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Blessed are the peacemakers. Jesus came to break down walls that divide. Since we are supposed to be like Him, let’s do the same in our own relationships. Let’s encourage others to do the same too. Do you know that because you are a Christian, you have the ministry of reconciliation? That not only helps us in our personal life, with our spouse and kids, we can help others be reconciled to each other as well. Recently when I spoke at a Wednesday night service, I prayed for reconciliation for family members who were estranged. One woman came up to me right after service and asked that I specifically pray for her daughter who she hadn’t seen or heard from in 2 years. She went home from the service, called her up, and spoke with her for over an hour, and they reconciled that evening. She is planning to come home! I was so happy to be able to help through my prayer, and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit to help begin the process of reconciliation in their lives. Don’t you know that was God’s heart for them all along? God put us on the planet to do that. He wants everyone to know His peace and His presence. Let’s be peace makers at work, in our churches, and especially in our homes. Let’s have homes that are an welcome oasis, and a soft place to fall. Many homes are like a war zone, with fallout and shrapnel flying around everywhere, sometimes on a daily basis. Let’s hold up the standard of righteousness and live in peace, and teach our families that living in the peace of God is the best way to live. As we believe for peace in your life this year, I encourage you to be a peacemaker in your own family, and radiate the peace of God wherever you go.

Be a peacekeeper. Did you know that’s who we are as believers? We are called to keep peace! The Bible tells us repeatedly to seek peace and to pursue it. We are called the salt of the earth, and one of the things salt does is preserve things. We are a preservative in this world’s system. When everyone else is in turmoil, unset, or living in chaos, we are the ones who set the standard of peace. We know a soft answer turns away wrath. We don’t have to have the last word. We don’t always have to state our opinion, when we know it will bring a conflicting view. We do know that we can raise the standard of righteousness by how we respond and react in any situation. We don’t fight fire with fire! We are called to bring peace, and because the Prince of Peace has come, we get to bring his message and live His message everywhere we go. So why not bring a higher level of peace to each situation you encounter. Remember what Jesus came to do. He came to bring peace on earth. He brought joy to the whole world, and came as the Prince of Peace. Let Him reign in your heart and life. You are called to peace! Let’s believe for MORE peace in your life, and the ability to be a peace keeper in your relationships and in situations that you face, today.

Phil 4:7 says that God’s peace can be ours! That tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and fearing nothing and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace, which transcends all understanding will garrison and mount a guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (That’s from the Message Bible) How can we experience that tranquil state of soul, that peace that passes understanding in a world that is stressed out? One of the best things to do, anytime, is to speak peace to your soul. Jesus spoke to the storm, and He speaks peace to us through His Word. We can remind ourselves of his words and speak peace to our inner man, to silence the turmoil, or even the feeling that things are out of control. Doesn’t it do your heart good to know that everything is going to be ok? Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that fact. God is our provider, our protector and our promoter. He is taking care of us. We know that even if the enemy attacks us, what the devil intends for evil, God can still turn it around for our good. So say to yourself, soul, be still. Speak peace to your inner man, and live fearlessly and victoriously. God has a great plan for your life and it is full of the peace that only he can give. That is how we can live in the MORE that God has for us.

How dependent are you on God for everything? We all know that God can transform your life, but do we really give Him the opportunity to do that? Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. Let’s depend on the Spirit of God fully, 24/7/365 days a year by being fully immersed in the Word of God, and living fully in tune with the Holy Spirit. Do you know that God has MORE for us than we could think, dream or imagine? Why not start today believing for more in every area of your life. You were made for more, so I encourage you go for it, and live the life that God has for you. Here is your encouraging word about more peace for you, today.

