There is no one like Jesus. He gives us a peace that this world cannot afford. As a Child of the Living God, peace is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit that is produced and worked in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. This peace is something you don’t have once in awhile. The peace Jesus gives you is for ALL the time, not once in awhile, not sometimes. ALL THE TIME. The peace He gives you is perfect. The peace He gives you is complete, not lacking.
In Isaiah 26:3, we see it is the Lord who gives us perfect peace. The transliteration for the words “perfect” and “peace” is the Hebrew word “Shalom.” That phrase perfect peace means “calmness, tranquility, rest, contentment, safety, soundness, complete.” Think about that for a moment, you can go about your day knowing you, as a Child of the Living God, have been given that kind of peace by Jesus Christ your Savior. The peace that Jesus has given you allows you to be free. When you keep your mind fixed upon Jesus and all that He has done for you, He keeps you in perfect peace (Complete Rest) because you are trusting in Him.
As you are going about your day, remember you can be in complete rest and know that, as a Child of God, you have this kind of peace, a peace this world cannot offer nor can it afford.
Heavenly Father, You are my Shalom, my Complete Rest, and You have not given me the spirit of fear but of love and of power and a sound mind. Lord, be my Guide throughout this day and instruct me in Your ways as I fix my mind upon You knowing that You will keep me in perfect peace as my mind is fixed upon You. Thank You for guarding my heart and mind with the peace that surpasses all understanding me. Thank You for the Complete Rest You have given me. I put my hope and my trust in You and will stand upon the truth of Your word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
IF YOU GO INTO MINISTRY expecting to make a great amount of wealth, then you do not understand what ministry is. Ministry is about reaching out to the hopeless, speaking for those who have no voice, and reaching the lost and dying by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ so they may inherit eternal life. Ministry is about winning souls for Jesus Christ. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,” Luke 19:10.
IF YOU GO INTO MINISTRY expecting to make a great amount of wealth, then you have lost the purpose of what ministry is about. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” Mark 10:45, Matthew 20:28.We lay down ourselves, our ego, our desires, our will in exchange for picking up our cross, dying to selfishness, and following His Will, giving our lives in service to Him, and going forth to tell others about Jesus Christ and who He is. “He must increase; I must decrease,” John 3:30.“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me,” Luke 9:23. Note the words “Let Him Deny Himself.”
THE WORD “MINISTER” on its own means “servant.” MINISTERING TO (SERVING) OTHERS is a calling.
IF YOU GO INTO MINISTRY JUST SO YOU CAN GET WEALTHY AND MILK PEOPLE DRY, then your ministry is built on the foundation of self and on things that will collapse when the storms come. IF YOUR MINISTRY IS BUILT ON SELF, THE LOVE OF MONEY, EGO, GREED, AND BUILT WITHOUT CHRIST BEING THE FOUNDATION, your ministry will eventually collapse.
“Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head,” Luke 9:58. There isn’t a bible verse that says Jesus lived in mansions while He on earth, and there’s isn’t a bible verse that shows Him demanding payment before or after He ministered to people. There isn’t even a verse that shows Jesus demanding money for His ministry. You will find Jesus preaching repentance and bringing hope to the hopeless, healing the sick, teaching crowds of people, delivering those who were possessed. He is Savior and Lord, and we see Him in the Scriptures as ministering to those who cried out to Him, those who recognized their need for salvation. In those same Scriptures, we see Jesus overturning the table of the money changers for taking advantage of those who were purchasing animals they needed to make sacrifices, “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers,'” Matthew 21:12-13.
I will end this post with these words from the book of Jude Verses 10 and 11 and 2 Peter 2:11-13, “These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively. Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion,” and “Yet not even angels, though greater in strength and power, dare to bring such slanderous charges against them before the Lord. These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed. The harm they will suffer is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you.”
“Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings.” -Leviticus 2:13 (NLT)
“Never forget to add salt…” was the command for this grain offering. The significance of the grain offering was that it represented honoring and worshiping God alone, acknowledging He alone is the Provider for all His Children. We cannot overlook the great significance of this offering. It is clear we are to honor and worship God alone and that God is our Provider. We are His temple, and our foundation is Christ. Since Christ is our foundation, then it is God alone whom we bring honor and glory to in what we say, what we do, and how we live. This grain offering could be offered by anyone even if he/she was poor. Anyone can honor and worship God alone. We are living sacrifices before God.
Let me explain the significance of salt: Back in Bible times, some middle eastern lands would gift someone with salt if they were making an agreement. Gifting with salt in those days represented that an agreement or legally binding contract (covenant) was permanent. Simply put, the gift of salt you gave to the one you made an agreement with represented a permanent agreement, a lasting and unchanged agreement indefinitely. That is why the salt could not be forgotten on the grain offering. The salt added to the grain offering was symbolic, representing the permanent covenant God and His People had. When this offering was made by the people of God, God was pleased by their intentions and motivation in making this offering. When we offer the sacrifice of praise and when we worship the Lord in how we live, we bring honor to God. “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him,” (Romans 12:1 NLT).
Salt can be diluted or polluted. “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless,” (Matthew 5:13 NLT). Job had this to say about unsalted food in Chapter 6 Verse 6, “Don’t people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?” There are a few things we must understand: (1) We are used to the chemical compound we call “table salt.” (2) The salt we know is not the salt they had back in the days of Jesus, and (3) Jesus used salt an example. If you were to look at me, you would not see a pile of salt. Jesus used salt as a way to describe the Remnant, the People of God.
Let’s agree on one thing. If we are going to eat, we want our food seasoned. We don’t want to eat bland food. We want flavorful food that tastes good. God wants us the salt of the earth to keep all its flavor and not to lose any of flavor by being diluted or polluted. If we lose our flavor by being complacent, then we are diluted salt -in other words we lose our godly influence in the world we live in, and we become rendered ineffective in ministry and to reach out to seek and save the lost. When we lose our godly influence, how will others see God being glorified through us? When we are complacent, then we are diluted salt. Salt can even be diluted to the point where you cannot even taste the salt.
Being salt that has not lost flavor is representative of God being active in your life, preserving you from the wickedness of this world and from the evil one. Being salt also shows that God has shown His grace and mercy to you, restoring and healing and forgiving you of your iniquities and transgressions.
Are you salt that still has all of its flavor? Are you polluted salt that has bought into the vain imaginations and philosophies of this world, or are you diluted salt whose flavor has been lessened by indifference or by complacency?
Let us not allow ourselves to lose our flavor. Let us strive to be ready at all times to serve the Lord effectively by having our roots deeply rooted in Christ and being grounded in the Word of God. Let us be the salt of the earth, bringing God glory as we are His hands extended (“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,”1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV). Let us not be polluted by the things of this world but fix our eyes on Him who is the Author and the Finisher of our Faith. Let us never lose our influence in this world so that we might seek and save the lost by the power of His Holy Spirit working through us (“And then he told them,“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone,'” Mark 16:15 NLT). God can only work through us when we are sold out for Him.
Heavenly Father, You alone are worthy of glory and honor. You alone are my Provider. Thank You for the blessings You have bestowed upon me. Thank You that I can freely worship You. Let me be the salt of the earth. Be my Instructor, and help me and remind me You are the One who sustains and keeps me. Teach me how not to be the salt that loses its flavor. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30 Berean Study Bible
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WHEN I CAN’T ESCAPE
Written by Linda A. Knowles
Monday, June 29, 2020
When I can’t escape the meanderings of my own mind
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” -Luke 6:46-49 ESV
The foundation upon which you build your life upon matters. Eventually when the storms of life strike that is when the foundation of your life will be tested and tried. Are you building your life upon Jesus Christ, the Sure Foundation, or are you building your life upon what is temporary? Be like the wise man who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house upon the rock that could not be shaken when it was struck.
