Scripture: The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:5b-7, NASB Observation: -God is near, not off in the distance. -There is nothing that should leave me anxious, I just need to turn it all over to God in prayer, and in return His peace will reign in my heart and mind. Application: Oh, how I love these verses on prayer. Oh, how I love that through Jesus we have been given access to God the Father. We can come to Him with anything and everything because of the work Jesus accomplished on the cross. This access to God is one of the great benefits of being a Christian. Notice what this passage does and doesn't say. It does tell us to come to God in prayer, to bring our "supplications" (or petitions or requests) to Him. It does not say He will give us everything we ask for. I am actually feeling a bit anxious this morning, have been for most of the weekend. My stomach gets that "tied up in knots" sort of feeling when I think about the situation. Why is that? I have prayed about it; even on my way into the office this morning I was praying about it. Of course this verse states that the peace of God will guard my heart and mind, it does not say anything about my stomach. Though I suspect the three are highly connected. I do feel better after having spent time in prayer, but in this particular situation the problem is that all I can do is pray and remain anxious for another person...and perhaps that is a good thing as it keeps me praying. I did not get this post finished yesterday. This morning I have to say there is peace. The situation that was leaving me anxious is not better, in fact it has actually worsened. So I gave a lot of thought to why I was still feeling anxious last night. I mean this verse says that God's peace will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Honestly, I don't know what the difference is beyond I specifically asked for that peace of God to come. I went right to sleep and slept well and there is not a single knot in my stomach this morning. I cannot explain it. But wait...doesn't that verse also say something about God's peace being beyond comprehension? It is not wishful thinking that His peace will come to guard our hearts and minds. It is a fact for those who believe on the name of Jesus Christ. That peace God gives has a purpose other than to just make me feel good. One of the definitions of the the word guard is "the act or duty of protecting or defending" according to Webster. I am less likely to say or do something that will not bring glory to God if my heart and mind are being protected. With them at peace, fear or anger or whatever else are not ruling my decisions, my reactions. I cannot help but think of Paul. Again, he was imprisoned as he wrote this letter, yet look at the tone of it. He is here to tell us that our lives as believers are far above anything the world can throw at us. He is here to remind us over and over again of who we are in Christ and just what that means. There is truly power in the blood as the old hymn says, and it does not end at the point of my acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is a power that will change every moment of my life when I yield myself to Him. Grace, Peace, and Mercy dear friends, Deb There Is Power in the Blood
by Lewis E. Jones, 1899 Copyright: Public Domain Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood. Refrain: There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r In the blood of the Lamb; There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r In the precious blood of the Lamb. Would you be free from your passion and pride? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide; There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood. Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Sin-stains are lost in its life-giving flow; There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood. Would you do service for Jesus your King? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Would you live daily His praises to sing? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.
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Scripture: Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. -Philippians 4:5a Observation: -we are to be known for having a gentle spirit. Application: How would you say the world describes us...gentle in spirit? Hmmm, those are not the words I often hear associated with Christians. Hypocrites, judgmental, even haters are more likely candidates these days. Sad to say though it is not surprising given how we often are anything but gentle with those within and without the church. My son was offered a Bible on the street one day which he turned down. He has his own, he has a heart for the Lord, and he felt that Bible would do more good in the hands of someone else. He was immediately told in no uncertain terms that he was going to hell. Can you imagine? They made a wrong assumption in this case which opened his eyes to how Christians treat others, and he walked away pretty disillusioned. I recently read these words from a woman who states she is an atheist. "The reason the world hates Christians is because they behave badly, they’re rude, boorish, arrogant, conceited, full of themselves, ignorant, and judgmental." She goes on to say Christians are only interested in people who will go to church with them. She has felt like she was a project rather than a person. For all our good intentions this is more and more what the world thinks of us. Now no one could ever accuse Paul of being wishy-washy on the Gospel. And he certainly antagonized a lot of people in his day, and continues to do so. Yet he tells us here that we should maintain a gentle spirit. We should be known by ALL men for such a spirit. Is this why he was so effective in promoting the Gospel? Food for thought. I admit I struggle to find the balance when I am dealing with non-believers. I struggle even more with those who say they are believers and pervert the Gospel or turn away from clear Biblical teaching on things like homosexuality, abortion, the role of women, etc. I confess that it is often easier for me to have that gentle spirit with those of the world than with those of the church. No excuses, just a confession here. I am in need of a little heart transformation in this area. To think, when I laid out the verses I wanted to cover I thought this was going to be a nice, easy day...not even a complete verse to cover today. It sounded like such a pleasant little verse until I started to take a close look at my heart... Grace, Peace, and Mercy, Deb |
AuthorI am a woman with a Mary heart and these are my musings as I read and study God's Word Join me on facebookArchives
October 2014
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