It seems that there is one thing people have in common: we all experience pain. It’s the universal thorn in everyone’s side. I have posted many blogs with Bible verses related to comfort. What are some of your most comforting verses? What do you do to find comfort when you are sad?
Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:32-33
Jesus offers us peace. He does not promise to take away all of our problems. In fact, we will have countless trials and frustrations, but through all the heartache we can still have peace.
How is it possible to have peace in the midst of adversity? I think the first key to peace is that we, as Christians, can be confident that God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We can be comforted by God’s presence and His love.
Another key to peace is prayer. Ask for God’s peace and direction. We should seek His wisdom about the best way to handle our difficulties.
Praying for wisdom and reading the Bible to find out what God has to say about various issues are two very important steps on our road towards peace. When we discover what God wants us to do, we should do as He commands. Jesus tells us in John 14:23, ““Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” This brings us back to our first point: peace is found in God’s presence. This verse helps us understand that obedience is necessary for a close relationship with God and for us to experience peace in the midst of our heartaches.
Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.
Lamentations 3:22-23
When you’re in the midst of pain, it doesn’t seem like God is showing you much mercy, but looking back it’s easier to see His caring hand supporting you and comforting you in the midst of pain. When you’re hurting, sometimes He sends caring friends your way to show you His love. Their words may be inadequate or awkward, but their efforts speak of their love.
About two weeks ago I lost my Uncle Bud, a dear, sweet man who touched the lives of many. He was a constant encouragement to me while I was growing up. He had an ability to instill in you a sense of confidence that you could accomplish whatever you set your mind to do. His ability to inspire people and touch their lives was clearing evident when he died. Over two thousand people came to show their respects to him! My Uncle Bud was a man who lived in a very small town all his life. (There’s only a post office, a gas station, and a Dollar General, besides the prisons, in the small town he lived in all his life.) It amazes me how a 77-year-old man could make such a difference in the lives of so many people. However, when I think about it, I know why. He was a man who loved God and helped people to believe that they could accomplish great things with God’s help.
Seeing the outpouring of people’s love when he died was God’s way of providing mercy to our family. Although it has been a painful time, we have been comforted and supported by the people who have been touched by my Uncle Bud’s life. God’s mercy and love gives us hope for the future.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the blog hop.
Grand Prize Winners for the Blog Hop
Marnie Pohlmann
Patricia Day
I enjoyed visiting the author websites during the blog hop, and I hope my readers enjoyed the experience too.
May God bless you today and always as you read the Bible. May you find strength, comfort, and encouragement in your relationship with him.
Blessing from the Bible: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
Blog Posting for May 7th.
Welcome to the 1st John 3:16 Giveaway Blog Hop! As one of the members of this great network of Christian Authors, I am excited to participate in this event! We have come together this week to showcase our books and to give you, our readers, a chance to win some great prizes as you “hop” from blog to blog. A different prize is offered at each blog site (no purchase necessary), however if you want to have a chance to win one of two Kindles the network is giving away, the only requirement is that you sign up for the John 3:16 ezine newsletter. (Located at the top right side column of the John 3:16 blog site.)
At our blog, you can DOWNLOAD FREE GREETING CARDS. The free greeting cards are our free gifts to visitors who are participating in the blog hop.
(See official rules here.)
At the other blogs, each author will require that you leave a comment (and a valid email address) so they may contact you if you win a prize offered on their blog site.
May I also suggest that you show your love and appreciation to each blog host by either following them on Twitter, or “liking” them on Facebook or even subscribing to their blog. It won’t help your odds of winning a prize but I know each author would be thrilled and very encouraged!
As part of our participation in the blog hop, we are offering free greeting cards to anyone who visits our site. Download and print your free greeting card.
So tell your friends about the John 3:16 Giveaway Blog Hop! It’s going to be a great week of fun!
Just click on the links below to go from blog to blog! Happy hoppin’!
Blog Hop Participants:
During May 7-14 the Christian marketing group, John 316, will be having a blog hop. Fifty-five Christian authors and writers will be donating free items on their website or having visitors enter a contest to win a prize. The goal of the blog hop is to encourage people to visit the different author blogs. There will be links to all 55 author sites on our blog during the blog hop
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Kevin and I will be offering free downloadable greeting cards to anyone who visits our sites. These greeting cards can be printed from your printer and feature some of Kevin’s photographs that he sells at art shows. (These will be small pictures. To get larger pictures or to buy a canvas, visit www.lightingwild.com.)
There will be a variety of prizes offered by the different websites. The grand prizes are two Kindles. If visitors sign up for the free ezine at http://john316mn.blogspot.com/ between May 7-14, they will be entered to win a Kindle.
