Peace In A Crazy World

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:4-8 NKJV)

The above passage from Philippians is one of my favorite in all of Scripture. My wife tells me that I am very patient in the things which matter most, but the things which do not matter, I am very impatient. I hate getting stuck behind a slow driver!!! Then there is worry, which is also something I must always constantly do battle with. All of us believers face many things in our lives which may drive us crazy, such as arguments with those close to us. Then there is the issue of divisions in the church for various reasons. If you read the above passage in context with Philippians chapter four, it gives us a biblical procedure for attaining unity in the church. Beyond this, one may also draw application into many areas of our lives if we would only apply it more deeply. If things have you down, for what ever reason, count your blessings. If you are fighting with a loved one, write out a list of the things you love about that person. While we do not neglect things which are troubling, our focus must always be on the Lord and the things which are good. We should also always rejoice, be gentle, be patient, and pray always; then we receive His promise. What is His promise? It is the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

I will not be writing a post next week as I am blessed to spend some precious time with loved ones. Take care and God bless.

Know God, Know Peace

My heart and prayers goes out for the victims at the Boston Marathon along with their friends and families. I pray the Lord comforts those who are grieving and heals the injured. I pray that the Lord reveals His love through this tragedy that many come to know that the Lord is good. It is troubling to see all the things going on around the world today. I often ask, "How much longer, O Lord, till you come and put an end to the works of the devil?" The local news is loaded with murder, rape and theft. We hear of wars and rumors of war. There are many without jobs, with little hope of finding one. In various places around the world, those who follow the Lord are persecuted, even martyred for their faith. Perilous times are upon us. In our world today, the things which are evil, are called good. Then things which are good are called evil. Sin is being glorified. Those of us who make a stand for what is good, the things which are true are called "haters." There are many who are suffering from an illness, or lost a loved one. For others, their marriages are on the rocks.

How is it that we can have peace in a troubled world? Or is peace even possible?

³ 

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
 Trust in the Lord forever,
For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength. 
(Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV)

The only true and lasting peace is found in the Lord. Yes it is true one may feel as though they are at peace for a time and a season. But at any moment, earthly peace may be shattered. If our security is found in anything of this world, it will come to an end and let you down. The keys to true and lasting peace is through faith and rejoicing in the Lord. When we do these things, Jesus will give us His peace. He is the "Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End. Jesus came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly.(John 10:10) No matter what may come our way, Jesus will give us His peace which surpasses all understanding, but our faith must be in the Lord because He knows the beginning from the end and all things are under His authority.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18 NKJV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:4-8 NKJV) 

My New Year's Thoughts

Well, 2012 in now in the history books and I hope all of you had a happy and safe New Year. I remember last year as being a year of fear for many people. I heard story after story of how the economy would crash along with others who believed the world would come to an end. Obviously, neither of these things happened. There was also the crowd who believed we are on the eve of destruction, so they are committed to prepping. While some prepped to be prepared just in case of emergency, others prepped out of fear of the crash which they believed is to come. I am sure prepping will continue to be trend of this year. Yes, there are many threats which could result in a major catastrophe in the near future, but will they happen or not is something we will have to wait and see. I have to wonder how many are prepared for the one thing which we know lies ahead. That is: "It is appointed for man to die once, and then comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) Then another area of fear for some is that man will destroy the environment through green house gases, weapons of mass destruction or by some other means. But the Bible says that God will destroy this world and then He will create a new heavens and a new earth. (2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21)

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I do not have to allow all the concerns of this world consume me in fear. Nothing can separate me from the love of God for I know one day I will live in His Heavenly kingdom. There is no need to fear an economic collapse as God owns all the resources any way and He can give them to whom He so chooses. God promises in His Word to "provide for all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) Jesus said all we have to do is “seek the kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all these things will be added to us." (Matthew 6:25-34) While Jesus warned with these words; “in this world we will have tribulation,” He also comforts us with His encouragement "to be of good cheer because He has overcome this world." (John 16:33)

Since making New Year’s resolutions is common this time of year, I guess I should talk a bit about that since I am rambling on with my thoughts. I usually do not go out and make New Year’s resolutions, but fear and worry is something which I have battled with. This year I desire to have growth and victory in this area through Jesus Christ. Second, I want to grow in my relationship with the Lord and in my relationship with my wife. Finally, I desire continuing serving the Lord in whatever way He leads me.

