"Maintaining Peace"

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid".  John 14:27

We all face trying circumstances.  We all face times of testing.  We all face unpleasant situations.  We all go through hard and dark places in life.  There are some places we walk through that we don't like.  We would love for them to be different.  We want them to change or make them go away.  Many of these places are out of our control.  We don't have the power to do anything about them.  When these times in life come, there is only one course of action that we can take if we want to have and maintain any level of peace in our lives.  It is to TRUST GOD.

Paul faced shipwreck, imprisonment, beatings, contradictions of sinners and persecution by the religious crowds.  Yet, he had peace through it all.  Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, but we don't read where he begged for his life and for escape.  He had peace.  The three Hebrews were thrown into the fiery furnace.  They didn't go "kicking and screaming".  They had peace.  All of these men faced tremendous testing, but we see peace through it in their lives.  Why?  Because they TRUSTED GOD. 

When the trials of life come, and they will, the devil wants to steal your peace.  There is only one way to keep that from happening.  TRUST GOD!  Keep trusting Him no matter what the situation looks like, no matter how you feel about it, when it is not the ideal situation, when there is nothing you can do about it, when it is not what you like, when you want to change it and when fear comes. 

Remember this if you want to have and maintain your peace in trying times:  God is for you; God is with you; God is working on your behalf; God is in control- nothing takes Him by surprise; God is bigger than the situation; God will work all things together for your good.  Therefore, TRUST HIM. 

Have a great day.  You are going to have to trust God if you want to maintain any level of peace in trying situations.  

"In Church Or In Christ?"

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new".  2 Corinthians 5:17

We get concerned about people when they aren't "in church".  (And so we should-- it is important to be in church.)  But being in church, working in church, holding a position in church is not what makes you saved.  You can sit in church every time the doors are open.  You can serve in church at every event they have.  But that still doesn't make you saved.  Salvation only comes when you are "in Christ".

What does it mean to be "in Christ"?  When we come to God in repentance, and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord by faith, we become a "new person".  We aren't just changing our attitude or behavior.  We aren't just turning over a new leaf.  We aren't just acting better and doing better.  We now take on the identity of Christ.  We are become a brand-new person.  Christ has made us, and is making us, brand new. 

We take on a new nature-- His holy nature.  We take on a new identity-- His identity.  Our sins have been forgiven.  We have left our old sinful life and are embracing the new life we have in Christ.  It is a life of inward peace-- not condemnation.  It is a life of hope-- not hopelessness.  It is a life of freedom-- deliverance from bondage of sin.  It is a life of acceptance by the Father-- not rejection.  It is a life of love-- not fear and hate.  It is a life of forgiveness-- not judgment.

While you should be in church, just being "in church" doesn't and never will save you, it doesn't make you right with God, it doesn't write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life, it doesn't make you a child of God and it doesn't give you eternal life.  Being in Christ is what saves you.  It is what makes you accepted by God.  It is what makes you right with God.  It is what gives you eternal life.  

Have a great day.  Are you only "in church" or are you "in Christ"?  There is a difference.  Only one will save you.  

"Forgive Them"

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven".  Matthew 18:21,22

Forgiveness is a choice.  It isn't always an easy choice especially when you have in reality been done wrong or were mistreated.  Although it is a choice, it is not an option.  Jesus was very serious about the matter of forgiveness.  He put much emphasis and importance on it.  He told His disciples to forgive the person and the offense that was done against them not once or twice or even ten times, but to forgive seventy times seven. 

You may protest or argue that this requirement of Jesus is unjust or unfair.  You may try to excuse your unforgiveness based on what was done to or against you.  You may say to Jesus, "You don't know what was done to me.  If You did You would understand and not require me to forgive them".  

