Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
THE PEACE OF GOD
THE PEACE OF GOD *
'Tis "perfect peace" our Savior gives To all who lean on Him.In turmoil, pain, and sickness His eye is never dim. He clothes the lilies of the field, He cares for every bird;Our very hairs are numbered,'Tis written in His Word.
'Tis "perfect peace" our Savior gives, When trust in Him is laid. Tho' trials come, rest in Him; He said, "Be not afraid,I will ne'er leave nor forsake thee,I came to give thee rest,Then come to Me, ye weary Lean on my loving breast..."
'Tis "perfect peace" our Savior gives; Ah, dear friend, 'tis for you,Tho storms may rage and testings,His Word is ever true. Tho' darkness comes, the sun still shines Above the darkened way, And God above will give the grace To help you through the day.
'Tis "perfect peace" our Savior gives, And when the trial is o'er And you've come forth victorious You'll praise Him more and more; You'll tell of Christ, your constant Friend And of His watchful care; Then joy unknown will answer Your witness everywhere.
Author Unknown To Me
Dear Lord Jesus I thank you for the perfect peace You give to me and to all of us who trust in You. Be with those who visit this forum today and bless them Lord Meet their every need Father and let them feel your peace too. Jesus I love you so much and lift You up and give You glory for all that You have done in my life and for what You are going to do in the future. Let Your anointing flow over this forum and send revival I pray In Jesus' Name, Amen .~
GOD IS SPEAKING TO US
This has been around before, God is speaking to us all of the time and sometimes we fail to recognize it:
The man whispered, "God, speak to me," and a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, "God, speak to me," and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you." And a star shined brightly. But the man did not see.And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle." And a life was born. But the man did not notice.So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me, God, and let me know you are here."
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted -- even in our electronic age.
So I would like to add one more:
The man cried, "God, I need your help!" And an e-mail arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement. But, the man deleted it and continued crying .
So the man yelled, "God, speak to me," and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you." And a star shined brightly. But the man did not see.And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle." And a life was born. But the man did not notice.So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me, God, and let me know you are here."
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted -- even in our electronic age.
So I would like to add one more:
The man cried, "God, I need your help!" And an e-mail arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement. But, the man deleted it and continued crying .
Don't miss out on a blessing, because it isn't packaged the way that you expect.
-- Vision without action achieves nothing.
-- Vision without action achieves nothing.
Action without vision just passes the time.
Vision with action can change the world.- Nelson Mandela
Friday, July 27, 2007
Rose's - PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION
Prayer and Supplication
We read in the newspaper about the wars going on all over the globe and we pray for peace in this world. We see on the television news about all the fighting that occurs between the political parties in Washington and we wish for peace in our society. When we experience squabbles and arguments among relatives, we would like for there to be peace in our families. And when there are fusses and feuds in a local congregation, we try to work for peace in the church. All these things are good and necessary, but there is something that is more important, and that is having peace with God and consequently in our own hearts. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). In these verses, we have Paul's prescription for peace. First, there is a negative. "Be anxious for nothing." Medical experts tell us that stress produced by anxiety is one of the greatest mental health problems in our nation. People worry about losing their jobs, their investments, and their health. These are all legitimate concerns, but there is a difference between concern that produces the proper preparation and provision on the one hand, and anxiety or worry on the other. It often may be a fine line, but Christians need to stay on the side of not being anxious. Jesus had a lot to say about anxiety. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on....Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:25-34). Certainly what Jesus says is not always easy to do, especially in times of crisis, but it is what He commands His disciples to do. The opposite of anxiety or worry is contentment. Paul learned how to be content (Philippians 4:11-13). He also encouraged others to be content (1 Timothy 6:6-8). But how can we learn to be content? We need to remember that God has promised, "...'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6). Second, there is a positive. "But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Notice the contrast in this verse. "Be anxious IN NOTHING, but IN EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication...." Paul is saying that God's antidote to worry is prayer. "Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer." While there are technical differences between prayer and supplication, the two are obviously related (1 Timothy 2:1). But Paul adds the phrase, "With thanksgiving." It has been my experience that too many of our prayers (this seems true of our public prayers so I assume that it is likely true of our private prayers as well) begin with a cursory word of "thanks for all the blessings both physical and spiritual," and then launch in to "give us this; please do that; let us have something else." It is true that one purpose of prayer is to make our requests known, but we need to express more thanks. Remember the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19)? "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). At the same time, we certainly can let our requests be made known to God. "Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22). And the reason why we cast all our cares on Him is "for He cares for you" (1 Peter5:7). Thus, we need to cleanse our minds from all anxiety and put our trust completely in the Lord to take provide for us. Third, then, there is the result. "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." The peace that comes from being in a right relationship with God so that we can be anxious for nothing but cast all our cares on Him is not a peace of this world. Rather, it comes only from God through Christ. