Strength for Today – Page 18 – Old Paths Journal

Shining Your Light in a Dark World

by: Dr. Allen Domelle

Matthew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

For many years, I have preached at the Gospel Light Baptist Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. At night, you can see the lights of Albuquerque from the church parking lot. It is a beautiful sight. Another church where I’ve preached several times that has the same landscape is the Westside Baptist Church of Pacifica, California. When I’m driving back to my hotel from the church, you can see the lights of the Bay Area shining brightly at night. In both of these churches, you can clearly see the need for the Gospel at night because of the bright lights shining at night.

God says in verse 14, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Just like these churches are situated in a place where you can see the lights of the city, God says that the Christian’s light is like a city set on a hill, it “cannot be hid.” Your responsibility as a Christian is to be sure the world sees your light shining brilliantly towards Christ. Four things must be done if you are going to shine your light brightly in a dark world.

First, you cannot have light unless you have the Light inside of you. The Light is Jesus Christ. Salvation is the only way you can have His Light shining in you. Verse 4 compares your light shining to a city that is “set on an hill.” The hill to where you must go to get the Light of Christ in your life is the hill of Calvary. It is only through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ which allows you the opportunity to have His light in you. If you’ve never accepted Christ as your Saviour, you will never have the light you need to shine in this dark world.

Second, you are the only light the world may see. This world in which we live is in darkness. If you are the “light of the world,” the only light they can see is through you. It is important for the world to see your light shining brightly. They will never have an opportunity to get saved if you don’t shine your light so the whole world can see it.

Third, the world will not see the Light unless you do the works of light. The verse above shows us that it is through our “good works” that the Christian shines their light. Friend, going to church is not enough. It is when the Christian is yielded to the Holy Spirit and does the works of righteousness that the world sees your light shining. What you must realize is that they only see the light that shines through you. Your light shines only because of the Light that shines in your soul. You have no light without the Light. The more works of righteousness you do for Christ the more the world sees the light of Christ. Seeing the light of Jesus Christ is the only hope this world has to make it through the darkness of sin. I must ask, do you have any works for Christ through which the world can see the Light of Christ? Those works are the only thing which will cause the world to see that the Light is more powerful than darkness. Remember, the more works you do, the brighter the light shines through you.

Fourth, only you can hide the light from shining through you. In verse 15, it is clear that you are the only one who places a “bushel” over your light to keep others from seeing the Light that is in you. What is the “bushel” which prevents others from seeing the Light? Light is more powerful than darkness, and people are always attracted to Light, but if you hide your light they will only see darkness. Don’t hide your light; instead, take any “bushel” away that keeps your light from shining.

Spirit Abuse

by: Dr. Allen Domelle

Malachi 2:14
“Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.”

One thing that boils a man’s blood is to hear how another man physically abuses his wife. Several years ago, I was able to help a young lady who was being abused by her boyfriend. It took everything inside of me not to lose my cool against this male when I saw the bruises on her arms and eye. As my dad used to tell me, “No real man will hit his wife.” Physical spousal abuse is wrong no matter if the wife or husband do it.

However, in the verse above, God deals with another type of abuse that happens in a marriage, and it is spirit abuse. You will see no bruises or broken bones with spirit abuse. Spirit abuse is probably the most common type of abuse found in marriages. Spirit abuse is commonly committed by both spouses, and it is probably at the core of most divorces. You may get disgusted with physical abuse, but spirit abuse is probably more hurtful than physical abuse. Please don’t take me wrong, physical abuse is hurtful and will cause spirit abuse, but the broken bones and the bruises caused will heal whereas the spirit rarely heals in spirit abuse. In the next four verses, you find there are four types of spirit abuse that happen in marriages.

The first type of spirit abuse is a distant companionship. In the verse above, God reminds the priests that they are supposed to be His companion. One thing that will hurt the spirit of your spouse is when you allow someone else to be closer to you than they. Your spouse should be your best friend. Be careful that you don’t allow one of your parents or friends to be closer to you than your spouse. If you want to avoid spirit abuse, let your spouse be your best friend.