In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He was speaking of the Holy Spirit who was soon to come. He sent the Holy Spirit as the comforter so we could have peace even in the midst of stress, strain, irritation or uncertainty. In the world you shall have tribulation (we live in a fallen world where there will be persecution), but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) Peace is the result of resting in God. Rest is what restores our physical bodies, and peace is what restores our spirits. Rest and peace are often foreign to us. Busy is what we’re all too good at. Rest is what we need to be good at! My good friend once said, busy isn’t of the devil, it is the devil! I’m not sure if that was original or not, but true none the less. Often when I ask anyone how they are, their answer is “busy”, almost like a badge of honor. Wouldn’t it be great to answer that question with – “I’m peaceful, tranquil, and totally rested.” For believers, we should live there! Life shouldn’t be a busy irritation, it should be peaceful, rest-filled, and restoring to our souls. How do we experience rest in the midst of the daily hassles we must deal with? Peace comes when we choose love over hate, joy over frustration, patience over irritability, kindness over meanness, goodness over revenge, faithfulness over manipulation, gentleness over harshness, and self-control over indulgence. Peace is the result! Let’s experience peace in our homes, in our communities, in our nation and in the world.

Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before! Do you believe that? I sure do. Knowing and serving Jesus everyday makes life sweeter and sweeter. It is the greatest way to live. I’ve heard some people call that living in the sweet spot. The sweet spot is where you will find the secret to joy filled living. There are lots of people looking for the secret to living joyfully, and as believers we have found the secret! We have found that joy! That joy is found in Jesus! As children of God we are rightful heir to the blessing of overflowing joy. Psalms 16:11 says that in God’s presence is fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore. That is real joy. I think you will love these definitions.

Joy is the deeply entrenched, unshakeable belief, the result of sustained right thinking and dwelling on the character and nature of God.

Joy is an outward sign of inward faith in the promises of God. Joy is the path you choose to follow each day.

Joy is within us, but it must be released to be experienced.

Think about this phrase again, “As children of God we are rightful heirs to the blessing of overflowing joy”. We have to really believe that! God wants us to live joyfully. When we make a choice to live joyfully, we can see that simple little things really do matter. Take time today to ponder ways you can be more joyful. Most of all, choose joy TODAY! Sing for joy, Dance for joy, Shout for joy, Clap for joy – Let’s do it! Let’s live joyfully today!

Have you noticed how easy it is to get distracted? I know with me, it takes very little to lose focus. Sometimes just having someone else talking in another conversation near to where I am can totally be distracting. Or reading an incoming text before I need to send one of my own, can make me forget who and what I needed to send a text for. If we need to keep focus, what is the best thing to do? Sometimes it means putting your focus directly on what you need to concentrate on. I’ve heard it called single vision. When it comes to focusing on God, the Bible tells us to look at Him, to listen to Him, and pay attention to His Word, so we can experience the joy-filled abundant life Jesus died to give us. When we do that, we can keep our focus right. You can try it as an experiment and see how it really works. Put something on the table, about the size of a domino, and then focus just on it. In a short period of time, everything else around will get blurry, but you will see the object perfectly. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, things around us don’t get blurry, but they don’t have the hold on us that they used to. That is a very good thing. We don’t have to let circumstances or situations keep us from focusing on God and his good plan for our lives. In the midst of any situation, we can keep our heart centered on God, and experience the joy of the Lord. We can praise Him through any storm or situation that comes against us. So keep your focus! Don’t lose sight of Jesus, because He is the real source of joy for every area of your life.

