Friday, May 24, 2013

PEACE


Peace is knowing that the God who made the universe and has set us here for a purpose will keep us in His will and will protect us from all the attacks of the enemy. (Heb 1:2; Eph 2:10; 6:16)

Peace is abiding in the shadow of the Almighty. It is being in His protection. (Psalm 91:1-3)

Peace is knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Rom. 8:31-39)

Peace is knowing that we are overwhelmingly conquering through Jesus who abides within our spirit. (Rom. 8:37)

Peace is knowing that the troubles of this world have no bearing on the outcome of our life because our life is hid in Christ and the treasures that we have are in His kingdom. (Col. 3:3; Matt. 6:20)

Peace is knowing that we don't need to worry about protecting our rights, because when we suffer unjustly we know that we have found favor with God. (1 Pt. 2:20)

Peace is having the word of Christ richly abiding within us so that when the darts of Satan come they are put out by the brilliant light of God's word. (Col. 3:16; Eph. 6:16; John 1:5)

Peace is having our mind stayed on the word of God so that when the worries of the devil attack our soul, our hope is in the promise of God and not in the effects of the trial. (Phil 4:8; Josh. 1:8; James 2:4)

Peace is knowing that God does not even remember our sin. (Isa. 43:25)

Peace is knowing that we can come to God any time we need to, and present our case before Him. (Heb. 4:16)

Peace is knowing that God hears our prayers, and if He hears our prayers we know that He will answer our prayers. (1 Jn. 5:14,15)

Peace is knowing that Jesus is right now praying for us in heaven and He is interceding for us before the Father. (Rom 8:34; Heb. 7:25)

Peace is knowing the fear of God. (Prov. 14:26,27)

Peace is knowing that the wisdom of God will bring forth righteousness. (James 3:13-18)

Peace is knowing that the word of God will not come back void, but will perform its task and will divide between soul and spirit. (Isa. 55:10,11; Heb. 4:12)

Peace is knowing that obeying God has more rewards than all this world could offer. (Heb. 11:24-26)

Peace is knowing that when a man's ways please God, even his enemies will be at peace with him. (Prov. 16:7)

Peace is knowing that no weapon formed against you will prosper and those who accuse you in judgment will be condemned. (Isa. 54:17)

Peace is knowing that those who make war with us will vanish like a dream. (Isa. 29:8)

Peace is knowing that had it not been the Lord who was on our side we would have been torn by our enemies. But our soul has escaped as a bird out to the snare of the trapper; the snare is broken and we have escaped Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. (Ps. 124)

Peace is knowing that the Lord who protects us neither slumbers nor sleeps. (Ps. 121)

Peace is knowing that it is the Lord who leads us through the valley of the shadow of death and we have nothing to fear. (Ps. 23)

Peace is knowing that we can speak God's words because He has covered us with the shadow of His hand. (Isa. 51:16)

Peace is knowing that the blood of Jesus is against Satan. (Col. 2:14,15)

Peace is knowing that death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Cor. 15:54)

Peace is knowing that God is a shield around us, even if 10,000 angry people surrounded us. (Ps. 3)

Peace is knowing that the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth to show Himself strong to those whose heart are completely His. (2 Chron. 16:9)

Peace is knowing that God is a God who heals us! (Ex. 15:26)

Peace is knowing that we don't need to take our own revenge, but we can leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "vengeance is Mine, I will repay says the Lord." (Rom. 12:19)

Peace is knowing that God will do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us. (Eph. 3:20)

Peace is knowing the Love of God which surpasses knowledge. (Eph. 3:19)

Peace is knowing that the Lord has written these things to us that in Him we may have peace, in the world we will have tribulation, but be of good cheer Jesus has overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Peace is knowing that every promise is yes and Amen as we are in Christ. (2 Cor. 1:20)

Peace is knowing that the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace. (Rom 15:13)

Peace is knowing that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Rom. 16:20)

Peace is knowing that the God of peace will be with you as you follow the teachings of the Bible. (Phil 4:9)

Peace is knowing that the God of peace will sanctify us entirely. (1 Thes 5:23)

Peace is knowing that the Lord of peace Himself will continually grant you peace in every circumstance. (2 Thes 3:16)

Peace is knowing that the God of peace who raised Jesus from the dead, will equip you for every good thing. (Heb 13:20,21)

Peace is knowing that we can bring all our problems to God and He will deal with them. (Phil. 4:6,7; 1 Pt. 5:7)

Peace is knowing God! (John 16:33)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Preach the Word


Thurmon Scrivner told of a Baptist preacher who asked God why he did not see signs. God responded saying preach it and I will do it.
Well he did and God did.
That week after he preached about God raising the dead. A lady that went to his church called him and told him her husband just died in the hospital. Would he come to pray to raise him up? And he asked, “why are you asking me?” She replied, “Well you preached on it.”
As he was going to the hospital he was complaining to God that he was not ready for this. And when he got to the hospital the doctor told him to hurry up they wanted to take the dead man away. The wife wouldn't allow him to remove the body.
He got down on his knees and prayed a simple prayer just seeming to go through the motions. But after he prayed the man woke up.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Sower and the Seed: Good Soil


Good Soil

Matthew 18:8,9; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8

“Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”And He was saying these things, He would call out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

I've talked about roadside soil, rocky soil and thorny soil. Now I come to the good soil. It is the good soil that we want.

Good soil yields 30 60  and 100 fold.
What that means if you  plant a bucket of seed you will get 30, 60 or 100 buckets back when you harvest.

What is required to get this kind of harvest?
1 Hears it
2 Understands it
3 Accepts it
4 Honest heart
5 Good heart
6 Bears fruit with perseverance

Hears the word of God. To hear the word of God it is not just hearing with your physical ears. But also with the ears of your heart. Yes our heart has ears also.

To hear with our ears of our heart is to accept it as valid and true for us today and that means we will act on it. To accept something is to say it is true. It is valid and it is right.

Understand it. We can hear a teaching but not understand the meaning of what is being taught. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches us the word of God. To understand something of the spirit, we at times need to let the Spirit of God minister to us. This may take time. When we pray over a Scripture and think of it and consider it in our mind for a period of time we will gain the knowledge of what God is saying to us.

Honest heart. There are times when we hear a teaching but we have reasons why we can't do it. We have excuses for not doing it. We excuse ourselves because we say it is not directly for us. Honesty will admit wrong doing. Honesty will admit that we are wrong. Honesty will say, yes that's me and I need to change. Honesty will not make excuses but will accept and respond to the teachings of the Bible.

Good heart. What is being good? It is working for the betterment of others. It is building and not tearing down. It is blessing and not cursing. It is hoping for the best. It is acting in love that God provides. A good heart has God in mind when it listens. It has others in mind to help and minister to when it hears and receives. A good heart will at times go beyond what is asked or required.

Bears fruit with perseverance. To bear fruit is work. It takes many months to build a building. You can blast it down in an afternoon. Perseverance will build something over a period of time.

Trouble will come in bearing fruit. To build something you have to overcome the trouble. If it was no trouble to do it it would already be done.

Perseverance. Plans for the work, pays for the work, deals with the problems that stop the work. Is not discouraged because of set backs in the work. Perseverance sees the end result and keeps heading for that end.

Now we have a Savior that helps us and has sent the Holy Spirit to help and guide and encourage us. With the Word of God in our heart we have a light that guides us to finish the work God has before us.

Good soil will reject what is not good. A  good heart rejects what is bad and accepts what is good. A good heart will accept what is good and it is the Father that gives good gifts. James 1:17?

Good soil will admit that they have rocky soil and take steps to bust them up and set down roots of love.

Good soil will admit they have not give place and time for the word and will make time to receive the word in their heart to change them.

Good soil will reject the worries of the world the deceitfulness of riches. They will reject the abundance of things that eat up their time and money.

Good soil is made by making a place For the Word of God.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Sower and the Seed: Thorny Soil





Thorny soil has the worries of the world that crowd out the word of God, giving it no place in the heart. Worries about health, the worries of finances, the worries of politics. The worries of relationships.

We are told many times not to worry, but turn to God. A person that continues to worry instead of turning to God in prayer is not living in the word. Worry gets you out of the word. God will fulfill His word if we trust Him.

Seeking riches will get us out of following Christ. Yes we need money to live and provide for our family, but seeking riches beyond our needs will keep us from Christ.

1 Tim 6 says we should flee riches.
The lesson of the farmer that stored up crops in bigger barns is important. Luke 12:16-21

Matt 6:33 If we seek a life lived for God and faith lived for God God will provide. If we look after the things of God, God will look after us. The purpose of riches is to advance the kingdom of God. Deut 8:18.

