minds

The Peace of God

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.  Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

Paul the Apostle was in prison, sent this letter in the hands of a friend and brother in Christ; and he tells the Philippian Church, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say ‘ Rejoice.’ ”  It does not seem that he had much to rejoice in, but he was different from most of us and could rejoice because of who he knows, and what he knows.

He can rejoice because he knows that the Lord is near.  He knows of the patience, the forbearance of these people; let that be known among all the people.  That ( forbearance) is a good thing to practice.

The Apostle tells us here not to be  anxious, worried about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, tell the Lord your situation, and He will give you peace.  He will give you the peace that passes understanding.  The apostle Paul knew this peace and that is how he could tell them to “Rejoice.”

Sitting as a prisoner in a rented house, under guard night and day, the apostle Paul sees God as being bigger and greater than his being imprisoned.  God was doing great and mighty things through Paul’s ministry of prison.  He knew that God is bigger than the walls he was bound to.  God is bigger than Rome, and He is bigger than the universe which He created.

When we see God in His Son Jesus Christ, as being bigger and greater than our fears and worries, then we can have the peace of God that passes all understanding.

Hearing

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“He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me.” Luke 10:16 (KJB)

Hearing the words and teachings of Jesus, and hearing the gospel is the pathway to knowing the holy, righteous, and Just God. Jesus has pronounced “Woe” upon some cities because of their refusal to hear (Luke 10:13-15).

Many times Jesus says, “He that hath ears, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15; 13:9;  Luke 8:18; 14:35). Of course our ears are for hearing. However, too often we do not hear what is being spoken to us by others even though we are looking them in the face, hearing the words, and their sounds; yet we do not hear.

In the verse above Jesus likens hearing the disciple to hearing Him. It would seem that the “Not hearing” is the despising of the disciple, thus the Lord Himself.

The words of the Lord, even spoken by His children; a born again child of God; is as spoken from the Lord Himself. To reject the word of the Lord is to despise Him. The Dictionary.com site defines “Despise” = “Despise = “to regard with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain; scorn; loathe.”

That is certainly not the way a disciple of Jesus Christ should be about hearing the word of the Lord. It is, however, the attitude of many.

Let us who are of Christ Jesus have our hearts and minds and ears open to the word of the Lord. Let us have hearing ears, not despising Him. When we hear Jesus Christ we hear the Father as well.

Hear the word of Jesus Christ the Son of God today. Hearing, call on His name in repentant faith believing that He died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and He rose again.

When You Ask…

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“And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, and said unto them, ‘Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before Him; ‘If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull down, and I will plant you, and not pluck up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.’ ” Jeremiah 42:7-12 (KJB)

First of all when you ask do not already have your mind made up what you are going to do.

That is apparently what the remnant of those left in Judah to care for the land, and the cities. With hypocritical hearts and minds they feigned wanting the will of God, so they go to the prophet Jeremiah asking him to seek the LORD’S counsel on His will.

The above verses are God’s answer to Jeremiah for the people.  It is a message of hope and promise if they will stay in the land. It is a promise that they need not fear Babylon their captors. What they need to do is do what the LORD says, and they will be protected and greatly blessed.

When we ask God’s counsel for something do we already have our minds made up of what we are going to do?  It does not matter what God says in His word we often do what we want to do.  That is a sad commentary on the life of a Christian, and it robs us of the promise, protection, and provision of the LORD our God.

When we ask, let us ask that the will of God be done.  Let us ask for the courage, faith, and power of the Spirit of God in us to walk in His way; not our own. When God says “Stay”, let us stay.  When God says “Go” let us go.

Our rest, our hope lies only in the Son of God who is Jesus Christ, God who became flesh, and dwelt among us. He died on the cross for ours sins, was buried, and He rose again.

“Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Day Two Hundred Fifty and Nine

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In continuing my “What do I want for Christmas?” daily question; I want for everyone reading this today; and all who are are not reading it to have a day, and week where their hearts and minds are directed to the LORD or all people; His name is Jesus.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-3 (KJV)

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:12-17

Day Two Hundred Seventy and One

/ Tim A. / 1 Comment

What do I want for Christmas?

I want to be a more watchful thinker, and use my mind for fruitful things.

We have all been to “Amusement Parks” where we go to relax, ride rides, watch shows for entertainment purposes; but how often have we stopped to think about what the word “Amuse” means?

If you do not know, it means “No thinking”.  Let us all be more fruitful in our thinking.  Think before we speak.  Think before we act.  You get the idea.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 (KJV)

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” 1 Peter 1:13

“For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Hebrews 12:3

Better Than Gold

/ Tim A. / 3 Comments

“Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him: He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him: but He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held His steps, His way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:8-12 (KJV)

There is an attitude in the minds of many people; and it affects us all at times; that we are “it”. We are what God is about. He has an obligation to love us, care for us; and to bring it down personal; He has an obligation to love me, care for me. Is that about how we are? I see it in me. I see it in others.

Something we need to realize is that God is about His own glory. He has no obligation to love us, or to care for us. He is about getting His people into His glory; and He will do it His way, not my way; and He will do it in His time.

Look at Job. He was a wealthy, healthy, family man who was loved by his family, the servants of his household, and his neighbors. Then, he lost everything; even his self-respect. He did not lose his faith in God.

Job did not understand his dilemma; yet he trusted, though he would have liked to appear before the Court of God, and present his arguments on his own behalf.

Job states in the text above that he had not witnessed the presence of God, could not feel the presence of God, nor seen His work. Yet, we hear this testimony, “When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold”. Though he had no understanding of the events that happened in the court of heaven Job knew, believed, trusted that the trials he was going through was as the refiners fire, and that God was perfecting him, fitting him for the glory of God.

How can this be? How can it be that even though we may have no understanding of the troubling events of our life, of life, that we can still trust that God is working in us to make us “come forth as gold” tried in a furnace of fire? Note Job’s words, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food“.

That reminds me of Jesus’s own words, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

Remember this dear believer. We are not called to understand; we are called to be faithful.