The second type of spirit abuse is ungodly acts. In verse 15, God reminded the priests that He sought a “godly seed.” Ungodly living always results in an abused spirit. Ungodliness is a result of selfishness, and selfishness always places your desires before your spouse. When you make everything about yourself, it wears on the spirit of your spouse. You must be careful to live a godly life, and a godly life will always put God first and your spouse second.

The third type of spirit abuse is deceitful activity. In verse 16, God talks about the priest covering violence. Deceit is almost always at the core of covering sin. You cannot have secrets in a happy marriage. I have always found that there is always deceitful activity going on in every marital problem. You will deeply hurt the spirit of your spouse when they discover your deception. The best way to keep from spirit abuse is to be open and honest with your spouse at all times.

Incongruent words are the fourth type of spirit abuse. In verse 17, God wanted the priests to say what they meant. Don’t be a person who speaks in code to your spouse. Always mean what you say when talking to your spouse. Your word should be something they know to be true. Don’t abuse the spirit of your spouse through lies or dishonesty.

Do you find yourself guilty of spirit abuse? The worst type of abuse is the abuse of the spirit. Be careful not to damage the spirit of your spouse, because once it is damaged it may never be healed.

Atmosphere Changers

Zechariah 8:3
“Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.”

Have you ever been in a place where someone’s presence changed the atmosphere? President Wilson told a story about someone whose presence changed the atmosphere of a barber shop. He said that he walked into the barbershop and took the chair next to D.L. Moody. At the time, he did not know it was Moody, but he noticed there was something very different about the man. President Wilson said that the conversation about the LORD changed the atmosphere so much that “It made an impression upon me I have not yet forgotten.”

One great need today are for Christians who are atmosphere-changers. It may seem impossible for your presence to change an atmosphere, but the verse above shows that it can be done if you will dwell in the midst of God. God’s presence in the midst of Jerusalem changed the atmosphere of that city. God’s presence will also change the atmosphere when He dwells in the midst of a Christian’s life. Why? Because God is an atmosphere-changer. When a Christian dwells in the midst of God, four attributes will be evident in their life.

First, truth will be the trademark of your life when you dwell in the midst of God. The Christian who doesn’t mind trimming the truth will find a void of God’s presence in their life. If you want the atmosphere of wherever you go to positively change, you must be a person who believes that the truth must always be told. God will not be present in a place of lies, but He feels at home in the Christian’s life who always tells the truth.

Second, holiness will be the goal of the Christian who dwells in the midst of God. You can’t expect God’s presence to be in the midst of your life when you are identifying more with the world than with Him. The Christian who wants to dwell in the midst of God must come out from the world to God. They won’t try to bring God down to man’s level; rather, they will try to raise their manner of living to God’s level.

Third, verse 4 shows that respect for authority will be the result of the Christian who dwells in the midst of God. Your respect for those who are your authorities shows your respect of God. Sometimes your authorities will be younger than you, but if you dwell in the midst of God it won’t matter. It’s not a matter of their age; it is a matter of the position they hold. Dwelling in the midst of God removes all quandaries with authority because you will be right with the highest authority.

Fourth, verse 5 shows that an enjoyment of life will be the result of the Christian who dwells in the midst of God. One of the characteristics I have always observed of those who are close to God is one of a total enjoyment of life. Their spirit is a happy spirit. Their enjoyable attitude tends to change the atmosphere wherever they frequent. When a Christian dwells in the midst of God, you will find their attitude will become one that is enjoyable to be around.

Friend, these four attributes are imperative if you are going to be a person whose presence changes the atmosphere wherever you go. You will be a better life-changer when you become an atmosphere-changer. This only happens when you dwell in the midst of God.

