www.reflectingthedesigner.com

God has born our sin and covered our transgressions with the precious blood of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. God is love, in its purest and most perfect form. His very essence is perfect love just as He is perfectly holy, just, pure, and every other form of goodness and truth there is.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved…For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4,5,10

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” I Corinthians 13:7-8a

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” Galatians 5:22-23

Still my soul be stillAnd do not fearThough winds of change may rage tomorrowGod is at your sideNo longer dreadThe fires of unexpected sorrow

Chorus:God You are my GodAnd I will trust in You and not be shakenLord of peace renewA steadfast spirit within meTo rest in You alone

Still my soul be stillDo not be movedBy lesser lights and fleeting shadowsHold onto His waysWith shield of faithAgainst temptations flaming arrows

Still my soul be stillDo not forsakeThe Truth you learned in the beginningWait upon the LordAnd hope will riseAs stars appear when day is dimming

Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend

I think I’ll just let God do the speaking on this post.

For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us…Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… -Romans 8:18, 26-29a

What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised-who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:31-35,37

Yesterday, we had the privilege of celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ! What a gift was given to us! The very Creator of the Universe come to earth and wrapped in a robe of infant flesh! Emmanuel – God with us! And, He is with us!

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! ~Luke 2:14

Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, and He came to bring peace to earth. It is only through Him that we can have peace in this life, and peace with God throughout all eternity. He promises peace that passes all understanding to those who put their trust in Him. Peace that gives strength and joy to face any adversity, and peace knowing that our names are written down in the Book of Life. Peace because we are adopted into the beloved, freed from sin, and transformed from darkness into His glorious light! Peace that the world can’t take away!

This peace is not for everyone, though. Oh, yes, the invitation is to all human kind, but not everyone will accept Christ’s perfect peace. We have peace with God, through Christ and Christ alone. He says through His Word, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but by me.” By clinging to our sin and pride, by wanting to hold onto our good works+Christ, by not believing all that He has said or holding onto other “gods” we forfeit this peace He so freely offers.

Trusting in Christ is not about the benefits He gives, and some will forfeit those benefits because they are their desire and focus rather than Christ Himself. Salvation is not a choice between Heaven and Hell, Peace or Trouble; but it is ultimately a choice of Christ over everything else. It is the goodness of God that

Do you know Christ as He has revealed Himself in His Word? I challenge you to read His Word to know who this Christ is and what He has done. I pray that He will open your eyes to your need of Him and Him alone, and that He will give you the peace that only He can give.

This was a quote found in the Beth Moore Bible study I’m doing called Jesus the One and Only. I needed to hear that today, as I feel so completely inadequate and sinful, yet God has said that He is working all things out for good in my life that I might be conformed into the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:28-29) Praise the Lord! He isn’t powerless in my life! I need to just submit to His authority, and be amazed at the work He has done and is doing!

Verses to Meditate on:

• “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. Therefore, my brothers,..stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.” ~ Philippians 3:20-4:1
• “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” ~Colossians 1:13-17

I trust that God will allow you to rest in His perfect power over all things today!

Do you wonder how you are going to make right choices for life decisions? Do you worry about the future, or question your decisions?

The verse above is such a good reminder that God is God and we are not. We can never understand the mind of the Lord because we are finite and He is infinite. How can we comprehend the fact that Jesus Christ spoke the worlds into existence (of Him), or that He holds each molecule in the universe together – something that scientists can’t explain (through Him), or that this God would come to earth to save His creation from our sins and make a way for an eternal and perfect relationship with Him? The wonderful part is that, although we can not understand Him, we can TRUST Him! “To Him be glory forever. Amen.”

Because all things were created by Him and for Him, and by Him all things are held together, we have a responsibility as His created and redeemed beings. Paul tells us in Romans 12 directly after the verses mentioned in the previous paragraph, the following:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Aren’t you thankful for the promises of God? He wants to be an intimate, vital part of your life and help you make the best choices. Do you know your Creator? Do you want to know Him? Please email me if you have questions about what I’ve written or would like more information. Also, I encourage you to check out Kids 4 Truth for some great animations that present the beautiful truths of God and His creation.

