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“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” --John 14:27 A pastor friend of mine was telling me about his trips to the hospital to visit people who are facing surgery or dealing with an illness. He said that one question he always asks the people in the hospital is, “Are you worried?” He said that most people answer something like, “Oh no, pastor. I have the peace of God.” But when he asked that question to one particularly outspoken church member, she looked at him and said, “Worried? Are you crazy?! People die in this place!” He said it was one of the most refreshing things he had ever heard. With so many church people feeling like they have to put on a strong spiritual face in front of their pastors, someone who was brutally honest was a welcome change! Yesterday, I shared about the faith of Daniel in the lions’ den. And if you’d have asked Daniel if he was worried, he would’ve said, “Are you crazy? People die here!” But despite his worries, he had faith and trusted God for the outcome. Don’t feel like you have to be worry free to have a strong faith. Instead, look worry in the face and say, “You’re nothing compared to my God.” That’s what it means to have faith in the face of worry! FACE YOUR WORRIES WITH FAITH, KNOWING THAT WHILE CHALLENGES ARISE, NOTHING IS BIGGER THAN GOD. Nothing to Add Wednesday, October 23, 2019 by Dr. Paul Chappell “But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Matthew 5:3–6 George Kaufman was a noted playwright and director in the early 1900s. He is probably best remembered today for writing material for the Marx Brothers comedy movies. Kaufman often directed his own plays, though it was not uncommon for him to launch a new production and then go on to work on another project while someone else took over the director’s duties. The story goes that a couple of months after he turned over one of his plays, Kaufman went to see it. Over the weeks of the run the cast and new director had made some additions and changes to the material. Kaufman went backstage and put up an announcement: “Rehearsal tomorrow at 2:00 to remove all the improvements.” God has given us a perfect Word to follow throughout our lives. But often over time people add interpretations and traditions that change the meaning. Jesus dealt with that in His day. What He pointed out was that when we follow the traditions rather than the actual things God has said, we diminish the power of the Bible to nothingness in our lives. There is no need for us to improve or update or rewrite the Scriptures. They are perfect, given by God and kept by His power—His message to us just as surely as when human authors were inspired to write the words. There is nothing to add to what God has said. Today's Growth Principle:  Whenever we add to what God has said, we are hiding the truth and heading for error.