Most of us imagine that in God’s eyes we are just one of millions. We know most people don’t think we are important and so we assume God thinks of us in a similar way. But then, again, God is not like ‘most people.’ We feel that God has favorites and we think we’re a fair way down the list, but we are about to see this is one way where feelings do not correspond to reality. To God, you are special.

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Patience is a lot like forgiveness; it is a three sided virtue. We accept the truth that God is patient with us, and we become patient with ourselves. As we become patient with ourselves, we find that we have become more patient with others. Each facet of patience encourages the others and patience grows. Ponder this. To know the depth of God’s patience with us is to be submerged in His grace. Our wonderful, perfect, Holy God is willing to love me through all of the years that it takes me to become like Jesus.

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Sometimes in our life we have wars and turmoil not of our own making. We can be plunged into conflicts others start. We can be pulled into wars over which we have little control. When we are involved in turmoil, conflict, and chaos, we want inner peace. To find inner peace we must seek out the source of peace. The source of peace is God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Peace in the chaos of life is possible only when we have Christ within us. When we live with the blessed assurance of Christ we have peace. With Christ alive within us we know all things work out just as He wants them to work out. Our circumstances can seem utterly hopeless. We can be eaten alive by the conflict around us and within us. Yet in these times we can hear the gentle voice of Christ telling us He loves us. He tells us we need not have any fear or worry. His voice, His touch, and His reassurance are all we need when we cannot make sense out of our world. With Christ, we have a confidence within us. With Christ, we do not worry about what the next hour will bring because with Christ, we always have Him and His heavenly eternity waiting for us just over the horizon.

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We have a powerful and merciful God. He knows we have all fallen short of His glory, but His mercy is incredible. That is why Christian need to always be aware of His love and His mercy. A day shouldn’t go by without us praising God. We may be barely able to comprehend His mercy, but we know that it is there.

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Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us ‘as the apple of His eye.'” The worth of our lives come not in what we do or who we are, but by WHOSE WE ARE!

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If your heart has been bruised and broken don’t despair. God loves you and is always ready to heal it with His love. All you have to do is let Him. You may have a few cracks left over, but they will just let His light shine more deeply inside you. They will help you as well to touch other broken hearts with your own love. We all may have a few cracks in our hearts, after all, but they only help the love to flow in and out.

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God is head over heels in love with you and me, and desires for us to reflect His light to the world. Can you imagine? We can stand firm on this truth, knowing that God will always look to the beauty within us; the Spirit’s presence that guides us and helps us reflect the true beauty that comes from being a child of God Most High. Don’t toss to and fro to the tide of advertising schemes and skewed image requirements – stand strong on God’s Word, and delight in the promise that it is our inner beauty that pleases God.

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A good cure for a critical spirit is an honest look at ourselves—not at others.

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No matter how much or how badly people have sinned, God’s love can still reach them. Even drug dealers. Even murderers. The worst person you can imagine can receive God’s forgiveness by humbly asking for it. There’s no such thing as a person God no longer wants. There are only people who haven’t accepted his love.

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