My Storm Cellar

Nahum 1:7
“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”

It was April 3, 1974, the day when 148 tornadoes ripped through the South. I don’t remember everything clearly about that day and all the tornadoes because of my age. The one thing I do remember is my mother waking me out of sleep, grabbing me in her arms and running to take me to the car. As soon as we got close to the car, I remember lightning striking the tree above our car and a branch falling near us. When our whole family was in the car, my father raced over to the church to get us down into the church basement to keep us safe from the tornadoes. Our home didn’t have a storm cellar, so the church opened the basement to anyone who needed a place to stay safe from the storm. That was a long night as siren after siren went off with men running down the stairs to tell us another tornado was coming. Though our house made it through the storm, many in the church basement were not as fortunate as we were as the tornadoes destroyed their home.

That church basement was our storm cellar. It was our “strong hold in the day of trouble.” It is a common thing in the South for people to have storm cellars to keep them safe in the storm. God denotes that He is the “strong hold” for the Christian. In essence, the LORD is the storm cellar for every Christian. He is the One to Whom the Christian can run on the day of their storm.

The “day of trouble” is that day when something happens that literally shakes your soul. It might be the day when the doctor tells you that you have a disease that will soon take your life. It may be the day when your financial assets have suddenly been taken because of a financial market crash. The “day of trouble” might be the day your spouse left you, and you are sitting in your house alone wondering what just happened. It might be the day when someone threatens you, and the threat is credible enough that you see everything you have done is over. “The day of trouble” might be that day when your child or infant baby is suddenly taken to Heaven. You know what your “day of trouble” is, and if you don’t, you will find out at some point in the future.

Christian, when that day comes, the LORD is the one place to Whom you can run to be safe through the storm. He is your storm cellar. The storm cellar on that dreadful day didn’t stop the devastation around us, but it did keep us safe from the storm. Likewise, the LORD may not stop the devastation around you in your “day of trouble,” but one thing you can rest assured in is the fact that He will protect you from the storm. The LORD is your storm cellar in the “day of trouble.”

Friend, I don’t know what you are facing today. Maybe the spiritual sirens have sounded that the tornadoes of life are on the way. When you see those tornadoes headed directly towards you, the LORD is that storm cellar Who will keep you safe from the storm. God never said in this verse that He would stop the devastation around you, but He is your “strong hold” Who will keep you safe during the devastation. That storm cellar that we went to that devastating night helped this young boy to be able to sleep peacefully in the storm because I felt I was safe. The devastation of the “day of trouble” may be all about you, but if you make the LORD your storm cellar in the “day of trouble,” you will find the peace to make it through the storm and have the courage to continue on when you have to rebuild from its devastation.

Wasted Time

by: Dr. Allen Domelle

Jonah 3:3
“So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.”

The life of Jonah is one of many complexities. We rejoice in the fact that revival came to the city of Nineveh, and the whole city got saved. We condemn the fact that he ran from the will of God. We are delighted that he listened to the voice of God in the belly of the whale and got right. We denounce his self-pity as he sat under the juniper tree. His life is a very complicated life; one that is hard to understand.

One thing that is missed in Jonah’s life is the time he wasted running from God. We are pleased that it only took three days for Jonah to come back to God, but those three days can never be taken back. Though Nineveh had a great revival, that revival came three days too late for some. Some people died and went to Hell in those three days. For three days, children watched their daddy beat their momma in a drunken stupor. For three days, sin continued to violate and destroy the lives of those who participated in it. Though Jonah got right, you can never take back what happened in those three days. Revival would have come three days earlier if he had listened to God in the first place. Instead, those three days were wasted, and many will suffer for eternity because of that.

Sadly, there are many Christians who are just as guilty as Jonah in wasting a short amount of time in their lives doing things they will one day wish they had never done. Christian, you can never take back the days you wasted doing something you shouldn’t have done. That is wasted time that can never be taken back. You must watch out for those things that would waste your days.

One of the greatest time wasters is sin. Sin takes time from you that you can never get back. You may one day repent of your sin, but you can never take the time back that you could have used winning people to Jesus Christ or influencing others. We will rejoice when you come back to God, but what about all of those you could have helped in those three days? They will never be able to take those three days back.

Moreover, running from God’s will is a time waster. The longer you run from God, the more time people will go without the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the place where you are supposed to be. Every day you spend running from the will of God is another day that people will slip off into a Christless eternity. Stop running and wasting time, and start yielding and redeem the time.

