Sunday, February 5, 2012

Let Your Life Reflect God’s Love by Ann Elaine Broughton




 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).

    So are you filled with joy and peace at this moment? It is available to you. The key word here is trust. You must trust God in order to feel this peace. I believe you are what you think. It is very easy to let your negative thoughts get the upper hand in your life so that your joy and peace is squelched. You have control of what you think. Thoughts about your weight, your outward appearance, and your lack of self-esteem can only bring you to a place of defeat. Satan loves to use these thoughts to cause you to feel helpless and inadequate. You are so much more than your outward appearance. God has given you a personality and when it is under His control it can be used to glorify Him in beautiful ways. It has nothing to do with how you look, but everything to do with who you are on the inside.

   One time I was at a teacher’s seminar and a lady came up to me and asked me if I was a Christian. I said, “Yes, what made you ask me that.” She told me that she could tell by the glow in my face, my smile, and the way I talked and behaved. Wow, that was an awe inspiring moment for me. I had no idea that I had an aura of God about me. Isn’t that so wonderful? You can have it too. It is found by surrendering all you are to the Lord.

    Is your life totally surrendered to the Lord? Does His love shine from your eyes? Do the words you speak cause others to be uplifted and happy? Christ is in you and don’t you ever forget that. His power is there to overcome bad thoughts. But you must surrender all those bad thoughts in order to find the joy and peace that is awaiting those who trust in God. Please do it so that you can overflow with hope. The Holy Spirit can help you with this also. Don’t allow those bad thoughts to rule your life any longer. You are a child of the King and your inheritance lies in Heaven with Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord,
I surrender to you all the bad thoughts I have about myself. I know that your presence envelops me and that I can have that joy and peace that only you can give.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Perseverance: A devotion by Ann Broughton

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