“Then the LORD said to me: ‘Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go. If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.'” (Jeremiah 15:1-2 Berean Study Bible)
I did a doubletake reading this Scripture when I saw it said, “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before me, My heart would not go out to this people.” Moses and Samuel were both prophets of God. They were two of the greatest prophets amongst the other prophets we see in the Scriptures. The people of Judah had come to the point of no return.
Not even Moses or Samuel would have been able to intercede for the people of Judah at this point. Judah had abandoned God and traded God for the religious systems of men, had adopted the culture of pagan nations, and worshipping the idols/gods of the nations around them. Jeremiah had already been told “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster, ” (Jeremiah 11:14BSB).
Intercession for the people of Judah would have been rendered ineffective even if Moses and Samuel were standing before God interceding on their behalf. God wasn’t even listening to the people of Judah cry out to Him because they only cried out to Him when they were in trouble. God was angry and told Jeremiah, “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to which they have been burning incense, but these gods certainly will not save them in their time of disaster. Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 11:11-13) They didn’t commune with God. They were committing the act of spiritual adultery, acting as prostitutes giving themselves away to every pagan deity and were told by God through the prophet Jeremiah “How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!” (Jeremiah 2:33BSB) They had no shame and could not even blush anymore. They flagrantly flaunted their spiritual adultery and their idolatry in the face of God.
GOD DOESN’T PLAY GAMES. God warned them over and over again, but the stench of their sin had risen up before Him, and they were only sorry they had gotten caught in their sin. They were not repentant for their sins of abandoning God and trading Him in for the religious systems of man, their spiritual adultery, and their idolatry.
This cannot get more sobering than this statement made to Jeremiah by God, “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.” Will you allow yourself to be found in the same spiritual condition as the people of Judah? Would God tell someone not to pray for you?
THERE IS NO NEUTRAL GROUND WHEN IT COMES TO SERVING GOD. I will be saying that until there is no longer breath in my body. There is no neutral ground when it comes to serving the Lord. CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE.
We have been chosen by Christ to go and bear fruit. Every tree that does not bear fruit will be chopped down and burnt up (Matthew 3:10, 7:19).
“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” (James 4:4-6NLT)
Remember God does NOT bless a life of disobedience, but He does bless a life of obedience. He lavishes grace and mercy upon His children who are loving Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. Favor is the shield around His children.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Repent so you are not found in the same position as the people of Judah. God had enough of their foolish behavior. Do NOT bring God to the point where God tells someone not to pray for you anymore because of your stubborn, hardened, and calloused heart. There is a time when God says, “Enough” as we have seen here with Jeremiah.
There is no neutral ground when it comes to God. You are either on God’s side or you’re not. You cannot claim to live for God and love the things of this world; in other words, you cannot be a friend of God if you are a friend of the world. The God of the Old Testament is still God in the New Testament. God promises restoration, hope, and healing for those who are truly repentant with contrite hearts, those who recognize their need of the one and only Savior.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the One and Only God. You are the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. No one compares to You. You are sovereign and holy, and You do not share Your glory with another. Father, I will seek Your righteousness first and I will follow Your ways. I will obey Your commands and cling tightly to Your truth. I choose to serve You and You alone. Thank You for being my God and my Father. Thank You for Your instruction and Your discipline. Thank You for choosing me to go and bear fruit. Be with me as I follow Your commands and seek out Your ways. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
When our minds are fixated on those who oppose us, who are the children of GOD, we are only adding fuel to the fire of our anger and our confusion. Those who oppose us are not ours to worry about. GOD will take care of the opposition. Unless we truly let go, we will never have peace of mind. When we are fixated upon those who oppose us, those who speak ill of us, those who are trying to harm us, then we are not trusting in GOD.
