John 14:27 Philippians 1:27-28 John 16:33 6/30/15

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

When the world around us seems to be in a  free fall - it is easy to become anxious. When a storm appears on the horizon it can cause us to have troubled hearts.  This produces fear, aggression, and anxiety, instead of peace.  

But Jesus says PEACE is the gift He gives.
HIS perfect peace - better than what the world offers.  

That doesn't mean there will never be trouble.  We live in a fallen world.  Evil happens and things get broken.  On top of that, we are commanded to speak the truth,  and many don't like the truth.  So there will be struggles.

But peace is not an absence of trouble,  it is the promise that we don't face trouble alone. Even when things seem to be falling apart, God is not pacing the floor. 
He is still on the thrown. He is still in control.  

So our marching orders haven't changed:
Philippians 1: 27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; ²⁸ in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 

In a world full of hysteria, and knee-jerk reactions, there should be a quiet confidence in us that draws others to Christ. 

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

1 John 4:19-20 Matthew 23:37-39 6/23/15

1 John 4:  ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. 

Continuing the theme from last week of considering the amazing grace that allows us to have fellowship with our creator, we are confronted with the verses above.  How can we say we love God and yet hate His children?   God says, that person is a liar.

 Just as someone could not tell you they loved you,  but hate your children, we cannot claim to love God and hate those He loves, that are made in His image.

When they asked Jesus what  the greatest commandment of all was, he gave them two:

Matthew 23:  ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[c] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

He gave them two commands because they cannot be separated.

 The truth is,  you will never meet anyone who is truly happy that isn't loving and serving others.
 It's what we were made to do.

Remember the amazing grace that saved you - and extend it to those that need it.

Luke 18:10-14 & Romans 5:8 6/16/15

Luke 18: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people— robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’  ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.

 I often hear people say things like,  "I'm not good enough to be a Christian".  But a heart in that condition is ready for salvation.  It is the heart that feels worthy that doesn't understand its condition and the Grace of God.  In these verses Jesus says the humble man who acknowledged his sin and asked for mercy is the one who went home justified.  

You don't clean up your life and come to God.  You come to God, and He will clean up your life.  

The hardest thing to grasp is that He actually loves you right where you are. 

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Acts 4:13-14 6/9/2015

Acts 4: ¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

These verses occur while the Jewish court is trying to charge Peter and John with a crime, and silence them from preaching about Jesus.

Two things we should consider:

1.  We gain courage and power not from our occupation, or education, but from being with Jesus. Don't allow the urgent to push out the important.  Spend time in the Word every day.

2.  If you want to silence your critics make sure your faith impacts others.  They can attack your ceremonies and rituals, but not the results.... Your detractors cannot discount the people who have been blessed and strengthened  because of your ministry.

Make sure you spend time daily with Jesus this week, and let the strength and courage that it produces impact others in life changing ways.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 6/2/15

I have a challenge for you guys this morning!  Read these verses once, just as they are written.

1st Corinthians 13

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Now read them again and replace the word "love" with your name, 

and the word "it",  with the word "he".

How did you do?  

Does it sound like you?

That is where the bar is set.…

and according to the versus just before the ones we read, this is the ONLY way to be useful and effective for the Kingdom.  

I don't know about y'all, but I need to hit my knees and ask God to work on my heart.  

No matter what I do...If I don't do it with love,  it is worthless.  

Don't settle for less, have a great week.