Tag: peace

A Covenant of Grace and Salvation for All

Revelation 1:18
I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

When Jesus Christ proclaimed that He is the first and the last, He confirmed His role in our time based world. He brought our world into existence and He will usher it out when He brings in His eternal kingdom. When He proclaimed that He holds the keys to Death and Hades, He confirmed His proper deity and His covenant of grace and salvation for all.

When we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, who created the universe and still controls every minute detail of its existence, how could we lack the confidence that He will overcome any person or evil in the universe that comes to harm us. It just does not make sense to question His power and sovereign rule.

Fear not! He is the head of His own house by Whom and for Whom all things were created. He will keep His house in perfect order according to His will and perfect plans.

Let us rest in the hands of the One who promises us His love, His joy and His peace through His victory on the Cross. Let us trust in the One who closes the portals of hell and opens the gateways of heaven. Let us bless His name as we rejoice in His power over our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we fall at Your feet in utter awe of who You are. We proclaim Your Name above all other names. We praise You and we surrender to Your power in our lives. We exalt the name of Jesus. May He lay His hand upon us in love and not in wrath or anger. We pray that You will show us Your power in the struggles that we are currently experiencing. May we find joy in our circumstances knowing that You have already settled the matters for our good for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Nothing Can Disturb Us, Distress Us or Steal Our Peace When We Are One with Christ

Luke 21:19
By your endurance you will gain your lives.

Jesus warned His apostles of the hard times to come. He foretold the trials and persecution that they would suffer after He left. He comforted them with His promise that if they persevered in the ways of God and in the truths that He had given them, they would possess peace and joy in their souls. He also told them that the world would not be able to take away their joy if they lived in the fullness of His presence.

So it is with us. We have our own trials to bear in our lives. The Lord teaches us to let nothing disturb or distress us. He instructs us not to submit to the moodiness that might come upon us due to our circumstances. We must take on the Spirit of the One who dwells within us. We must endure, knowing that we have already been given victory over our circumstances. We must allow Jesus to do His work in us, overcoming the moodiness that our flesh would like to lay on us, so that we can press on and do the work that He calls us to do in the world. May we learn to patiently bear all afflictions on our bodies, bear all attacks and indignities tossed our way by our critics and bear all difficulties dealt to us by the world.

Let us be determined to allow nothing to disturb us, distress us or steal our peace. Let us learn to live joyfully in the presence of Jesus Christ under all circumstances.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for granting us victory through Jesus over everything in the world that tries to take our joy away. We rejoice in knowing that we can have joy even when happiness eludes us. We pray that You will teach us how to seek the strength we need when our mood turns us toward our problems instead of our solution, Your Son, Jesus. May the world see our joy in all circumstances so that they may be drawn to the One who provides it. We ask all these things in the name of Our Stronghold, Jesus Christ.

Our Strength in Times of Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:10
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When our family relationships are at the breaking point, when the bill collectors are knocking at our door or when serious afflictions are threatening us, we run to Jesus for a supernatural remedy to our maladies. When we are weak and near defeat, perhaps even near death, we run to Jesus for His grace to strengthen us and comfort us as we go through our trials.

He promises to be our strength in every one of our times of weakness or trial. He promises to lighten our burdens as we surrender to His yoke. It is during these times that we feel His presence so clearly. It is during these times of pain that we experience the fullness of His love. It becomes a blessing to have tribulation in our lives.

Unfortunately without trial, we tend to lean away from God. We tend to move out of His presence. We tend to let the joy of life overshadow the true and perfect joy that is available to us through an ongoing, intimate relationship with Our Savior.

Let us turn to Jesus for our strength in the good times and the bad times. Let us be mindful of the presence and power of Jesus Christ as we enjoy the blessings that we have been provided in our lives. Let us experience the peace and power of being yoked to Him in our times of trial. Let us allow Jesus to be our all-sufficient Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your promise to perfect Your strength in our weakness. We thank You for the comfort of knowing that You are always there. We praise You for providing Your Son, Jesus, so that through Him and in Him we can experience the fullness of Your love. Help us, Father, to find contentment in all things as we seek to live in Your shadow and not under the influence of the world. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will inspire us to develop an ongoing, intimate relationship with Your Son that is not affected by our circumstances. We ask all these things in the name of Our Rock and Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

The Positive and Negative Power of Spoken Words

Proverbs 15:4
The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

God spoke the world into existence. Jesus cast out demons and healed the sick with His spoken words. There is great power in our words as well. Words cast out from our mouths have the power to build up and the power to crush. We must be conscious of the power of every word that we speak.

Destructive comments like, “You will never amount to anything,” can have long term, negative impact on the life of a child. Life giving comments like, “God has a special plan for your life,” can have long term, positive impact on the life of a child. We must be careful in choosing the words that we speak to our loved ones and to all the people that we encounter in life. We truly have the power to plant life or death into those around us.