Furthermore, being distracted from God’s will is a time waster. Satan is a master distracter. He knows how to get the Christian distracted with things that are not bad, but they are not something with which God wants the Christian to be involved. Sports, politics, hobbies and so much more can become distractions from God’s will. Friend, you may think what you are doing is going to help some other area, but God’s will is the only thing you are supposed to do.

Your purpose of existence is to fulfill the reason as to why God placed you on this Earth. Anything that keeps you from doing His will is a time waster. The Devil is pleased when God’s people waste time because it is one more day he has victory in someone’s life. Don’t give the Devil the pleasure of destroying a life for one day. Stay focused and do God’s will every day because souls hang in the balance.

Generational Perpetuity

Psalm 132:12
“If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.”

We often talk about the importance of the next generation, but if the next generation is so important, the present generation must fulfill their responsibilities. Each generation is in some way a result of the previous generation. If the old paths are so important, and they are, each generation is going to have to do their part to be sure that they are passed down to the next one.

God desires generational perpetuity. God gives a promise in the verse above that if each generation keeps his covenants and testimonies, “their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.” This is what you call generational perpetuity. There are four things we must understand about generational perpetuity.

First, each generation is to teach the next generation. Notice that it says in the verse above, “If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them…” The question must be asked, how is God going to teach them? The answer to this question is the present generation. God always uses people to do His work. If you want your children and grandchildren to know about righteousness, you are going to have to teach them. It is your responsibility to be sure the next generation understands the covenants and testimonies of God.

Second, each generation is affected by the previous generation. For good or bad, the next generation will do what they have been taught through lifestyle and teaching. Whether or not we like it, the present generation is a result of the previous generation. Your children are going to be affected by how you live. You have a much better chance of your children serving God if you live right. Don’t blame God for your children doing wrong if you do wrong in front of them. Children learn how to live by watching their parents. If you don’t want the next generation to turn out the way you live, then change your lifestyle.

Third, each generation is responsible for itself. The perpetuity of the throne is dependent upon how the present generation lives according to God’s Word. Yes, the present generation may have learned bad qualities from the previous generation, but they are ultimately responsible for their own actions. God won’t hold you accountable for how your parents lived, neither will he take into account how they lived, but He holds you responsible for how you live.

Fourth, each generation can break the cycle for good or bad. You can blame the previous generation for what they handed you, or you can take responsibility and do right yourself. “Generational sins” are nothing more than learned habits. You don’t inherit the sins of your parents; you learn them. Those sins may have been in your family line for many generations, but you can be the generation that breaks the cycle so as not to teach the next generation the sins of the family. Someone has to say, “Enough is enough. I’m not going to teach my children the bad qualities that I learned from my parents.” It is up to you! Don’t settle for the learned sins of the previous generation. Take responsibility for your own actions, break the cycle and teach the next generation how to do right. That, my friend, is how you set up generational perpetuity.

Tendencies

Hosea 11:7
“And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.”

Israel had a bad tendency towards backsliding. Their propensity was to serve God, receive His blessings, stray from God, go into captivity, repent, be restored, and start this pattern all over again. This tendency to backslide caused them to miss many of the blessings God had for them, it caused their children to learn the same bad habits, and it also caused their children and grandchildren to suffer God’s judgment. It is sad that Israel never seemed to get away from this tendency.

Tendencies in and of themselves are not bad. You can have good tendencies as well as bad ones. Having the right tendencies is so important to being victorious in the Christian life. Your tendencies are what you will become known for because they are your habits. If you have bad tendencies, it will often take years to change the thinking in the minds of people that you are a changed person if you have changed those tendencies. If you have good tendencies, it will often create trust in others to want to use you for however your tendencies help them. There are several thoughts you should keep in mind concerning creating tendencies.

First, tendencies are started by one bad act. A person who is bent towards doing something would never have that tendency if they didn’t do it the first place. You must be careful with everything that you do because you are creating tendencies that may be hard to break. If you never do something the first time, you will never do it a second time. Be so careful with what you allow yourself to do the first time. Be sure what you do is something you don’t mind having as a lifetime tendency.

