Before you read the Word: Put away all distractions; find a quiet place; pray for The Holy Spirit to take control of all your being; ask for a seat at the foot of the throne of God for this fellowship; plead for spiritual understanding and your cleansing by His Holy Word.
Read the Word as prayer and as a two-way communication between you and The Lord. You read as you evoke His character and ask what you seek according to His Truth. Allow His Word to correct, comfort, convict, and restore you.
THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE He who follows righteousness and mercy, finds life, righteousness, and honor (Proverbs 21:21) https://eileenthugi.com/scripture-weekly/
WEEK1
2 Thessalonians 2
1 Corinthians 3
Psalm 42
Jeremiah 30
John 13
Isaiah 63: 7-19
1 John 2
WEEK 2
1 Kings 22
Genesis 1
1 Peter 5:1-11
Psalm 62
Leviticus 26
Psalm 44
Matthew 7
Practice: In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise (Proverbs 10:19).
WEEK 3
Luke 21
Psalm 37
2 Timothy 4: 1-8
Ezekiel 2
Proverbs 11: 1-14
Matthew 10
Psalms 19
Practice: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate (Proverbs 8:13).
WEEK 4
1 Corinthians 7
Mark 9
Isaiah 57: 15-20, chapter 26
Romans 5
Psalm 39
Luke 10
Job 12
Practice: Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you (Proverbs 3: 27-28) .
WEEK 5
Romans 14
1 Samuel 17
Isaiah 63: 7-19
Ruth 3
Galatians 6
Psalm 15
Deuteronomy 4
Practice: Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins (Proverbs 10:12).
WEEK 6
Isaiah 26: 15-24
Psalm 106
Luke 15
Jeremiah 33
Ephesians 6
Job 31
Jonah 2
Practice: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).
WEEK 7
Luke 14
Psalm 107
Acts 13
Nehemiah 4
Romans 15
Isaiah 33
Deuteronomy 11
Practice: Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction (Proverbs 19:18).
Practice: Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established (Proverbs 4: 26).
WEEK 8
2 Kings 23: 1-25
John 16
Psalm 91
2 Corinthians 8: 1-15
Jeremiah 3
Micah 4
Hebrew 3
Practice: Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.Then you will win favor and a good name, in the sight of God and man (Proverbs 3: 3-4).
WEEK 9
Psalm 34
Hosea 6
James 3
2 Kings 4
Jeremiah 7
Mark 12
Psalm 63
Practice: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).
WEEK 10
Psalm 26
Zechariah 7
Romans 6
Isaiah 30
Deuteronomy 10
Acts 4
Hosea 4
Practice: Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad (Proverbs 12:25)
WEEK 11
Romans 12
Psalm 94
Daniel 1
John 8
Micah 7
2 Peter 3
Joshua 23
Practice: Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old (Proverbs 23:22).
WEEK 12
Psalm 9
Revelations 1
Ezekiel 20
Galatians 4
Habakkuk 2
Hebrews 7
Psalm 115
Practice: The righteous should choose his friends carefully. For the way of the wicked leads them astray (Proverbs 12:26).
It doesn’t take much to get us riled up. There are good reasons for losing patience, feeling overwhelmed, being cumbered with worry, and frustration. Sometimes, it seems we can’t catch a break, especially when we have done all that’s needed—to the best of our ability. Anyone can reach a breaking point, when it seems like things are topsy-turvy. No one, at any point, has everything under control, even on their best form. Peace of mind or calm, is a state that involves an awareness of our abilities, the circumstances surrounding us, and the choice to find rest in something greater than ourselves.
3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.4 Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yahweh, the Lord is everlasting strength (Isaiah 26).
Perfect peace is a promise to those who take their minds off themselves and put their trust not in their abilities or circumstances, but in The Lord God. When we relinquish control, we admit we don’t have it all figured out. We accept our ineptitude in the limited knowledge we have of the outcome (Proverbs 3: 5-6). How debilitating that might be for those who always want to be one step ahead. What does perfect peace feel like? Contentment, satisfaction and confidence that however the cookie crumbles, we are in good company. God isn’t limited by time or space, and He knows the beginning from the end (Isaiah 41:6-8). After we have done what we can humanly do, we can leave the rest at His feet, and walk out with peace.
“No one at any point has everything under control, even on their best form.”
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary. And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD, shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40).
Being at peace with uncertainty, would require that we play our part well. We stay focused, realizing that we can lose ground in other areas. If we become fixated on shifting grounds, we will fail in those areas we can control. Waiting on God is critical to keeping us at peace.
Prayer, is the call for help and waiting, is the stillness needed to gain His strength. Stillness is silencing those inner grumbling thoughts. He gives strength to those who have reached the end of their rope. Prove Him by not staying down! Keep walking and don’t faint, run if you must to the accomplish the next thing. Mount up on the your best God-given abilities and don’t look back. We will need to shift gears and do the next thing (Philipians 3:13). I’m certain there’s other things we can find to do, or make ourselves useful in. There are also others depending on us to move on, and be present. Consider that we can only physically, be in one place-at one time. So, why not train our minds the same?
“Praying with thanksgiving is praying with expectancy.”
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philipians 4).
If we are to live each day striving for peace within, then we have to pray. We don’t have to understand everything, but we can choose not to sweat the unknown. Anxiety is normal, but it must be contained before it takes us hostage. Our mind can wander into all sorts of scenarios and what-ifs, but that is all it is, in our mind. How much chaos could we create if we could give life to our thoughts?
Pray with thanksgiving, because you have higher expectations of God than yourself. Praying with thanksgiving is praying with expectancy. Answers may or may not come as we would like, but the important thing is we did accept those terms, in exchange for perfect peace.
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).