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you..." (John 14:27). This peace surpasses understanding. Like the love of Christ, it "passes knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). This does not mean that we cannot understand it period, that it is something better felt than told. In fact, Paul says that we may "know the love of Christ which passes knowledge". Likewise, this peace surpasses mere human understanding and knowledge, and can be known only by those who have the understanding and knowledge of Christ. And this peace will guard or keep our minds. God wants to keep His people safe in His peace. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah26:3). Yet, a condition is stated. For God to keep us in perfect peace, our minds must be stayed on Him. The peace of God will keep our hearts only as we keep ourselves in His perfect peace by striving to maintain a right relationship with Him based on His word. Edward H. Bickersteth wrote, "Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within." Indeed, one of the reasons that Jesus came was to make peace (Ephesians 2:13-18). Are you looking for peace in your soul? When we follow Paul's prescription, "Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God," we can have the result--"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
We read in the newspaper about the wars going on all over the globe and we pray for peace in this world. We see on the television news about all the fighting that occurs between the political parties in Washington and we wish for peace in our society. When we experience squabbles and arguments among relatives, we would like for there to be peace in our families. And when there are fusses and feuds in a local congregation, we try to work for peace in the church. All these things are good and necessary, but there is something that is more important, and that is having peace with God and consequently in our own hearts. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). In these verses, we have Paul's prescription for peace. First, there is a negative. "Be anxious for nothing." Medical experts tell us that stress produced by anxiety is one of the greatest mental health problems in our nation. People worry about losing their jobs, their investments, and their health. These are all legitimate concerns, but there is a difference between concern that produces the proper preparation and provision on the one hand, and anxiety or worry on the other. It often may be a fine line, but Christians need to stay on the side of not being anxious. Jesus had a lot to say about anxiety. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on....Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:25-34). Certainly what Jesus says is not always easy to do, especially in times of crisis, but it is what He commands His disciples to do. The opposite of anxiety or worry is contentment. Paul learned how to be content (Philippians 4:11-13). He also encouraged others to be content (1 Timothy 6:6-8). But how can we learn to be content? We need to remember that God has promised, "...'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6). Second, there is a positive. "But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Notice the contrast in this verse. "Be anxious IN NOTHING, but IN EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication...." Paul is saying that God's antidote to worry is prayer. "Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer." While there are technical differences between prayer and supplication, the two are obviously related (1 Timothy 2:1). But Paul adds the phrase, "With thanksgiving." It has been my experience that too many of our prayers (this seems true of our public prayers so I assume that it is likely true of our private prayers as well) begin with a cursory word of "thanks for all the blessings both physical and spiritual," and then launch in to "give us this; please do that; let us have something else." It is true that one purpose of prayer is to make our requests known, but we need to express more thanks. Remember the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19)? "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). At the same time, we certainly can let our requests be made known to God. "Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22). And the reason why we cast all our cares on Him is "for He cares for you" (1 Peter5:7). Thus, we need to cleanse our minds from all anxiety and put our trust completely in the Lord to take provide for us. Third, then, there is the result. "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." The peace that comes from being in a right relationship with God so that we can be anxious for nothing but cast all our cares on Him is not a peace of this world. Rather, it comes only from God through Christ. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you..." (John 14:27). This peace surpasses understanding. Like the love of Christ, it "passes knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). This does not mean that we cannot understand it period, that it is something better felt than told. In fact, Paul says that we may "know the love of Christ which passes knowledge". Likewise, this peace surpasses mere human understanding and knowledge, and can be known only by those who have the understanding and knowledge of Christ. And this peace will guard or keep our minds. God wants to keep His people safe in His peace. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah26:3). Yet, a condition is stated. For God to keep us in perfect peace, our minds must be stayed on Him. The peace of God will keep our hearts only as we keep ourselves in His perfect peace by striving to maintain a right relationship with Him based on His word. Edward H. Bickersteth wrote, "Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within." Indeed, one of the reasons that Jesus came was to make peace (Ephesians 2:13-18). Are you looking for peace in your soul? When we follow Paul's prescription, "Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God," we can have the result--"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)