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Friday, January
30, 2009
War And Peace
James 4:1-4 From whence come wars and
fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in
your members? (2) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and
cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. (3) Ye
ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon
your lusts. (4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God. (KJV)
Remember the peace of God you first
experienced in your walk with the Lord? What a wonderful precious and
priceless gift that God made available to all mankind, and what a joy it is
to be a partaker of it. So where has that peace gone, or should I say where
have you gone? Because last time I looked, the Lord said He is the one that
doesn’t change. So if there has been a change, if you are not experiencing
the peace of God, then you need look no further than self to see where you
went, not the peace. Many Christians do taste the goodness of our Lord for
a season, but as we see in verse 4, they try to perfect their walk with the
things of this world, which spiritually is described as adulterers. Well,
nothing will cause more turmoil and strife in a marriage relationship than
adultery, so what God had joined together was now being separated by man,
or I should say the fallen one that cheated on Him.
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dearly beloved, I beseech
you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul; (12) Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles:
that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good
works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. (KJV)
The Bible is very specific to use the
term ‘abstain’, not entertain fleshly lusts, because it will war against
your soul until you submit and give in. You have a choice, to cast down
those imaginations and every high thing that would try to exalt itself
against the knowledge of God, or you will end up cast down and trampled on
by the enemy. Your new life in Christ, that new found joy and peace that you
have experienced is there for the taking, something every believer in
Christ should be experiencing and living in, not just some hit or miss
situation that happens once in a while.
1 Peter 3:10-12 For he that will love
life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips
that they speak no guile: (11) Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him
seek peace, and ensue it. (12) For the eyes of the Lord are over the
righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the
Lord is against them that do evil. (KJV)
Who and what are you seeking peace in,
the things of this world or are you learning to let the peace of God rule
in all your decisions? When one
eschews evil it is not something that we sneeze at, but rather it means to
avoid, deviate or turn away from. The root of all evil is the love of money;
so remember, those things which are highly esteemed and held to by man are
an abomination in the sight of God, and so are all those that hold on to
that love; you know, like a cheating spouse, an adulterer or adulteress. So
what are you holding to this day; and what are you in pursuit of; the
things of this life or the things that are eternal?
Williams New Testament translation
of Philippians 4:6-7
6. Stop being worried about anything, but
always, in prayer and entreaty, and with thanksgiving, keep on making your
wants known to God. 7. Then, through your union with Christ Jesus, the
peace of God, that surpasses all human thought, will keep guard over your
hearts and thoughts.
The peace of God is there for your
protection, like having spyware on your computer, to warn you of an
impending threat. If something you are praying about is not peaceable, if
you are pursuing something or someone that is not bringing peace but rather
turmoil, then it would be in your best interest to back off and leave it
alone. Kind of like trying to mix oil and water, you can’t bring something
carnal into the realm of the Spirit, it doesn’t mix and never was intended
to; so something has to give, which sad to say with many Christians they
give in and pursue things that appeal more to the outward than the inward.
Colossians 3:14-15 And above all these
things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. (15) And let the
peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one
body; and be ye thankful. (KJV)
Williams New Testament translation
of Colossians 3:14-15
14. And over all these qualities put on
love, which is the tie of perfection that binds us together. 15. Let the
peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts, for you
were called to this state as members of one body. And practice being
thankful.
Are you tired of the striving and
contending, fighting and fussing with other fallen people in this fallen
realm? Why not let someone else take over and eliminate all this warring,
so that you can effectively carry out your duty as a soldier in the
heavenly realm. An umpire has the last say or call, many times in crucial
situations. Our Lord is the one and only umpire you should be concerned
with and what call He is making on your behalf. So rather than arguing with
the Umpire, why not let Him make the call so that you can make it safely
home?
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