Refiner’s Fire . . .

STRESS is an unwelcome companion for us all these days. National debates, the war on terrorism, risk of earthquakes and hurricanes, economic hard times, and questions of the future abound. Any one of these would stress the average person but we are facing these as a nation and community. Where will we find hope?

Remember these four simple ideas;

· Eat healthy meals during stressful times.

· Exercise vigorously whenever possible

· Sleep and rest in uninterrupted periods.

· Take deep breaths

In the tumult of today’s world, our hope is in Christ but our focus is on our problems. Instead, we should focus on our Christ and the problems will become opportunities. That being said, don’t we have an awful lot of opportunities today? When Christ shares them with us, nothing is impossible.

As we live each day let it have an eternal foundation for God’s purposes. We will all be glad when God says to us, “well done, good and faithful servant.” Using your imagination, if we were to travel out ten years from now and look back upon this moment, what would we say about our lives. Are we living as if tomorrow depends on it? What would we see and would our lives reflect the values we want others to learn from? How would we feel about the conduct of our living? Are we sure God is receiving glory? Live for Him and you can be.

Christ says, “Peace be with you”; “Peace be with you”; “My peace be with you”. What more can we askfor? Breathe in his peace and know that you are not alone.

Dr. Stanley Spence