Enough rambling on, but I hope and pray each of you have a blessed 2013 in Christ Jesus.

Joy in the Presence of the Lord

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

(John 15:11 NKJV)

In my last blog post I wrote about how Jesus offers us His peace and we let ourselves have a troubled heart. If you have not read it, please click here to do so if you like. Today I will take this subject a bit further because He not only wants us to have His peace, but His joy. In these days many are suffering and lacking His joy. Experiencing His joy seem unlikely especially during times of suffering. However, even in our suffering, peace and joy is available to us. A perfect example of this would be the Apostle Paul who wrote the book of joy (Philippians) from prison. You may find this interesting; I did a quick key work search using the New King James Version for the words joy and peace just in the Book of John. Joy came up 9 times and peace another 3 times. In the whole Bible joy 188 times and peace 384 times. So Jesus definitely wants peace and joy for His followers. I believe this to be important to Him.

First off, what His peace and joy is not. Get saved, say a prayer and live happily ever after. Now we have nothing but smooth sailing here forward. Actually just the opposite is true, Jesus promises tribulation. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Believers will get sick and loved ones will die. In much of the world, believing in Jesus can cost you your life. Persecution of God’s children has been quite common since the beginning of time.

At the top of this post I started off quoting John 15:11. Notice what Jesus said here. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” What things is Jesus talking about? Let’s take a look. At the beginning of the chapter He said something very critical we must not overlook.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:1-5)


First thing to notice is Jesus is the true vine, His Father is the vinedresser and we are the branches. Here lay’s the first key to having His peace and joy. When you look at a vine you will notice the branches are always attached to the vine. If it is a bright and sunny day, the branch is attached to the vine. When the worst of storms arises, the branch is attached to the vine. Likewise for us, when everything is well, we need to be abiding in the Lord. When the storms arise we are already there abiding in the Lord. Our source of joy is not in the things of this world but God. Our joy is not because we are experiencing smooth sailing in life, but we are rejoicing because we are in the presence of the Lord.

You will show me the path of life;

 In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

Stay tuned, the Lord willing, I plan to write more on this subject.

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Peace or a Troubled Heart

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27 NKJV)


I was reading John chapter 14 when I came to verse 27 and I noticed something which hit me. Jesus said “Peace I give you…Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” What caught my attention was while He gives peace, we let our heart be troubled and afraid. Jesus was telling His disciples this because He had just informed them He is going to depart and go to heaven. I would like to put ourselves in the disciple’s shoes for a moment. They had walked with God in human flesh who loved them unlike anyone else was capable. They saw Him walk on water, calm the storms, raise the dead, give sight to the blind and heal the lepers. No one had ever spoken with the wisdom or authority Jesus had. The disciples were on an adventure which parallels none. Now the adventure most likely appears to be coming to an end and Jesus is going to die and go to heaven! That must have been overwhelming and very troubling. Look at ourselves when we either suffer loss or know we are fixing to. It can be devastating, yet consider the loss being the Son of God! Of course we know Jesus was going to give them the Holy Spirit and He would never leave or forsake them. But Jesus would be in heaven and they would not see Him in the flesh anymore. The point I want to get to here is, Jesus told them "let not your hearts be troubled or afraid." That means, even in this, they let their heart be troubled. This applies to us also. Jesus gives us peace; we let our hearts be troubled and afraid. Most likely our situation is not greater than that of the disciples. Do not take me wrong, I do not want to minimize our situation because it is real. But His peace is available to each and everyone who is a child of God, no matter what our situation is.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:7 NKJV)

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