Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:7 (NLT) Yesterday we looked at v6 which teaches us to not worry and pray about everything. Today, in v7, we see that peace is the result of prayer. In the NLT translation of the Bible, the word “peace” appears 362 times. That’s one for almost every day of the year… 99% of the time! Often we allow worry and stress to consume our thinking but God’s will is that we live in peace. Psychologists suggest that up to 90% of our thoughts processes are a repeat of the previous day. In other words, we don’t often think ‘new thoughts’; we just run over the same things again and again… day-in and day-out. True, true, true!!!! One of my favorite verses is in Romans 12:2 which says “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Yes, your mind can be renewed, no matter how much old ground it’s been over – anxiety, stress, worry and fear – God wants to help you replace those thought processes with ones that bring calm, comfort and peace. Ps 55:22 (NKJV) says “cast your burdens on the Lord and He shall sustain you”. Prayer is the ‘casting’ and peace is the ‘sustenance’… and so peace is the result of a renewed mind. One that thinks, meditates and dwells on ‘God-thoughts .’ There’s a renewed peace for you every day, you just have to dig into God’s word and promises to renew your thinking and live in the peace. Col 1:20 says that Jesus made peace by the blood of His cross. The Beatitudes suggest that blessed are the peacemakers. 1 Cor 14 says that God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. Romans 14 states that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace. Galatians 5 says that the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is love, joy and…peace! In Isa 9:2, Jesus is referred to as the ‘Prince of Peace.’ There is no doubt that God’s heartfelt intention for you and I is one of peace. It’s not a promise of a no-hassle life, but one that, no matter what circumstance or storm hits us, peace should and will be our portion. Live and love in His peace today…its free.....you just have to take it!!!! Amen! Phil 4:7....one of my most favorite verses....because most rarely quote the last of the verse.....that will keep your heart and mind!!!!! Thats where our peace starts...in the mind and then takes the root into our heart! Receive it...worry gains us nothing....except maybe a few gray hairs!!!! Blessings....go forth in peace today!
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:13:16 +0000