Last week, within a 3 day period of time, the Lord gave us the opportunity to speak with two Mormons, a Muslim, and a fellow believer living out his Christianity in a very real way. The Mormons came to our house (surprise, surprise) and we talked with them for about an hour. Bob plans to meet with them next week again. The Muslim was our taxi driver to the airport, and the believer was on our last plane.

The crux of the matter with each of their different belief systems came down to who or what they had as an ultimate authority. The Mormons sounded so close to what we believe, but the more they spoke and listened to us speak, the more it was evident that their authority was not in God’s Word but rather in the “revelation” given to them by the “spirit.” Notice that I don’t capitalize the word “spirit” because they were not referring to the same Holy Spirit we are talking about. Oh, they say that they are, but their belief system does not believe that Jesus Christ is the only true God and the only way to God the Father. God’s Word says, that no one calls Christ Lord except through the Holy Spirit and anyone denying that He is Lord does not have the Holy Spirit.

The Muslim was a little different. He believes in the Koran of course, but thinks that God created many different religions for diversity and that they are all good. However, he also unequivocally stated that there can only be one God, so the Buddhist are wrong for worshipping multiple gods (sounds a little contradictory). Bob hopes to speak with him again, as well to find out what authority he is basing that and other statements on.

The believer we met believes that God’s Word is his authority and he has tried to emulate Christ as portrayed in Scriptures to the point of selling everything he had and living on the streets ministering to the homeless. He was filled with piercings, and though we might not agree with all of his methodology we had to be encouraged by his zeal to follow in Christ’s footsteps and love for people.

These four men, and every other person alive bases their decisions and beliefs on fundamental bedrock presuppositions and those presuppositions determine the way that we think and live out our lives. Those who would say that you can not know truth, or that there are no absolutes are also living based on “absolute” presuppositions. Those people will still call things “good” or “bad” and “right” or “wrong” and they have to have some authority by which they make those decisions. Others might say that their presupposition or final authority is logic, or science. However, it begs the question, where did those “laws” of science and logic originate? The big bang? Where do the laws of science come from? No one denies that 2+2 equals 4, and even if that truth is denied, the fact remains the same.

I believe in an absolute, foundational truth, and that is that God exists and that He has spoken to us through His Word. I believe that He masterfully designed and created all life, created the laws of science and logic, and rules over all whether anyone believes in Him or not. He embodies all that is good and true, and there are clearly beliefs and actions that are completely opposed to his character and are evil.

For those who say that “truth is relative” and there really is no such thing as right or wrong, I’d like to see how they’d respond if their child was killed, or their property was damaged or stolen. Suddenly, something within says, “That’s wrong.” God created each of us with a conscience, and has written His law on our hearts so that we recognize right and wrong.

Although, some have hardened themselves to God’s revelation by continually suppressing His truth, His truth still remains unchanged. One day, “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Praise the Lord for His perfect, unchanging character! Praise the Lord that we can rest in the absolute truth of His Word and find our peace and security in Him!

I would love to hear your comments on this subject. If you want more information on my beliefs, see My Encounter with the Master Designer under the About Page. You can also visit, Kids 4 Truth to find out more information on Biblical Christianity and Creation. Feel free to email me if you want to discuss this further in private. You can simply click on my signature.

Please note that I just updated this file! It’s completely print ready right now, or you can edit and print it. This is a customizable Prayer Journal in a Word Document. It includes a daily prayer schedule set up, places to include unsaved friends and family members, missionaries, ministries, as well as personal prayer requests and praises. It also contains a daily Bible reading calendar, a way to keep track of Scripture memory, and some additional resources and scriptures. As a note, the scripture passages are from the ESV. I might be adding a KJV version, and I’ll also upload an older version of Word if there are requests for it.

The formatting is designed to be printed and put into a half inch, half sheet three ring binder. Simply download the zip folder, extract the file, and edit the document however you choose. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Access to a printer (it is formatted already for two pages per sheet, so just print on plain 8.5 x 11 paper)
2. Access to a paper cutter (unless you want to free-hand it with scissors…not recommended)
3. A three ring hole puncher
4. A 1/2″ three ring binder designed for 5.5″ x 8.5″ pages (half sheets)

Click Here to Download this File

I hope you enjoy, and please leave comments on what you like or dislike about the set up.