If we want to live joyfully, as believers we should live out our dreams with passion. Don’t be afraid to go for what God has placed in your heart to do! You only live once, and you don’t want to die with regrets. In the process of living life more fully, and with more joy, why not consider incorporating these thoughts into your daily life. Exercise better,
reduce clutter,
be more energetic,
act the way you want to feel,
quit nagging (kids and spouses),
give praise and appreciation lavishly,
resolve conflict quickly,
aim higher,
learn something new,
be more efficient,
enjoy today,
sing in the morning (or all day long!),
make happy memories (help your kids have a happy childhood),
smile more (eyebrows up, mouth turned up, teeth showing!),
find more time for fun, be silly, be generous, speak kind words (is what you are going to say nice, is always a good question to ask),
make a new friend,
start a gratitude journal,
write a bucket or a life list,
meditate on God’s word for a minimum of 10 min each day,
volunteer for an organization you are passionate about,
eliminate time wasters,
do what you love,
read a book about your passion,
live mindfully,
keep a food diary,
practice awareness to needs of others,
speak peace to your soul,
live with no worries,
renew your mind to God’s thoughts,
think on these things listed in Phil 4:8,
live a contented life,
laugh out loud,
use good manners,
have your own quiet spot,
give compliments,
be positive,
live joyfully,
choose joy today,
be yourself (God wants you to be you!).
Don’t forget to live the wonderful abundant life that God has for you. Expect more, today!

What kind of evidence is there in your life that you intimately know the Father? One great big indicator is that we live in His joy. John 15:11 Gives us a pattern for living that way, and it begins with obeying His command to remain in His love, and have His words remain in us. It says, I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be full, complete, filled to the brim and overflowing. When we do two simple things, live in His Word, and live out His love, His joy is completely ours! What a fabulous result and benefit from loving and serving God! The prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17:13 can be restated this way. “Father, let my followers be filled to the brim with the joy I possess. I will be in them pouring My own joy into their own hearts!” Think of it, He gave it all for us to live completely content and satisfied, with His joy springing up from the inner man. Our spring of joy is from God, as it says in Psalms 87:7. Joy springing up on the inside, filling us up completely, and then running out over the top! We are God’s joy spring! By us getting to know God deeper, learning His ways, through His Word and spending time in His presence, we get the tremendous blessing of living life, filled up and overflowing with the joy of the Lord.

“Stuff” can give temporary pleasure. You’ve probably already realized that! We can want something for a long time, and then when we get it, we lose interest in it very soon. Think of Christmas day and kids. Sometimes the toys they get on Christmas morning are obsolete even before Christmas Day is done. Joy, real joy comes from having a relationship with God. Happiness is temporary, in fact, the word happiness comes from the Latin root hap, which means chance. If we are looking for happiness, it will continue to be out of our reach, because circumstances are never perfect. So happiness indeed is circumstantial. If we try to fill our lives with stuff, we could soon be have houses that are filled to the brim and hearts that are empty and joyless. Joy starts from the inside out. Joy starts with Jesus. When we invite him into our lives, and make him our boss, life can really start to get fun. Then we get to be a part of a new family, that is ever increasing. When we get saved, we then are priviledged to spread the good news, and be an avenue of introducing others to Christ. New birth brings life. There is nothing like the joy of seeing a new believer “born” into the kingdom of God. The Bible says that heaven rejoices, and that the angels of God rejoice and sing over us. In other words, heaven throws a party. So instead of looking for stuff to satisfy, be totally, completely, permanently satisfied with Jesus and keep the family of God growing….introduce someone to Jesus.

The Bible is full of Joy Scriptures. Here are just a few, It says to count it all joy in James 1:2. God will fill you with joy in His presence, and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16:11. With joy will you draw water from the well of salvation. Is 12:3. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full John 16:24. For the kingdom of God is not just eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Romans 14:17. I have told you this (That you love like my Father loves you, and obey his commands) so my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete John 15:11. I say these thing while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. John 17:13. I Thes 5:16-18 Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. I think it is pretty evident that the life God has for us is one that is filled with JOY! We know that circumstances change, but God never does. Thing around us can go up and down, but God is steady eddy. He never waivers! So how can we live joyfully 24/7/365? In His presence is fullness of joy, so finding a way to involve God in every part of your day and remain in God’s presence is one major key to living joyfully. So I encourage you to get a lot of God’s Word in your heart that talks about joy, and begin living it. Be a worshipper, stay in constant conversation with God, and live in God’s presence 24/7. Then no matter what your circumstances, joy can take up residence in your heart.