We should store up riches in heaven instead of here where moth and rust corrupts. Riches on earth are elusive and deceiving.

Possessions are another thing the people in thorns seek. There seems to be happiness with acquiring things but there is always the next thing. There is never a sense of satisfaction. Going to the store to get the next thing. It depletes your cash, clutters your home, taking care of these things eat up your time.

Things will not satisfy. Relationships with other people of like mind and with Jesus is what satisfies.

People spend a lot of effort in acquiring things. The more you have the more you want. The more you have the more time you have to spend taking care of what you have.

Jesus is the one who gives abundance not things. Jesus gives us the inner peace we seek. Things will never meet that need.

The things we really need we can pray for and God will give us a plan to enable us to get them.


The deceitfulness of riches. Riches will give a satisfying life. Just as living in a wonderful area will turn sour without Christ. I can find happiness in the midst of an urban environment with nature. There are a lot of wild strips that I can visit and watch.

I say this to emphasize that enjoyment can be found in unlikely places.

What good is it if we gain the whole world and lose our soul? Jesus offers contentment not from abundance but from relationship. Matthew 11:28-30. Come to Jesus when we are weary and heavy laden and He will give us rest. Money will not buy true rest. To have riches is to always be vigilant. But with Christ we can truly rest. Because we can trust in Him
Romans 10:11
Heb 4:1-3
If you will not believe you will not last Isaiah 7:9
John 6:29 Our work is to believe

The sin of Baalm. He feared God but also desired riches. The desire for riches finally overcame his respect for God and he was destroyed.

Worries of the world. Things don't go right, and to worry about them keeps us from living a life directed by God according to the word.

If you want a solution for worry read Psalm 3 and Psalm 56

When things we rely on go bad, we can turn to Jesus for help and wisdom for the answer.

The desire for other things will dominate our mind so there is little energy for the things of God and His word. Paul says in Phil 3:13 This one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind I press onward to what lies ahead. This is the attitude we should take. Living for Jesus and being content with what we have. Philippians 4:11

What we have and what we do should be for the betterment of our walk with God. Now I'm not saying we can't have fun. It is wise to be refreshed. But use it as a means to the end of serving Christ and not as the goal itself.

Worry will choke the fruit in your life not letting it mature. Give up the worry and work towards accomplishing what God has given you to do.

Take health and sickness for example. We all desire health. So when sickness comes what are we to do? 2 Cor 1:20
Give your worry to God and follow the teachings concerning healing.
1. Repent
2. Seek after God
3. Meditate on His Word John 15:7
4. Believe that the promise is for you.
5. Confess the promise is God's will for you and He will give you the promise.
6. Act according to the promise with rejoicing.

use 2 Cor 10:3-5 as a way to deal with doubt in the promises of God.

With this you can rejoice in mind, you can rejoice in God as you wait expectantly for His answer.


Friday, May 3, 2013

Sower and the Seed: Rocky Soil



Rocky soil represents no ability to stick with what you start out to do. A seed sown on rocky soil will spring up before it has enough roots.

In a forest there are areas called glades. Glades are places of rocky soil. The trees that grow there are of poor quality and do not amount to anything. This is because rocky soil does not allow roots to acquire water. Water enables plants to cool in the heat as well as grow. Roots signify in the spirit the ability to withstand the problems of life we face day to day.

Love is what enables us to go through the hard times. How do we get this love. It is by allowing roots to grow in our life to get to the water of the Word of God.

A person that has rocky soil can be excited about the new life in Christ. They can sing and rejoice. But the test is when they go through trials. Will they turn to God in the trial, or will they give up.

When a person gives up it is because they did not prepare their heart to withstand trials of life.

Rocky soil can represent unforgiveness instead of love. It can represent a life dedicated to self instead of a life of self denial and taking up the cross of Christ. It can be a shallow life of not considering the teachings of Jesus. It is a life lived with no love for others.

Rocky soil people believe when it feels good, but fall away when their feelings go against them. They are living by feelings and not by faith. They do not lay down roots of faith and love in God and for others. A shallow life, a selfish life and a life of being unprepared.

Rocky soil people can't endure persecution because of the Word of God. They are trying to please themselves instead of God.

On the rocky soil we plow up the rocks and get down to deep soil by deciding to love others. Love is not an adjective it is a verb. It is not a feeling its action or decision. Decide to love others by helping them in ways you are led.