Rejoice In God's Peace

Rejoice in the Lord always: 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.

                                                                         (Phil 4:4-7 KJV)

Every day; all day long I pray with thanksgiving that He is with me.  Without Him I would have no peace at all.  The world is a mess. It seems to always have been. So many spend their lives filling their own desires with so very little consideration for how that fulfillment might be detrimental to others. Where is the peace in being so self-centered? It gets you know where.

Christ's whole purpose in dying for us was so that we could be reconciled to God and to one another. Self-centeredness divides it does not reconcile. It brings no peace.

But, abiding in Christ, who was totally selfless, can and does bring peace. Live life in Christ and live with peace that surpasses all understanding no matter what the world throws at you.

Give thanks and rejoice for the peace of God that is given you!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Let Us Live For Him

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Cor 5:15 NIV)

In so many ways I hear people say that they have to do what makes them happy. They are not always straight forward about it. But, if you listen to them closely, you will hear the self-centeredness. However, these same people don't appear to be too happy most of the time. There is a saying that we hear often, mostly around the Christmas season. "It is better to give than to receive."

The reality for most people is that genuine happiness does come from giving. It comes from sharing. It comes when we know that we have helped to bring joy to someone else; to help lift a burden that they might be struggling under.

For those of us who strive to follow Jesus; we find joy, we find peace in striving to live as he lived: for the sake of others.

May God help us to always remember that it is not always about us. True joy comes from living for Christ and by being there for others even as he is there for us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Praise Ye The Lord!

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.

The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalm 67

Oh.... if only... if only His ways would be known upon the whole earth, the peoples would certainly be blessed and the whole world would live in peace.

Oh.... if only... if only humankind could away their self-centeredness; their false gods, and worship  the one true God; the land and all of the people would be blessed so greatly that we would hear joyful songs of praise unto the Lord.

May all the people praise the Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J