#0002830

'Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus,' wrote a man who had known more than His fair share of difficulties. His name? We know him as Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ. No matter where you live, every day should be a day of thanksgiving. For what should you be thankful? First, I give thanks for the assurance that I am God's child, that He has forgiven me and brought me into the kingdom of His dear Son--not because I deserved it, but because of the Father's great love for me...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....1Chr16:34 "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

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#0002831

I also thank God for the bumps in the road, challenges that bring me face to face with my weakness and cause me to cry out for God's help and provision that come in such a way that tells me he has provided--as opposed to something 'just happening.' What He has withheld, I haven't needed, and what He has given me is a stewardship to be used wisely for His work. I'm thankful that in a world of turmoil, our great God will allow nothing to happen that escapes His attention or ability to prevent. . . And what of the future? It will arrive just one day at a time, and when tomorrow comes, God's Son will be there to take my hand and walk me through the valley one step at a time. Yes, be thankful, friend. Give thanks to the Lord . . . for His love truly endures forever...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....1Thess5:18 "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

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#0002832

Living in a broken world can sometimes create spiritual skepticism in our lives, especially when we see human failure mirrored in the lives of those whom we have put on pedestals, considering them to be a cut above the ordinary. When you are disappointed you wonder, 'Is there anyone who really lives out the life of Christ, instead of simply using a Christian vocabulary?' . . . God uses human failure--whether it is the failure of fellow Christians who negatively impact your lives or the failures of those living on the other side of the cross--to accomplish what He wants done in your life. . . God is sovereign. He is in control, and everything that happens to you is not a matter of chance but something that God allows. Why? To show you His strength, His hand of protection, His provision in ways that would not have happened had you not been a victim of someone's wrongdoing...- Sala, Refuge And Strength .....Gen50:20 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

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#0002833

From the beginning of time God has chosen to walk with His own through a corrupted, sinful world, promising to be with them as they go through the dark valley but never promising to deliver them from the impact of all wrong in this world. . . If you could only see the entire picture of how God's strong hand is resting on your life, sustaining you, showing you that you will never be in a pit deeper than His hand can reach, how different our attitude would be when unpleasant things happen to us. Only through difficulty do we learn what God told Paul...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....2Cor12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

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#0002834

Genuine gratitude is a heartfelt expression of appreciation. It is never an undefined 'good feeling' about something or someone. It reflects a specific deed or action of another and the person to whom you owe something, whether or not you can ever repay that gift. . . In a very real sense that is what God's grace is about. Grace--God's great favor and kindness--is what brought God's Son to Earth, providing for our salvation. Grace and God's faithfulness in extending His mercy to us is what sustains us and what keeps us...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....Col3:15 "And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful."

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#0002835

Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the center of it. On the left side write, 'What I have that I am thankful for,' and on the other side, 'What I do not have that I am equally thankful for.' On the left side you may write things such as family--a spouse and your children, your home, spiritual blessings, and, perhaps, material possessions. . . But then what about the right side? In considering what to write there, would you also acknowledge that it is in what you lack that you have discovered the sufficiency of God, who has brought you friends and experiences into your life that you would never have known had you not faced difficulties and trouble?...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.....Eph2:8,9 "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

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#0002836

Had God's children not been hungry in the wilderness, they would never have known manna. Had Daniel not been in the lion's den, he would never have known God's sustaining power. Had Peter never been in prison, he would never have known deliverance by an angel. . . Gratitude--going beyond simply saying, 'Thanks!'--is a habit developed through experiencing difficulties. Sincere gratitude embraces what you are thankful for and to whom you are grateful...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.......Hebrews2:14,15a "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them."

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#0002837

A single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer...- Gottfried Ephraim Lessing.....Psalm 16:5,8-9,11 "Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. [8] I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. [9] No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. [11] You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever."

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#0002838

We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it...- George Bernard Shaw........1Thess3:11-13 "Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people's business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good."

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#0002839

"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me(John14:1). There is more than enough room in My Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you(v2)? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am(v3). And you know the way to where I am going(v4). No, we don't, Lord,' Thomas said. 'We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way(v5)?' Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me(v6). If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him(Jn14:7)."

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#0002840

Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age...- Anais Nin.....Matthew12:49,50 "Then He pointed to His disciples and said, 'Look, these are My mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother'!"

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#0002841

Know how to renew your character both with nature and with art. Every seven years the disposition changes, they say. Let it be a change for the better and for the nobler in your taste. After the first seven comes reason, with each succeeding lustre let a new excellence be added. Observe this change so as to aid it, and hope also for betterment in others. Hence it happens that many change their behavior when they change their position or their occupation. At times the change is not noticed till it reaches the height of maturity. At twenty a man is a peacock, at thirty a lion, at forty a camel, at fifty a serpent, at sixty a dog, at seventy an ape, at eighty nothing at all...- Baltasar Gracian Aphorism 276, The Art Of Worldly Wisdom, by JJacobs.....Mat5:6 "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

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#0002842

Never die of another's bad luck. Notice those who stick in the mud, and observe how they call others to their aid so as to console themselves with a companion in misfortune. They seek someone to help them to bear misfortune, and often those who turned the cold shoulder on them in prosperity now give them a helping hand. There is great caution needed in helping the drowning without endangering oneself...- Baltasar Gracian Aphorism 285, The Art of Worldly Wisdom, by JJacobs.....Psa36:7-9 "How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. You feed them from the abundance of Your own house, letting them drink from Your river of delights. For You are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."