SHIFT THE FOCUS: In Isaiah 26:3-4 (Berean Study Bible), it states, “3You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. 4Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.” Rather than focus on the opposition, which is as fleeting as the grass that eventually withers away, focus on what is eternal such as reflecting on the laws and the commands of GOD and concerning yourself with obeying Him, not caring about the approval or the applause of people. When you begin to think and speak about the goodness of GOD, you will find yourself experiencing the peace that comes from GOD alone. Your soul cannot remain in a downcast state when you are letting the fruit of your lips be thanksgiving and praise to GOD, and you will experience true joy rising up within you. Your mind will not stay overwhelmed and weighed down when you are thinking about what is noble, honorable, trustworthy, and of good report. Trust in GOD, and let it go.
“6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 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.” -Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
“…but doers of the word will be justified;” Romans 2:13 NKJV
No one ever said doing a spiritual self-examination would be easy, but we do so, as children of God, because it is necessary. God is longsuffering, not slack concerning any of His promises. He is longsuffering because He wants us to turn to Him, to repent, and to turn from any and all sin.
Asking God to point out our sin is difficult. The reason we ask God to point out our sin is so that He can cleanse and heal us. God will never bring harm to you. God has good plans for you for a hope and a future, but that also includes letting Him clean you up. While it is a little unnerving knowing that He sees everything we say and do, it can also be quite comforting knowing that we can come to Him with a humble and sincere heart and ask Him to change in us whatever displeases Him.
“…For You will repay each man according to His deeds.” Psalm 62:12 BSB
Our goal must always be to please God by seeking Him and acting on His Word through obedience and walking by faith, living our lives as a living sacrifice before Him. This is why is it not enough to have knowledge of what is right. We must act on what is right, doing what is right. We must be “doers of the word” so that we “will be justified.”
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 BSB
We do what is right because we love God; Because we love God, we understand obedience is better than sacrifice. Because we love God, we obey His commands and His laws. Because we love God, we apply His Word to every aspect of our life. We are doers of the Word, not just hearers only so that we won’t be self-deceived.
In all we do, let us always set out to please God and be doers of His word because“doers of the word will be justified.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness. Thank You for being patient with me. I ask, Lord, that You show me whatever it is in my life that is not pleasing to You that I might turn away from it. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Forgive me, O Lord, and heal me. Make me whole. Thank You for forgiving me and setting me free. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Brother Vincent, an elder in the church, grunted a hello at Poppy. He came over to her as she was throwing out a copier. When he saw what she was doing, he stood between her and the copier and sternly raised his voice, “Poppy, what are you doing?! Copiers cost a lot of money! Don’t you understand this?! You cannot throw this away!”
“But, Brother Vincent, it’s broken. Even the Copier Repair Man couldn’t resuscitate this thing. It prints globs of black ink on the paper and it failed every test the Copier Repair Man gave it. There is no redemption for this copier. “
But Brother Vincent insisted, “Call the Copier Guy again and have him come to fix it.”
“Brother Vincent, it would cost another $600.00 to get the Copier Repair Man back out here. They sent out what’s called a Specialist Copier Repair Man already. He said and I’m quoting the Specialist. He said, ‘How do I break this to you gently, Poppy? Your Copier has passed from this life into its next life to the Great Copier Heaven in the sky.'”
“So it’s not good then?”
“No, Brother Vincent, I’m sorry, but this copier is as dead as a doorknob.”
Brother Vincent was quiet for a moment as she could see he was thinking, “We may one day need to use this copier. So put it back in storage.”
“Brother Vincent, we have no storage room and it’s broken.”
“Well it prints. It just prints with globs of black ink. So it prints just not correctly so it’s still good. Just put it in storage. Do what I said,” he then left the office.
Pastor Grant came in and saw Poppy puzzled as she was putting the copier in the other room, “Didn’t you move that same copier out here to get rid of it?”
“Yes, Pastor.”
“Then, why are you moving it back to the other room?”
“Pastor Grant, Brother Vincent is 90 years old, and I have to respect my elders. I’m trying to make sure that if he strokes out that it is not because of me. It has to be because you told him the copier has got to go. Besides, you’re the Pastor. He has to listen to you.”
Stained Glass Confessions 