May I response to that?  Are you forgetting who you are talking to?  The Jesus who said, "Forgive them", is the same Jesus that was beaten with a whip unmercifully, betrayed by friends, lied about in "court", mocked, rejected, ridiculed by the religious (church) people, put to an open shame, innocent but charged as guilty, falsely accused, treated like a common criminal, had nails hammered into His hands and feet, hung on a wooden cross and left to die.  Yet, He cried out-- "Father, forgive them".  Forgive my oppressors.  Forgive my executioners.  Forgive those who lied about Me.  Forgive the jeering crowd.  Forgive those who held the whip.  Forgive those who crucified Me.  Forgive them. 

Even today He is still offering forgiveness to those who rejected Him.  He is offering forgiveness to those who curse Him, blaspheme Him, rebel against Him, slander Him and hated Him.  Yes, forgiveness is importance to Him.  He not only continues to forgive us, but He is still saying to us today--- forgive.  "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". Ephesians 4:32

Have a great day.  Jesus knows what it is like to be mistreated and yet He still forgives... and He requires the same from you.   

"Those Hard Places"

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me".  Matthew 16:24

The Christian life is a life of surrender-- surrender to the plan of God, to the will of God, and to the leading of God to follow Him.  Sometimes He leads us beside still waters-- pleasant places of rest.  Sometimes He leads us into the wilderness to be tried and tested.  Sometimes He leads us up "Calvary's hill" where self is denied and crucified.  The point is that He doesn't always lead us into easy places.  Sometimes He leads us into hard places where we would not choose to go ourselves.

There are two things that you need to know, remember and hold on to when His leading takes you into hard places.  First, He will never leave you.  He may lead you there, but He will not leave you there alone.  He will be with you each and every step of the way.  Secondly, He will never lead you into a place that is harder than He has already walked through Himself.  He walked through some hard places while here on earth-- the wilderness, the place of shame, the place of pain, the place of betrayal, Pilate's Judgment Hall, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Calvary.  When He leads you into a hard place, He knows exactly how you feel.  He is acquainted with what you are going through.  He has "been there" and "done that" already Himself.  This is why He can be touched with the feelings of your weaknesses-- He has already been through that place, and worse.

Have a great day.  The Lord will not always lead us into easy places, but when He does, He will be there and has already been there.     

"Focused On The Important"

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone".  Matthew 23:23

Jesus rebuked the religious leaders, for many reasons, but here He rebuked them because they were more concerned about focusing on what was least important than what was most important.  They made sure they gave their titles all the way down to each little leaf of an herb.  Jesus told them not to neglect the requirements of the law but to give more attention to what was really important in the eyes of God.

They were concerned about doing religious works but not about the heart of the gospel.  What the Pharisees were doing was focusing on the "natural" side of religion.  What Jesus told them to do and focus on was the "spiritual" side-- matters of the heart.  They were focused on paying tithes on mint leaves.  He was focused on them showing mercy.  They were focused on paying tithes on cumin seeds.  He was focused on their faith. 

This sounds like many in the church today.  They are more concerned about showing up at church, singing in the choir, paying titles, teaching a small group or Sunday school class, their daily Bible reading plan, working in the church, etc.  But the "weightier" part of the gospel is not there in their lives.  The heart of the gospel is not in them.  They are like Pharisees caught up in the work but not demonstrating the spirit. 

Which group are you in?  Are you keeping the Lord's commandments?  Are you keeping them out of love or duty-- hoping that they will "earn" you something?  Are you walking in love?  Are you judging correctly-- between that which is holy and pleasing to the Lord and that which is not (especially in your own life)?  Are you walking in faith?  Are you fully trusting in the Lord as your Savior and living out a life that honors Him through faith?  Are you merciful-- remembering how merciful He was to you by saving you?  Are you focusing more on the spirit than the flesh?  Is the Fruit of the Spirit being cultivated in your life or are you more concerned about religious duty?  Do you portray Christ's attitude or fleshly behavior?  Are you more concerned about what you are doing for the Lord than you are about being like Him?

Have a great day.  Are you more focused on doing the exterior works of the gospel than you are on the interior work that reveals Christ in you?