Breaking Free From Worry by Knowing Jesus ...Continued from page 1

Second, we need to take the step of right thinking (verse 8). Maintaining personal peace involves both the heart and the mind. If you want peace in your heart, then you have to get your thoughts in order, because what we think about ultimately affects what we do. We want to nip in the bud any thoughts that would be impure or spiritually destructive.

Isaiah 26:3 promises, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (NKJV).

The third step is right living (verse 9). You cannot separate outward action from inward attitude. When you live a wicked life, you are constantly in turmoil, because sin always results in unrest.

In contrast, when you live right before God, you have His peace. Isaiah 32:17 says, "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (NKJV).

Are you a person who is gripped by worry today? Before you can know the peace of God, you need to have peace with God. But this is only possible through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To learn more, simply go to www.knowgod.org.

If you're reading this today and know Jesus Christ, then you don't have to worry about tomorrow. God is in control of your life. You may not know what tomorrow holds, but you know who holds tomorrow.

This article was originally published on Friday, September 19, 2003

Greg Laurie pastors Harvest Christian Fellowship (one of America's largest churches) in Riverside, California. He has authored several books including the Gold Medallion Award winner, The Upside-Down Church, as well as Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners and The Best Is Yet to Come. You can find his study notes in the New Believer's Bible and The Seeker's Bible.

Host of the Knowing God with Greg Laurie television program and the nationally syndicated radio program A New Beginning, Laurie is also the founder and featured speaker for Harvest Crusades-contemporary, large-scale evangelistic outreaches, which local churches organize nationally and internationally. Laurie has also appeared on CNN'sLarry King Live, ABC World News Tonight, Fox News, and MSNBC, sharing how the Bible is relevant for people today.

Whether speaking or writing, God has gifted Pastor Laurie with the ability to apply biblical principles to current events in a way that is relevant and easily understood by people of all ages, from all walks of life. The trademark of a Greg Laurie sermon, book, or broadcast is his contemporary, yet straightforward style and format. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Cathe.