ABIDING PEACE

“The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”  (Philippian 4:5b-9 NIV)

True, lasting peace comes from [communion with God]. Peace is ultimately a fruit of the Spirit which comes to bear through an abiding life with God. Prayer isn’t a quick fix to deal with our fear or anxiety; it’s a lifeline that fuels abiding and brings us into awareness of the presence of God with us. In prayer, we surrender control, embrace our own limitations, and declare our dependence on and need for God.

This is why we are exhorted to pray when faced with anxiety. Not for instant results or solutions, but for deep communion with the One who Himself is peace. Not so we can experience a feeling of peace momentarily, but come to know peace personally. Peace is not found in the absence of anxiety, but in the presence of God. 

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with Anna Grace Legband

#6491

WHAT’S IN YOUR WARDROBE? – Part 4 of 5

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  (Colossians 3:12 NIV)

GENTLENESS

"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."  (Philippians 4:5 NIV)

We call it gentleness, but the Greeks called it praotes. Aristotle said that praotes was the perfect mean between too little anger and too much anger.

You thought anger was always bad?

Not at all.  No reform movement would ever have happened if someone hadn't gotten angry about the state of things as they found them.  It was when people grew angry about slavery that its death knell was sounded.  So, too, with child labor.

But the problem is to harness that anger.  That's where praotes -- gentleness -- comes in.  Anger destroys even in the name of great causes; without restraint, anger will defeat the very matters it endorses.  And our usual brand of self-control won't make it.  As William Barclay used to say, we need to be God-controlled.  That’s gentleness.  Because gentleness is power under purposeful direction.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015) in “New Testament Stories from the Back Side”

#6479

GOD’S AMAZING GRACE

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NIV)

Take all your anxieties to Calvary, Paul urged. Stand in the shadow of God’s crucified Son. Now pose your questions. Is Jesus on my side? Look at the wound in His. Will He stay with me? Having given the supreme and costliest gift, “how can He fail to lavish upon us all He has to give?” (Romans 8:32 NEB)

“’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” When John Newton penned this promise, he did so out of personal experience. His greatest test came the day he buried his wife, Mary. He had loved her dearly and prayed his death would precede hers. But his prayer was not answered.

Yet God’s grace proved sufficient. On the day she died Newton found strength to preach a Sunday sermon. The next day he visited church members, and later he officiated at his wife’s funeral. He grieved but in his grief found God’s provision. He later wrote, “The Bank of England is too poor to compensate for such a loss as mine. But the Lord, the all-sufficient God, speaks, and it is done. Let those who know Him, and trust Him, be of good courage. He can give them strength as their trials increase… and what He can do He had promised that He will do.” (From “But Now I See: The Life of John Newton” by Josiah Bull.)

Let God’s grace dethrone your fears. Anxiety still comes, for certain. The globe still heats up; wars still flare up; the economy acts up. Disease, calamity, and trouble populate your world. But they don’t control it! Grace does. 

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”

#6184

 

DEVELOPING A NEW PERSPECTIVE - Part 2 of 2

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”  (Proverbs 19:11 NIV) 

Notice the word wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view, getting God’s perspective on a situation. From that perspective I gain three important insights. 1) I am only human; I am not God. Of course, God knows that, but He wants me to acknowledge it also. I am not perfect, and I am not in control. In fact, most of the things I face in life I cannot control. 2) No one else is perfect either, so I should not be surprised or overly upset when people make mistakes or let me down. 3) God is in control, and He can use the situations, the irritations, and the problems that come into my life to accomplish His purposes for me.

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5839

DON’T WORRY, TRUST HIM – Part 1

Who do we believe in more? Ourselves or God? Our actions and decisions will reflect that.

If God does what you think He should do, trust Him. If God doesn’t do what you think He should do, trust Him. If you pray and believe God for a miracle and He does it, trust Him. If your worst nightmare comes true, believe He is sovereign. Believe He is good.

In Matthew 6:33-34, Jesus says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” God is outside of time. He has no beginning, and no end. That means He has no yesterday and no tomorrow. He just is. So for God, tomorrow is the same as today, same as yesterday. Was God in control yesterday? Undoubtedly, yes. Is God in control today? You know He is. Then He’s in control tomorrow too. Time is not an issue for God. He’s already present in tomorrow. So no matter what happens, trust God. 

-- Craig Groeschel in “The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as If He Doesn’t Exist”

#5718

HANDING OVER THE KEYS

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’”  (Matthew 16:24-25 NKJV)

Many people find Jesus pretty handy to have in the passenger’s seat when they require His services -- such as dealing with health problems, work issues, anxiety, grief, death, etc.

