Fw: Pursuing Peace or Peace Man! Really.

Psalm 34:14 Turn away from evil and do good.  Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

Romans 12:17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,"I will take revenge;  I will pay them back,"  says the Lord. 20 Instead,"If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.In doing this, you will heap  burning coals of shame on their heads." 21 Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Verse 18 above is surrounded on both sides, "Don't hit em back" statements.

As believers we are to seek peace in all situations. Peace is another part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, therefore, it is already in us. I think that is why Paul tells us in Col 3:15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Today let the peace of Christ rule you heart and mind, then allow that peace to rule your words and actions toward others.

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr

Peace

Mark 4:35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

Have you ever wondered why Jesus rebuked the disciples here. Who among us has never been frightened by a powerful storm?

Look at vs 35 again. You see the Word made flesh said, "We're going to the other side". He didn't say, "We're going part way across the lake and then die by storm."

That is why God cannot lie. What He says happens.

Today, may His overwhelming peace flood your soul. Take time to think about some of the other things He said would happen, ie., His promises.

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr

A Joyful Prayer for us!

1Thess 5:10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. 11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. 14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not
scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for sending Your Son that might have life eternal.

Please open our eyes today to these things; opportunities to encourage, to honor our spiritual leaders and pray for them. Help us see the path to peace with each other. Grant us wisdom and Grace in warning the lazy and in strengthening the timid and caring for the weak.

May we constantly see Jesus and hear him saying, "Father forgive them...", of those who nailed Him to the cross. Cause that fruit, patieince, we so carelessly mock, to flow through us in all our dealings with others.

Fill us with Your Joy. Remind us when we allow anything to cover it up. Cause it to be evident in our lives. Remind us to pray instead of worrying. At all times remind us to count our blessings.

Father forgive us for grieving your Holy Spirit. We yield to you today. Speak to us and grant us clarity of thought. Keep us from evil and make us Holy in every way.

We praise You that we can trust You in all areas of our lives.

In Christ our Lord, AMEN!

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr

The path to Joy & a definition.

John 15:1 "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples
. This brings great glory to my Father. 9 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

Keep in mind, joy is a part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), so if the Holy Spirit is in you, joy is in you.
In John 15:1-11 Jesus offers the path to that Joy, or if you will, the way to unlock what God has placed in you through His Spirit.

Strong's defines the Greek word "chara" for joy this way:
"Cheerfulness, that is, calm delight: - gladness..."

After looking at many other passages and definitions I have formed my own definition for Christian Joy: Calm delightful confidence in my Creator, God and Lord.

Today abide in Christ and His Word. And may your Joy be full.

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr

Joy because of His heart.

Psalm 2:1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?  How long will you look the other way? 2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,  with sorrow in my heart every day?  How long will my enemy have the upper hand? 3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!  Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. 4 Don't let my enemies gloat, saying, "We have defeated him!"  Don't let them rejoice at my downfall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love.  I will rejoice because you have rescued me. 6 I will sing to the Lord  because he is good to me. (NLT)

My wife put these words on our kitchen wall, "When you can't see God's hand, trust His heart." Read verse 5 again. It says His love is unfailing.

Dear brothers & precious sisters, rejoice because He has saved your soul. Sing because He is good to you. When you begin to do these things you will sense His joy. It may be in small ways at first, but continue to praise Him. Continue to rejoice in His goodness and continue to sing about His goodness.

Today "Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done."

I count you among my blessings.

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr

Joy inexpressible!

1Peter 1:2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.  May God give you more and more grace and peace. 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. (NLT)

How are you handling the trials of life? The fiery trials you face test your faith.

I'm reminded of Yukon Cornelius on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. He would toss his pick-ax into the air and then test it for gold by licking it. Now whether one can taste gold or not Yukon's reaction was always the same, "Nothin'".

You either have gone through trials, are in one right now or soon will face one. If God were to speak out about the results of your fiery test what would be the conclusion? "Nothin'?"

Do you take Peter's suggestion above and look forward to the joy ahead? Vs 6. Do you rejoice in your salvation with inexpressible joy?

Can you, do you believe Romans 8:18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

Today focus on the joy ahead and let that guide you into inexpressible joy now, no matter what you are going through.

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr

Joy

Galatians 5:22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. (NLT)

If you are a child of God His Holy Spirit is at work in you. Romans 8:9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

Part of the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is Joy. Paul tells us to follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. He produces joy, if we are to follow Him we should allow that joy to rise to the surface of our attitude. We should allow joy to be one of the buffers in our responses.

I believe it was Warren Wiersbe who I first heard say, "Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and forever." In other words, our joy is not dependent on our circumstances, rather firmly planted in our immutable God and the assurance of the promises of God in Christ. 2Cor 1:20 For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory.

The fruit is there for the picking. It is a by-product of the Holy Spirit, so joy in Christ. Rejoice!

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr