Saturday, May 21, 2016

Peace part 2


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“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV)

            The Bible has a lot to say about peace. But what is it? I have read that it is not the absence of trouble but the ability to keep ourselves calm in the face of troubling circumstances. My Bible dictionary says it is; “. . . in its deepest application spiritual peace through restored relations of harmony with God.”(1)
            It has been my experience that when I talk with God and turn an issue over to Him, I no longer am anxious about that circumstance in my life. God takes over and life seems easier for me. Even when others around me get themselves in turmoil, God allows me to keep my peace, most of the time.
            While I have been working on these core characteristics of a Christian, I have been doing some extra reading. During this time, I also received a book to review, Spirit of Truth by Marja Verschoor-Myers. During the past week or so, we have had to deal with the results of a medical procedure that seems to have not done as we expected. Hubby underwent this procedure after a lengthy time dealing with the circumstance. I realized that, in spite of the problem, I am at peace about this issue.


  1. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Moody Press, Chicago, Revised and Updated 1988, page980-981

Friday, May 20, 2016

Peace


 


“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our LORD.”
Romans 5:1 (NIV)

            To understand fully Paul’s message here we need to look at a few verses of chapter 4.
Abraham was credited as righteous because of his faith. This happened because Abraham ‘in hope believed.’ (:18) His faith did not weaken when he regarded God’s promise to him. Paul writes that “the words, ‘it was credited to him’” also apply to the believers in Rome. By extension, these words also apply to modern day believers.

            Paul continues into the next section. ‘Therefore,’ simply means because of God looking as us just-as-if-I’d not sinned. We have no quarrel with God because we have peace with the LORD Jesus Christ.

            Peace will not come to our world until Jesus Christ returns to our earth and takes His people home with Him. The world has had nations waging war against nations or people groups against one another for quite a number of centuries. In some recent research, I discovered the Spanish Inquisition “was said to date from 1200. . . and continued until 1808.”(Matthew 24:7)(1)

Yes, our world will have peace but we also will “hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” (2)

            During these times, we need to live close to the LORD. He IS our peace.
_____________
1. Foxes Book of Martyrs, Updated and Abridged    Barbour Publishing, Inc. © 2001 page 30

2. The Holy Bible, New International Bible, Zondervan Bible Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan,  Matthew 24:6 Page 908

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Joy

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“Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Ps. 30:4-5 (NIV)

            “Sing to the LORD” When we have joy in our hearts about something, we feel like singing a song. I recently had someone ask me how I was feeling. I made a joke about singing a little song when I was a child. “Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day.” She chuckled. By doing this, I told her I was not doing as well as I would like because of the liquid sunshine we have had for several days. Without complaining, I told her I was having a tough time with the weather affecting how I was.

            “you saints of his” David speaks to people who know the LORD. Saints are  people separated to God. Several years ago, a friend’s adult daughter talked about an annual meeting of her Christian movement; “We welcome the saints.” She used the term to mean those who attended the conference.  

            “praise his holy name.” What do we have to praise God for? Has God saved us from our sins? Do we have central heat in our homes? Does the roof over our heads keep us dry? Do we have enough food to eat? Are we reasonably healthy? If we can answer these questions with ‘Yes’, we have a lot to praise the LORD for.    
            “For his anger lasts only a moment,” God has a quality that I admire. When I mess up, He doesn’t hold it over my head. When I ask His forgiveness, He forgives me right then. When God forgives, he forgets. He erases it from His memory.

            “but his favor lasts a lifetime” When we come to Jesus and ask Him to live in our hearts, God plans to be there with us for the long haul. When we make that request, He makes a commitment. 

            “weeping may remain for a night” In our times of sadness, we may feel like the hurt will never end. I know a dear Christian woman who has had times of intense grief; I believe she wonders when she will be able not to get so emotional about her losses.


            “but rejoicing comes in the morning.” When I first heard this scripture, the lady said ‘joy comes in the morning.’ This thought stayed with me for a while. Sometimes all we need is a season of prayer and then a good night’s rest in order to get our perspective back and see things with a clearer vision.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Book Review: Woman Thou Art Loosed By T. D. Jakes


Product Details



            Reverend Jakes explores Jesus’ healing of a woman in Luke 13. This woman had been ill for eighteen (18) years. He looks at every facet of this healing. The subtitle tells the mission of this book: Healing the Wounds of the Past.

            I especially liked one chapter, entitled Winter Woman. Mr. Jakes divided the life span of women into seasons. He spends time telling us about Naomi and Ruth, and then he speaks of Sarah. I rarely see any magazine or other print media aimed at those in this period of their lives.

            I had never read any of Pastor Jakes before. I enjoyed this book. I recommend this book to anyone in a pastoral role, or any Christian counselor.
           
             I received this book through Book Fun and the publisher Destiny Image. All they asked me to do was to read it and give an impartial review.
                
           

               

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...