But these people are not sure they want Jesus driving, because if Jesus is behind the wheel, they are not in control anymore. If He is driving, they are not in charge of their wallet anymore. They no longer can say, “I’ll give sometimes when I feel generous, but I reserve the right to keep what I want.” Now it is Jesus’ money.

When I let Jesus drive, I am no longer in charge of my ego. I no longer have the right to satisfy every self-centered ambition. Now it is His life. I am not in charge of my mouth anymore. I don’t get to gossip, flatter, cajole, condemn, lie, curse, rage, cheat, intimidate, manipulate, exaggerate, or prevaricate anymore. Now it is not my mouth -- it is His mouth.

I get out of the driver’s seat. I hand over the keys to Jesus. I am fully engaged in life. In fact, I am more alive than ever before. But it is not my life anymore. It is His life. 

-- Adapted from John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You”

#5404

GRASPING THE CROSS

Jesus said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  (Matthew 16:25)

Ever feel you’re losing your grip on life? Congratulations! Let go of your own grip. Grasp the cross. You are loved, cherished and valued. The Lord won’t ever let go of you. Give your life over to His control. He’ll take it and give you back a more exciting, fulfilling life than you’ve ever known. Give your time to Him and He’ll give you back eternity. Give yourself to people in need and He’ll give you a heart overflowing with love. Give your money over to His management and He’ll give back more than you need. 

-- Lloyd J. Ogilvie in “If God Cares, Why Do I Still Have Problems?”

#5047

LIVING THE SURRENDERED LIFE

It is a paradox, yet a principle of effective… leadership you can count on: The best leaders are, first of all, followers. “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” asked Jesus of the soon-to-be leader of the post-Resurrection church. That question brought forth the second of Peter’s confessions. The first was at Caesarea Philippi: “You are the Messiah,” said Peter, “the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-20 NRSV) Now, on the shores of the Galilee, Peter declares his love and full surrender three times, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” (John 21:15 NRSV)

Jesus chose Peter, I think, not because he was the brightest and the bravest, but because he was the most fully surrendered. His two confessions testify to his faith. Faith is surrender. To follow Jesus is to trust Him as you trust no other; it is to live the surrendered life. Paul would later write, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who life, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20 NRSV)

There is a story told about General William Booth of the Salvation Army who, on one occasion, was asked the secret of the Army’s success. The former Methodist preacher answered: “I will tell you the secret. God has had all there was of me to have -- all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, all the influence of my life.”

-- Roger K. Swanson in the “Offering Christ Today” newsletter, Spring 1996

#4177

THE POWER THAT TRANSCENDS ALL POWERS

“In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years…  Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done... Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life.”  (1 Kings 15:9-11, 14b NIV)

If God is indeed sovereign, it is utter foolishness to ignore the One who is in complete control. Our lives cannot possibly be what they were intended to be apart from the Source of life. The folly of resisting the Power that transcends all powers of men is so obvious it is difficult to understand why we do it. Quite clearly, life can be what it should be only when it is lived in a conscious relationship with God.

-- William O. Paulsell in “Taste and See”


#4069

REVERENCE, HONOR AND AWE

“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge.”  (Proverbs 14:26)

“The remarkable thing about fearing God,” said Oswald Chambers, “is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” In other words, when you give God the reverence, honor, and awe that He deserves as your First Love, then all of a sudden you realize that nobody -- and no circumstances -- can ultimately harm you. “The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?” asked King David. (Psalm 27:1) You’re reminded that God is in control and that your eternity is secure…

On the other hand, if you allow God to slip from preeminence in your life, you will find yourself afraid of every uncertain circumstance. Everything beyond your control will generate anxiety and fret within you. “When I set God at the center of my life I realize vast freedoms and surprising spontaneities,“ said Eugene Peterson. “When I center life in my own will, my freedom diminishes markedly. I live constricted and anxious.”

-- Leslie Strobel in Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage

#3934

PUT ON GENTLENESS

"Put on, then, garments that suit God's chosen and beloved people: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience." (Colossians 3:12 REB)

[We] call it gentleness, but the Greeks called it praotes. Aristotle said that praotes was the perfect mean between too little anger and too much anger.

[You] thought anger was always bad?

Not at all.  No reform movement would ever have happened if someone hadn't gotten angry about the state of things as they found them.  It was when people grew angry about slavery that its death knell was sounded.  So, too, with child labor.

But the problem is to harness that anger.  That's where praotes -- gentleness -- comes in.  Anger destroys even in the name of great causes; without restraint, anger will defeat the very matters it endorses.  And our usual brand of self-control won't make it.  As William Barclay used to say, we need to be God-controlled.  That’s gentleness.  Because gentleness is power under purposeful direction.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in New Testament Stories from the Back Side

#3770