Jesus brings peace in the storm. Trusting God is more than just hoping for the best! It’s knowing in our hearts, deep down inside that He is in control ‒ no matter what is happening around us. We need to hold fast in the storm and remember that He is the master of the wind and the waves. Jesus turns darkness into light. When we are having a night-time experience, we need to know that things will change. The calm will come. When we feel backed into a corner we need to have radical, relentless faith. We need faith that will stand on the promises of God, and know that what He says will come to pass.
Think of justice, mercy and grace. If we are guilty, then we deserve justice. Or if we are guilty maybe we can hope for mercy. Grace is completely different. Yes, we are guilty, but through the death of Jesus on the cross we are justified ‒ made “Just as if I’d never sinned,” That’s an example of Grace. We are saved by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:4-6). It is the gift of God. We can’t earn it. Grace is the undeserved favour of God. God fully accepts us through the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. We are clothed in His righteousness.
We don’t need to understand everything, if we know that God is guiding and directing our steps. Learning to accept living with mystery is an essential part of growing into maturity in our walk with God. When it comes to understanding things, we have our territory and God has His. Our territory only expands when He chooses to reveal things to us. That is why we have to trust Him with all our hearts (Proverbs 3:5-6). We need to believe the truth of God’s Word. His Word is truth and knowing the truth sets us free (John 8:32)! If we are not convinced that God’s Word is true, then fear and unbelief come in. That is when Satan has a foothold in our lives. We need to walk by faith and not by sight. We need to trust God’s SOVEREIGNTY and the truth of His Word.
We all need wisdom and understanding. God understands us more than anyone – even ourselves! We all have a need to understand and to be understood. Jesus understands us when we feel overwhelmed, when problems come, even though we may fail to fully understand the reason. Understanding in our lives is the key that unlocks many doors. It broadens our insight, widens our horizons, especially in our relating to others. Understanding sees underneath the surface. It helps us to pray for the cause, not just the symptoms.
Distractions, stress, worry, self-doubt, anxiety, disappointment, criticism, fear, and depression, mistreatment of our loved ones. All of these aspects of ourselves are enemies of our peace of mind and enemies of our identity and purpose in Christ. All of us have experienced one or more of these desctructive realities and most of us can say they come and go at various times. We experience a break from it. And then here it comes again. We often times find ourselves immersed in peaceful atmospheres at various points throughout our walk with God and throughout our week, when we are insulated from the cares of the world, and insulated from difficult situations and even difficult people. However, if you're anything like me, you are faced with moments that disrupt that peace and threaten to engulf you in the pressures they bring.In those moments we have a choice of where we will place our focus and where we will set our minds. It is those choices in those very moments that can set us on a course of hope or a course of discouragement; a course of fear and doubt; or a course of faith and courage. Read the following from God's word. Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 Love the Lord your God with all our heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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. Philippians 4:7 God is calling us to follow the principles laid out in scripture for guarding our hearts, for allowing him to nourish and strengthen our souls, and for seeking his path to peace. In this book, I outline 7 Simple Truths. The intent of these truths is not that they only be read once, but that they be memorized and meditated upon daily. As you meditate on these truths from God's word daily, they will begin to silence the enemy's lies reshape your mindset and strengthen your faith in who God says you are I am confident that as you begin to internalize these truths you will have a new view of yourself. This new view of yourself is important for several reasons. It's important because you need to understand your worth and your value. It's important because there are others around you who will be blessed by your renewed countenance. Internalizing God's truth about you is so important because neglecting to do so, will prevent you from living at peace with those with whom you are in relationship. You need to know, without doubt: You Are Treasured You Are Resilient You Are Courageous You Are Unique You Are Set Apart You Are Connected You Are Covered
Romans 14:1: “Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.” Paul wrote about accepting, welcoming, and making allowances for those who are not exactly like us. We need to accept and love them even if they are weak in faith, and not argue about what they think is right or wrong. Paul wasn’t talking about putting up with each other, but loving and accepting each other as God loves and accepts us. We still deal with issues in the Church in these days. It is sometimes easy to become judgmental. The Word of God is clear on this (Romans 14:10).
God gives us authority in the name of Jesus the moment we are born again. Authority is ours when we become a child of God. Every believer has God-given authority. It is by the grace of God. It is not something we earn. God’s power works through our God-given authority. Authority and power go together. Authority is the channel for the power to flow through. The power of the Holy Spirit works in us and through us, as believers. God is the all-powerful One. His power is the greatest power of all! The Holy Spirit lives in us as born again believers. We have the greatest power living in us! (1 John 4:4)
Encouragement is a gift from God. If it is your gift then use it and encourage others as much as you can. There are always people in need of encouragement. Our encouraging words can lift others up. Discouragement spreads quickly. It can cause us to doubt the power and ability of God’s hand working through us. It can cause us to doubt the Word of God and cause us to lose our sense of purpose. Negative words have a negative effect on people. We need to speak positive words of faith. The words we speak have power to put down or to build someone up– and ourselves as well! Positive words of faith will encourage, support, strengthen and inspire us to believe in what God has placed within us.
Sixty-three stand-alone short chapters of help in living the Christian life. There are chapters here for everyone – people who are walking towards God, people walking with God, and those walking on with God. The short chapters are arranged approximately in this order, but there is much value in the early chapters for those looking for a deeper faith. This is not a book where you have to start at Chapter 1 and work your way through to the end. The Contents page lists the title of every chapter, so just dive in and read one that inter-ests you. Of course, you can start at Chapter 1 and read the whole book if you prefer, and our prayer is that every reader will be greatly blessed by what they read. The majority of these sixty-three chapters have been released individually as booklets, and every chapter as individual eBooks that are available in all formats from major eBook distributors. The eBook editions are free from most distributors. This whole volume is also available as a paperback from major book distributors.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.. Jesus intercedes to the Father on their behalf. Even though He was suffering on the cross, being rejected and mocked, treated like a criminal, Jesus still was pleading with His Father not to lay it to their charge. The Holy Spirit helps us know what God is saying to us and what is in His heart. We cannot trust our own wisdom, but the Holy Spirit helps us in all our weaknesses. He empowers us to pray in line with the will and purpose of God. We need to follow His leading in intercession. The Holy Spirit will put people and situations on our hearts, just at the right time when prayer is needed. We need to pray in faith, believing (Mark 11:24).
