Special Guest Blog: Peace

fruit.of.the.spirit.week.three.PEACE.

want peace?  take it, it's yours! more ramblings...

philippians4:4-7 rejoice in the Lord always.i will say it again: Rejoice! let your gentleness be evident to all. the Lord is near. do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  v.8-9 finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. and the God of PEACE will be with you.

confession1: phil4:4-9 is my 'go to' scripture for peace. surely i sound like a broken record to people in my life, sharing it with every one. walking through this journey called life, i've not met anyone (yet) who always keeps their peace, but my heart and mind are convinced that it is possible. it takes practice! pray...read it...do it...read&pray some more...it works. i promise!  the key is doing it! (don't just listen to God's word. you must do what it says. otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. james 1:22 nlt)

my encouragement to you is dig in. really tear it apart, bit by bit, then walk it out. this is biblical principle with two promises of God's peace. (christy covered v.6-7 beautifully, so back up a bit) start right off with with the rejoicing part, you get to do that twice right off the bat! (phil4:4) then carry it out until the end (v.9). the more i do this, the easier and more natural it becomes. peace is a gift, it's always available to you. it came with Holy Spirit the day you accepted Christ as your Lord and Saviour! (if you haven't, it would be my pleasure to share this truth with you)

confession2: i didn't keep my peace a few times today, however, as i become more sensitive to Holy Spirit, seeking peace (ps34:14), changing my thinking (phil4:8-9), capturing negative thoughts (we demolish arguments&every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to christ.2cor10:5) is becoming a much easier process these days. i have many daily opportunities to practice!

so seek peace and pursue it! (the one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deciet. he must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.1peter3:10-11 &ps34:13-14niv) its right there anytime you need need it. besides, worrying can't add a day to your life. as a matter of fact, it takes days off. worry makes you sick! (can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorow will worry about itself. each day has enough trouble of its own. matt6:27-34niv. you should read the whole thing)

i believe two opposites of peace are worry&fear. (perfect love drives out fear 1jn4:18 but i'll save that for another time)

if you desire peace, if you regularly think, "if i could just have some peace," go get it! it's yours for the taking! like joy from last week, its not about your circumstances. you can have peace in the storm! Jesus said it, so i know it's true!

grace & PEACE,

margie                       

doh.margie@gmail.com  twitter:margiedoh  facebook:margie doherty

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