan for us in this.)

4.present your requests to God… (get out what’s bothering you,, tell God about it, learn what he thinks about it.  Leave it with him.

Result: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (taking refuge in Him).

5. Note: this peace is not something we can understand, for it comes by our faith in our heavenly Father.

As one who has been confronted  by many worries, I can assure you that

In obeying God by taking these 5 steps can free you from worry, anxiety, and fear because our focus is now on God, not our circumstances.