Second, being honest towards your tendencies is the only way to change the bad ones. The question you should ask yourself is this, what are you bent towards doing? What is your tendency in life? Lying to yourself is not going to help you change what you need to change. If you have a hard time being honest with yourself, ask your pastor to help you to identify your bad tendencies. I would just about guarantee that he knows what they are if you have been in his church for some amount of time.

Third, break your bad tendencies by creating good ones. Romans 12:21 says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Because a bad tendency has become a habit, you can only break it by breaking the habit. You break bad habits by doing good. If you will do whatever is the opposite of your bad tendency, you will find that over time it will create a good tendency. This is not going to be easy, and for some time you will have to purposely make yourself do the good, but if you don’t give up, you will create a good tendency in the place of the bad one.

Fourth, be patient with others who are trying to change their bad tendencies. Ephesians 4:2 commands the Christian to be “…longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” You need to be forbearing with others if you want them to be patient with you while you try to change your bad tendencies. Always remember that you can’t change others, for only God can do that. More Christians would overcome their bad tendencies if we made longsuffering a part of our arsenal.

The Best Education

by: Dr. Allen Domelle

Hosea 4:1
“Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.”

The importance of improving education is always brought up in every political cycle. When talking to those who are in the ministry, you will often hear how the Bible colleges are lacking in their quality of education. It is as if academia is the key to being successful in life.

However, when you look throughout history, you will find that many never acquired a degree from an institution of higher learning. Indeed, many have gone to an institution of higher learning and received a great education, but when you look at those who were highly successful in serving God, you will find the common thread between them is that they all had a knowledge of God.

One of the reasons God punished His children was because they lacked a knowledge of Him. The verse above says, “…the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.” All the attributes as to why God had a controversy with these people can truly be packaged in that His people lacked a knowledge of Him. If these people had known more about God, they would not have done many of the things that led to God’s judgment.

One of the greatest problems with Christians today is that they lack a knowledge of God. Matthew 22:29 says, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” The reason people make unspiritual decisions is because they lack a knowledge of God and the Scriptures. The reason many fall in sin is because they have not hidden the Scriptures in their heart. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” It is very clear from the Scriptures that the reason someone makes tragic mistakes or falls into sin is because they lack a knowledge of the Scriptures. The Scriptures will keep you from sin.

If a Christian takes the time to study the Scriptures, they will find that they will have more knowledge than those who attend institutions of higher learning. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” The Scriptures are what “throughly” furnishes the Christian to do God’s work. I’m not against reading books, but the best book you can read is God’s Word. Man’s philosophies and education are paltry compared to God’s Word.

Friend, the greatest advice I could give you is to walk with God in the Scriptures. The only place you will get a knowledge of God is in the Scriptures. You might be able to fake your Christianity for a short amount of time, but eventually your lack of a walk with God in the Scriptures will lead you to error and sin. You will find you will be more successful in life and in serving the LORD if you will spend more time studying the Scriptures and increasing your knowledge of God than by studying man’s books and philosophies. If there is one thing you should add to your Christian life, it is to be sure to stay in the Book.

Prayer Habits Needed for Answered Prayers

Daniel 9:4
“And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;”

When you list the prayer warriors in the Scriptures, you would be hard pressed to leave Daniel off the list, much less from the top spot on the list. His life epitomized what the Christian’s prayer life should be like. Throughout the Book of Daniel, you find several habits Daniel had in his prayer life that will help you to get answered prayers if you add all of them to your prayer life. Let me show you these six habits.

First, pray with determination. It says in verse 3, “And I set my face…” That, my friend, is a determined man. You will never get your prayers answered unless there is a fire in your heart that gives you the determination to pray with passion. Too many prayers are just a repetition of words and not a prayer with determination and passion. You will quickly stop praying if you are not determined to get your prayers answered.