Satan will stay in our ears all day long, feeding us with destructive words to be spoken against those that we care for. We must keep our armor up against the urgings to hurt others with our words. We must continually ask the Holy Spirit to help us to be mindful of our words so that we comfort and build up those around us instead of crushing their spirits.

Let us speak healing words to the wounded. Let us speak atoning words to those without Christ. Let us speak peace, encouragement and building up in the lives of all those that surround us. Let us silence any destructive words that the enemy tries to solicit from us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of speaking. We rejoice in praising You with our words and our songs. We take comfort in coming to You with our words of solicitation. We pray, Father, that You will fill our hearts with words that speak life into those around us. We pray that You will shield us from the urgings of the enemy to speak words of conflict and destruction. Build us up, Lord, so that we may build up others in Your Precious Name. We ask all these things in the name of the Living Word, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Takes Us to Places of Joy We Cannot Reach on Our Own

Jeremiah 31:25
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

What a tremendous promise we have from the Lord. The promise was first spoken to draw the Jews out of bondage back to their homelands and back to Himself. Through His prophet, Jeremiah, Almighty God was assuring the Jews that they would find a rest and joy in their new settlement if they set aside their idols and returned to Him.

The promise still holds true for all of us today as the Lord encourages us with His extraordinary promise to give us the strength that we need to break away from all the bondage in our lives. The promise includes drawing us back to Himself when we have separated ourselves from Him by living in the world and taking on personal idols that we have set ahead of the Lord. The promise includes giving us the spiritual inspiration that we need to renew our devotion to Him when it is lagging.

Through His incredible promise, He calls us to live in a higher place, a place where His presence brings us complete comfort, peace and satisfaction. He calls us to a place where the weary find rest and the sorrowful find joy. There is no other place except in Jesus Christ that we can find such a promise.

Let us take our weary souls before Our Father in heaven. Let us languish there and be replenished in body, mind and spirit.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us to Yourself. We bless the name of Jesus who provides all that we need to be one with You and one with Your Son. We pray that You raise up in us the desire to bring to You the fullness of love and devotion that You seek from us. Lift us up, Lord, to a higher place – a place that we cannot reach without You. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will strengthen us to leave behind the things of the world that we place ahead of our devotion to You. We ask all these things in the name of our Most High Savior, Jesus Christ.

Where the Weary Find Rest and the Sorrowful Find Joy

Jeremiah 31:25
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

What a tremendous promise we have from the Lord. The promise was first spoken to draw the Jews out of bondage back to their homelands and back to Himself. Through His prophet, Jeremiah, Almighty God was assuring the Jews that they would find a rest and joy in their new settlement if they set aside their idols and returned to Him.

The promise still holds true for all of us today as the Lord encourages us with His extraordinary promise to give us the strength that we need to break away from all the bondage in our lives. The promise includes drawing us back to Himself when we have separated ourselves from Him by living in the world and taking on personal idols that we have set ahead of the Lord. The promise includes giving us the spiritual inspiration that we need to renew our devotion to Him when it is lagging.

Through His incredible promise, He calls us to live in a higher place, a place where His presence brings us complete comfort, peace and satisfaction. He calls us to a place where the weary find rest and the sorrowful find joy. There is no other place except in Jesus Christ that we can find such a promise.

Let us take our weary souls before Our Father in heaven. Let us languish there and be replenished in body, mind and spirit.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us to Yourself. We bless the name of Jesus who provides all that we need to be one with You and one with Your Son. We pray that You raise up in us the desire to bring to You the fullness of love and devotion that You seek from us. Lift us up, Lord, to a higher place – a place that we cannot reach without You. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will strengthen us to leave behind the things of the world that we place ahead of our devotion to You. We ask all these things in the name of our Most High Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Power of the Indwelling Christ in Our Lives

Colossians 2:6-7
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

We are called to walk in the fullness of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. We are to mirror in every way His love, patience, humility, meekness and faithfulness in carrying out His duties. But more than that, we are to lean on Him. We are to derive from Him the grace and strength that we need to live under His influence, by His direction and through His assistance.

In Jesus, we find beauty, glory, fullness and everything suitable for living our new lives in Christ. We should not consider our own plans ever again, unless they are derived by seeking the guidance of Our Savior first. We must learn not to lean on our own understanding, but to trust in the Lord to make our paths straight.

Once we acknowledge Our Lord and receive the benefit of the good and perfect plans that He sets aside for us, we must express our gratitude for all that He has provided. For God justly withdraws His provision from those that receive it without thanksgiving.

Let us move swiftly to the yoke of Jesus Christ. Let us receive the fullness of all of His promises as we pour out our burdens upon Him. Let us tell the world of the peace and comfort that He provides us. May it all be for the glory of Our Lord and Servant King.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, to dwell within us. Make us mindful of His presence at all times. Teach us to gladly, joyfully and willingly seek the plans that have been set aside for us through Our Savior. Mold our hearts so that we will be ready to receive the fullness of Christ into our lives. We pray that You fill our hearts with continuous gratitude and thanksgiving for our ever present King. We ask all these things in the name of the One who transforms us through His indwelling presence, Jesus Christ.