The Lord Jesus promises peace that only He can give. He says he has already left it for us. The peace that the world offers is fleeting. It’s peace is found in short-lived pleasures, and self gratification. The peace of Christ is one that can be tapped into, at all times, regardless of what we face. We pray for it in order to receive it. Once we have offered the plea for help, we are to cast out fear and anxiety, by trusting that He gives us the perfect peace. We can’t have it both ways, either have the peace of God, or have the peace of the world.
“We do have a better hope and motivation to get up and go.”
33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33).”
Christians as much as others are not immune to troubles. As long as we live in an imperfect world, with imperfect people as ourselves, we can be rest assured that we have no control of our circumstances. We do have a better hope and motivation to get up and go. We believe things work out for our good, and that God has us where He needs us. We can do the next good thing, we can try to be present, and also find an opportunity to help someone else. We are witnesses of God’s unfailing love in the midst of the most trying times.
Oh, that we would come to the Prince of Peace with our hands stretched out, and plead for mercy! Instead of grumbling and shaking our fists, we can come like children to our loving Father and lay it at His feet. What better options do we have left, besides ourselves and the world? He has never failed. Look around you and see that all of creation is under His orders. How much more control can our loving Father have, over all the chaos within us? We cry, “Lord I humble myself under Your Mighty Hand, let me not be put to shame!”
4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints. There is no want to those who fear Him (Psalm 34).
That’s a tough one. Yet, if we can’t at least describe the source of who we are or the very meaning of our existence, we are suffering from a case of identity crisis. We could choose to be defined by our passions, painful past, our goals each day, regrets, achievements, or people who have had a formative influence in our lives. This is deeper than what we can wrap our heads around, much more than what others can see on the outside, in terms of our lifestyles or appearance. What makes you who you are? Values, experiences, motivations, upbringing, relationships, or personalities? The list can go on, but this is truly the crux of the issue isn’t it? Those deeper things very few know about us. Yet, we can opt to take this question lightly, and we may forfeit our one chance to live this one life, as intended. Our confidence, self esteem and how we carry each day really depends on what kind of stuff we are made of.
“We were purposefully created,—we didn’t come up with the idea of ourselves.”
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26-27).”
So we were created—we didn’t come up with the great idea of ourselves. One may say , “Come on! I’m who I have become because of hard work and sacrifices I have made. Not to mention the decisions made for me, by those who raised me.” Yes. Of course, there are many factors that have a great impact on who we become, but we are innately unique; with our fingerprints, DNA and personalities, that are no coincidence.
Experiences can shape our attitudes and choices, but those things are subject to change on a whim. Who we are was determined before we came to be (Psalm 139). When God had a plan to create humans, He made them so they would be in His image and likeness. That meant, we have a purpose to resemble God and to be productive on the Earth He created as well. But what does that resemblance look like? The Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ is the fullness of God in the flesh, having come as man.
16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:16-17).
The Lord Jesus took the form of a human, born of a virgin by the Spirit of God. Consider this carefully, what was intended in the motivation for the creation of man and woman was achieved by the birth of Deity in human form, born of a woman, and by the Spirit of God. That He may present us holy as God is Holy; by taking our likeness of sin upon Himself, so that we may be sons and daughters. Just as children bear resemblance to their parents, we have a resemblance to the Father through the Son.
Who makes you who you are? There’s no question that every inventor that has created something has an intended purpose for it and requires that it remain so, if it’s to manifest its full potential. There are no mistakes with final products that are put out,—they have a distinct purpose and according to the manufacturer, they are complete. One may look at themselves and see how they have failed themselves and others, or that they could be a mistake. God makes no mistakes. He is intentional, precise, and perfect. His reputation or Glory depends on it. To answer the question again, who makes you? and who you are are not mutually exclusive. We have a divine nature as much as we have a natural or physical state. Here’s one better, one very exciting answer to the second part of the question, “who you are”.
“Our confidence, self esteem and how we carry each day really depends on what kind of stuff we are made of.”
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
We are all sinners and apart from Christ we can’t attain the life God has for us. So? Well, that means that no matter where you are coming from, no matter who you choose to compare yourself with, we have all fallen short of God’s standard. Once again, God being forward-looking as He is, knew that we would fail, just as a child isn’t born to follow house rules. But Christ is now become our life. We died with Him at that Cross where He took on our human form, to pay for the sins of our human nature. In this transaction at the Cross, we rose with Him, to new life in Him,—we are hidden with Him, in God (Colossians 3:1-5). Talk about the exceeding great wisdom of God-to do what He promised in the beginning. What an incredible identity we have!
“Our outward nature is an expression of what’s bred within.”
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).
We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we may be children of God, in the Son of God. We are loved, and we are filled with the fullness of God in Christ, which is love. So who we are is loved by our Father, and we are made complete by this love, not worldly love or acceptance. Love is the stuff we are made out of, and is what we should be about. Not only are we to be fruitful, be productive and fill the earth, but we are to do so with love that has been poured into us, by His Holy Spirit,—born again by the same Spirit of Christ. It’s the only true way to live, and be in the likeness of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, Who is Christ in us, beckons us to allow Him to express Himself through us.
Our outward nature is an expression of what’s bred within. Left to our own devices we can be destructive, self righteous, critical of ourselves and others. We all need help and are a working progress. Let’s take the focus off all the wrong we do, or should not do and put on rose-colored glasses of all the good we can attain.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit(Galatians 5:22-25).
Easier said than done, right? Of course. But, apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15). Let us purpose to strive to attain what we have already obtained, in love. To love the Lord our God with all of our being, strength, soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. There’s no room to stumble in love, nor to look down on ourselves and others, because we are all loved. Only then, can we live to our full potential and understand our existential purpose .
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