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#0002843

Words and deeds make the perfect person. One should speak well and act honorably; the one is an excellence of the head, the other of the heart, and both arise from nobility of soul. Words are the shadows of deeds--the former are feminine, the latter masculine. It is more important to be renowned than to convey renown. Speech is easy, action hard. Actions are the stuff of life, words its frippery. Eminent deeds endure, striking words pass away. Actions are the fruit of thought; if this is wise, they are effective...- Baltasar Gracian Aphorism 202, The Art Of Worldly Wisdom, by Joseph Jacobs.....James1:25 "But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."

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#0002844

Anticipate injuries and turn them into favors. It is wiser to avoid than to revenge them. It is an uncommon piece of shrewdness to change a rival into a confidant, or transform into guards of honor those who were aiming to attack us. It helps much to know how to oblige, for he leaves no time for injuries who fills time up with gratitude. That is true savoir faire, to turn anxieties into pleasures. Try and make a confidential relation out of ill will itself...- Baltasar Gracian Aphorism 259, The Art Of Worldly Wisdom, by JJacobs.........Psalm107:6-9 "'Lord, help!' they cried in their trouble, and He rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. Let them praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonderful things He has done for them."

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#0002845

Find favor with people of good sense. The tepid yes from a remarkable person is worth more than all the applause of the vulgar--you cannot make a meal off the smoke of chaff. The wise speak with understanding and their praise gives permanent satisfaction. The sage Antigonus reduced the theater of His fame to Zeus alone, and Plato called Aristotle his whole school. Some strive to fill their stomach albeit only with the breath of the mob. Even monarchs have need of authors, and fear their pens more than ugly women the painter's pencil...- Baltasar Gracian Aphorism 281, The Art Of Worldly Wisdom, by JJacobs....Jn15:26.-Gal5:22 The Comforter . . . even the Spirit of truth.-But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things."

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#0002846

Be trustworthy. Honorable dealing is at an end, trusts are denied, few keep their word, the greater the service the poorer the reward--that is the way of the world nowadays. There are whole nations inclined to false dealing; with some, treachery has always to be feared; with others, breach of promise; with others, deceit. Yet this bad behavior of others should be a warning to us rather than an example. The fear is that the sight of such unworthy behavior will override our integrity. But a person of honor should never forget what he is because he sees what others are...- Baltasar Gracian Aphorism 280, The Art Of Worldly Wisdom, by JJacobs.....Romans8:16,17 "For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering."

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#0002847

Be attractive. It is the magic of subtle courtesy. Use the magnet of your pleasant qualities more to attract goodwill than good deeds, but apply it to all. Merit is not enough unless supported by grace, which is the sole thing that gives general acceptance, and the most practical means of rule over others. To be in vogue is a matter of luck, yet it can be encouraged by skill, for art can best take root on a soil favored by nature. There, goodwill grows and develops into universal favor...- Baltasar Gracian Aphorism 274, The Art Of Worldly Wisdom, by JJacobs.....Exodus33:16,17 "How will anyone know that you look favorably on me--on me and on your people--if You don't go with us? For Your presence among us sets Your people and me apart from all other people on the earth. The Lord replied to Moses, 'I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name."

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#0002848

When you become Depressed--whether you are in the prison of difficulty or the prison of your own making--you begin to doubt what you know to be true. No longer are you certain that you have a God-connection. In fact, you wonder if you ever did. No longer are you certain that God hears your cry. This is when the enemy begins to tell you that this whole business of faith and trusting God is a farce. . . Faith is a decision you make based on your encounter with truth. . . Today those who draw back in their darkness have no purpose to live for and no hope for tomorrow. Faith in the nature and character of God is the strong bridge across the chasm of doubt and depression...- Sala, Refuge And Strength.........John8:31,32 "Jesus said to His disciples who believed in Him, 'You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

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#0002849

He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home...- Johann von Goethe.....2Thess3:16 "The Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all."

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#0002850

Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts...- Oliver Wendell Holmes.....Revelation1:4 "Peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come."

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#0002851

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done(Philippians4:6). Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus(v7). And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise(v8). Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you(Phi4:9)."

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#0002852

"And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised(1Corinthians15:16). And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins(v17). In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost(v18)! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world(v19). But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died(1Cor15:20)."

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#0002853

"So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man(1Cor15:21). Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life(v22). But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when He comes back(1Corinthians15:23)."

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#0002854

No calamity will ever bring only evil to us, if we will immediately take it in fervent prayer to God. Even as we take shelter beneath a tree during a downpour of rain, we may unexpectedly find fruit on its branches. And when we flee to God, taking refuge beneath the shadow of His wing, we will always find more in Him than we have ever before seen or known. . . Consequently, it is through trials and afflictions that God gives us fresh revelations of Himself. Like Jacob, we must cross 'the ford of the Jabbok(Gen32:22)' if we are ever to arrive at Peniel, where he wrestled with the Lord, was blessed by Him, and could say, 'I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared(Gen32:30).'...- Nathaniel William Taylor, Streams.....Amos5:8 "It is the Lord who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is His name."

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#0002855

"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power(Acts10:38).- It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell(Col1:19).- Of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace(Jn1:16).- Thou anointest my head with oil(Psa23:5).- But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ(1Jn2:27)."