Second, pray with humility. Daniel prayed with “sackcloth and ashes.” Don’t approach the throne of prayer as if God is privileged to have your presence; rather, approach His throne with humility realizing the honor you have just to talk to an Almighty God. The prayer of the humble will most definitely get the attention of the all-powerful God.

Third, pray again. Daniel said in the verse above, “And I prayed…” He already said he went to God in prayer in the previous verse, but he went again because he didn’t have the answer. You will never get prayers answered until you create the habit to pray again. It is often the prayer that is prayed again that causes God’s to answer the petition.

Fourth, pray alone. There is nothing wrong with praying with others, but most of your prayers need to be alone. Daniel did pray with his friends, but you will find in Daniel 10:7 and in other places that he was a man who regularly prayed alone. The prayer closet is a lonely place, but it will become a place of refuge for sweet fellowship and holy intervention with a mighty God.

Fifth, pray regularly. In Daniel 6:10, when the law was made that Daniel couldn’t pray, he prayed “as he did aforetime.” You must have a regular time of prayer if you want God to answer your prayers. You will never see an abundance of answered prayers without a regular time to pray.

Sixth, pray through. The saints of old encouraged Christians to “pray through.” In other words, they were encouraging Christians to pray until they broke through and God’s presence entered the prayer closet. Daniel prayed for twenty-one days for God to answer his prayer in Daniel 10:13. He prayed through until he got the answer. Friend, one of the greatest encouragements I can give you is to pray through until you hear from God.

Praying is not for the weak. It will take the fortitude to add these six habits to your prayer life if you want to see answered prayer. Your Christian life will be changed when you add these habits to your prayer life.

Finding Tranquility in a Troubled World

Daniel 4:27
“Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.”

It is no secret that we live in a very troubled world. When you take an honest look at our present-day society, you see a society that is filled with depression, drug addiction, suicide and anger. In an attempt to find tranquility for a very troubled life, many have run to prescription drugs, vices and psychological counseling.

Sadly, society has missed the answer to finding tranquility in a troubled world. Instead of running to vices which only give a temporary reprieve that makes the problems worse once their effects have worn off, we should run to the Word of God that gives the answer on how to find tranquility in a world of trouble. The verse above gives the answer to finding tranquility.

Getting rid of sin is the first step towards finding tranquillity. You will always find that sin is at the core of the chaotic and turbulent problems that people face. Sin is what causes the problems in life. The reason vices and psychological counseling will not give tranquility is because they don’t remove sin. Sin is the problem. Sin is what causes inner turmoil. Sin is what silences peace. Sin is what brings depression. You will never find tranquility in this troubled world until you remove the sin that causes the unrest.

Second, you remove sin through righteousness. One of the reasons people fail to find tranquility is because they get rid of the wrong, but they don’t replace the void with doing right. Of course, it is good to get rid of whatever caused the inner turmoil in one’s life, but the problem is that leaves a void that needs to be filled. If that void is not filled with righteousness, it will be filled again with the problem that caused the inner unrest. You will never find the tranquility you are searching for in life without doing right. Righteous acts give satisfaction and peace to the soul. When you do right, you will feel right with God and yourself.

Helping others is the third step to finding tranquility. The verse above says, “…by shewing mercy to the poor…” One of the reasons a person suffers from inner turmoil is because they are dwelling on themselves. You will never find tranquility in life when you are focused on yourself. Selfishness is what causes you to feel that others are always mistreating you, which creates inner turmoil. If you will get your eyes off yourself and start trying to help others, you will find the noise of turmoil will be silenced with an inner peace.

Fourth, keep your eyes on God. God is the constant thread found throughout this whole recipe for tranquility. You will never find the tranquility and peace you are looking for in life without being right with your Creator. You will never find tranquility in this troubled world without being right with the Prince of Peace. The reason you forsake your sins is to make sure your fellowship is right with God. The reason you do right is to please the Prince of Peace. You can try to find tranquility without God, but you will fail because He is the master key to opening the door to inner peace. If you will take your eyes off yourself, stop seeking worldly pleasures, and place your eyes on God, you will find the tranquility for which you are searching in this tumultuous world.