Preparing for the Harvest

Song of Solomon 2:11
For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.

Just as the earth goes through seasons, so do we. Remarkably, our supernatural seasons tend to coincide with the natural seasons. As we respond to the gloominess of the dark winter days, we tend to become inactive like the flowers and the trees. As the spring arrives, we tend to become more lively. We enjoy a sense of calmness and peace accompanied by a sense of expectation. We look forward to a fruitfulness in our works.

We should be alert in the spring of the year to seek the new things that God is trying to release into our lives. If we are growing in Christ, we will always be taken to higher levels in service, praise, worship and fellowship with Our Savior. May we turn away from the darkness of the winter past and turn toward the light of Jesus Christ. May we look for the arrival of the harvest around us as the cold, hard ground of winter becomes the fertile, soft soil of the spring.

Let us dust off any complacency that has arisen in our winter time. Let us shake off the things that have us stuck in one place. Let us claim the breakthrough anointing that Our Father has prepared for us as we draw nearer to Our Savior who is anxious to release new fruit in our lives. Let us rejoice in knowing that the One who releases us into our new springtime anointing for fruitfulness and intimacy is the same One who promises never to forsake us during our journey into the new season.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the seasons in our lives. We thank You for taking us through the dark of the winter so we can see You more clearly in the light of the spring. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will inspire us to seek the newness and boldness in Christ that You have planned to release in us this spring. We pray that You will use us to harvest the souls of the men and women surrounding us as You prepare their hearts to be fertile grounds for Your Good News. May new fruit come from our growth as Jesus’ disciples this year. We ask all these things in the name of the eternal spring, Jesus Christ.

The Peace and Comfort Offered by Simple Obedience

Luke 19:42
If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

As Jesus weeped over Jerusalem, He spoke the words in Luke 19 to the Jews, who He knew would reject Him and His offer of salvation. Because they rejected His offer, He transferred His offer to the willing Gentiles.

This principle is carried out in a different way in our daily lives. Jesus prepares us to do His work and asks us to be obedient to His calling. Sometimes He will give us simple urgings in the spirit to do something nice for someone, to pray for someone, to forgive someone or to ask forgiveness from someone. Often His urging may be for a simple act to bring a smile upon the face of another. At other times, His bidding will have much more significant impact. Whatever He asks of us, if we accept His call, we will be given greater things to do for Him. We will experience the peace and comfort that flows from serving Him. If we do not accept His bidding, we will miss the peace He offers and we will miss a portion of the bigger plans that He has for our lives. Sadly, He will move on to find the one who is willing serve Him readily.

Let us not miss the satisfaction of living in the peace and comfort of the Lord. Let us eagerly accept and carry out any task, big or small, that the Lord is asking us to do. Let us discover how simple acts of obedience bring complete peace and comfort into our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to serve You. We rejoice in knowing that You are pleased when we are obedient to Your urging. We pray that You make us sensitive to the work that You call us to do. May we find joy in even the smallest tasks. May it all bring honor and glory to You, to Your Son and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the One that gives us peace at all times and in every way, Jesus Christ.

Trusting in God for Everything

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

It is easy to read Philippians 4:6 and come away with the simple thought that God encourages us and desires for us to bring Him our prayer requests. This interpretation is absolutely true. But when we break it down, we find that God is saying much, much more to us.

First, and foremost, we are being taught to be anxious in nothing. Does that make any sense? Surely we all have daily concerns and cares that we need to attend to as good stewards of our provisions, our relationships and our own spiritual condition. God is aware of these due concerns, but He is giving us the command to trust in Him. He knows our needs better than we know our needs. He is actually calling on us to have peace and comfort when the world would suggest otherwise.

After first resting in the comfort of His promise, then we are urged to go to Him in prayer with our requests. But there is a stipulation attached as He commands that we bring our thanksgiving in advance of our requests. Why does He ask us to come with thanksgiving? Again, it is for our peace and comfort. When we bring our thanksgiving, we are reconciling with Him all the favor and blessing that He has provided in the past. This positions us to approach His Throne with the confidence that everything we ask for will be addressed and answered perfectly according to our needs, our real needs.

If we are in line with the passage to this point, then our thankful, angst free mindset will help us to meet the last command in this passage which is to let our requests be known to God – not to men. This is a not so subtle reminder that it is not our job to manipulate our circumstances through our own capability. Instead we are to depend on Our Heavenly Father for everything in our lives. In exchange for following His supplication process, peace will be our companion.

Let us go to Him in thanksgiving, adoration and trust. Let us rest in His peace as we wait for His provision.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unconditional love and Your forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus. We ask forgiveness for coming to You so often with our needs alone, accompanied by a stark absence of our professed love for You and our expression of our sincere thanks for all that You provide. Teach us, Lord, how to seek Your presence in our lives. Teach us how to fully trust in You throughout each and every day. Teach us how to use our prayer lives to build our relationships with You. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose mercies and miracles never come to an end, Jesus Christ.