The Peace of God

 Do you need PEACE?

A true and genuine peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. So having or not having peace is not determined by people, conditions or situations. 

The peace which comes from God is a stable in our life no matter who we are around. It doesn't matter what our situation is or the condition of the world, we can still have His peace, because His peace passes understanding.

 God's Word says that He will keep us in His perfect peace if our mind is stayed on Him. If our mind is stayed on self, people, situations, conditions etc... then we will never experience His true peace. 

Romans 12:18 says for us to do all that we can to live in peace "with" everyone. So even when we are "with" and "among" people, whoever they may be, we are to do all that we can to live in peace with them.

 Psalm 34:14 says for us to depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. When most quote this verse it is the latter part that they quote and not the former, but the only way a person can seek peace and pursue it,  they must first do the former, which is to depart from evil and do good or seeking peace and pursuing it will be in vain.

Peace is also one of the evidences that the Kingdom of God is within us. For the Kingdom of God is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17).

True peace can only come through Christ Jesus by the working power of Holy Spirit in us! 

Set your eyes, heart and mind on Jesus and ask God to fill you with "His" peace today.

They are Toxic?

 I hear talk from Believers about separating themselves from other Believers. They say things like..."They are toxic!" 

They better be the personification of pure evil if one has decided to wash their hands of them, and I sincerely doubt they are if they're a true brother or sister in Christ. Saying things like "they are toxic" to justify your separation from them will not fly with God!

I hear people say things like, "I forgive them but want nothing to do with them" even if they have repented.

 What if Jesus said, "Thanks for repenting and I forgive you but I want nothing to do with you"?

According to God's Word we are to strive with everything that is within us to be at peace "with everyone," to be a peace maker and remain cordial.

According to God's Word when is it okay as a Believer to separate ourself from someone?

1) If they are a false Teacher. 

2) If they twist God's Word for profit while causing dissention. 1Tim. 6:5, 

3) If they are heretical and bring a different doctrine and continue doing this even though they are convicted. Rom. 16:17, Titus 3:10.

4) If they are disloyal to what Jesus Christ taught. 2 John 1:10.

5) If they are a lazy non- working person, who is a busy body/ meddlesome in other people's affairs. 2 Thess. 3:14.

6) If they bear the name of Christian but operate in immorality, greed, idolatry. 

7) If they are a railer, abuser, drunkard, slanderous, robber. Have nothing to do with them. 1 Cor. 5:9-11.

8) If they have a form of godliness but their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession. 

Avoid all such people turn away from them. 2 Tim. 3:5.

 And only after we have done all 3 steps in Mt. 18:15-17 with our Brother or Sister and they still refuse to listen, only then do we consider them as loss. Sadly, many jump to separating without even taking the steps in Matt. 18.

If a brother or sister does repent and we still separate ourself from them, this is wrong and it is a sin! 

Sometimes an honest self examination of ourself might be required? Questions to ask one's self, (1) Am I separating myself because I have been toxic and need to repent? (2) Could my pride be keeping me from repenting to those I have come against? (3) Is it easier to run than admit my wrong?

Repent, make things right with your Brother or Sister, or just as you have done to them will be done to you. 

So when you are offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother has any grievance against you. Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace and be "reconciled" to your Brother, and then come back and present your gift. Mt. 5:23-24. 

Please be obedient. Time is drawing near. Make things right with Brothers and Sisters before it is too late and you find yourself at the judgment seat!

Does Jesus know you?

 Did you know that just believing in Jesus and speaking His name is not evidence of a relationship with Him?

Demons know who Jesus is. Demons will call Jesus by name! Demons believe! (James 2:19, Luke 8:28, Acts 19:15).

Maybe why Jesus told His Disciples to rejoice not that spirits are subject unto them but rather rejoice that their names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20).

There is so much more than believing "in" Jesus!

There is so much more than just speaking His name!

It is about "believing" Jesus!

It is about knowing Him and having a relationship with Him and Him knowing you!

If we truly "know" Jesus we are going to speak "about" Him and not just speak His name. We will speak about "who" Jesus is. We will speak about the Gospel message and the work of the cross. We will speak about Jesus coming in the flesh as the only begotten Son of God. That He came to lay His life down for sinners for the forgiveness of our sins. It is about Jesus and His death on the cross and His resurrection that made a Way for us to come to God (our Creator and Heavenly Father).

It is about us "hearing" His Word and being a "doer" of His Word. It is about us trusting Him, and what He says for us to do we will do. It is about us Glorifying Jesus (not man) and lifting "who" He is up! It is about us showing Him that we love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and showing His love to others. 

The "name" of Jesus is powerful because the power comes from Jesus and who He is. It is Jesus "in" us being manifested from us by the evidence of the fruit of His Spirit in our lives.

First Love

Jesus said that I didn't come to bring peace but a sword
 Those in me who have my peace are in one accord
 They have my mind they are not the world's kind
 They stand strong and my grace they embrace
 My Spirit bears witness with theirs
 We are one you see and they are free
 Seeking and searching hungering and thirsting
 They will find me and will be filled
 It's my plan to keep them in my hand
 No one or nothing can take them from me
 Even the enemy must flee
 This world does not move them
 It has no power over them
 Face to face is the place they love
 It's the higher calling
 Which keeps them from falling
 They can never be held captive
 Prison is not their home
 They will always rise to soaring
 While the world is warring
 They walk in my strength clothed in my joy and humility
 Not futility or subtlety, that's not their way
 The wisdom they seek is from above and not below
 It's the narrow way which they choose to go
 Nothing can stop them, nothing can break them
 Nothing can hold them and nothing can shake them
 They keep their eyes lifted looking to the sky
 Jesus (their Lord and Savior) they will behold
 Just as the Bible foretold!

Written by Tammy GreenwellSeptember 25, 2015
Consuminglight.blogspot.com

A New Year Praise!

Upon entering the year 2018 I am seeing just how great our God is. He is forever faithful and worthy of all praise. He is the God of all glorious wonders. He is the God of great joy and so much love. Our God is forever exalted. He is the only One that deserves all glory and all honor. Nothing compares to the God of the heavens and the earth, our great Creator. All the host of heaven praise Him and shout Worthy to the Lamb who sits upon the throne. All that has breath will open their mouths and praise the Great I am. No tongue will keep silent and every knee will bow to Jesus who reigns as King of kings and Lord of Lords! His church will arise and shine and the gates of hell will not prevail against the people of the almighty God! The body of Christ will exalt Him in praise and glorify His name through out the whole earth. The mountains will melt like wax before our Mighty King, they will lay low and bow at His feet! I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and I cannot and will not keep silent! His Holy Spirit is a fire within me. He is so faithful and will never forsake His own! His love is past finding out! I know the Lord and desire to know Him so much more. Oh to know Him more! My God will never cast His own away. He is my First Love and is jealous for me. He desires me to keep my eyes upon Him and not man, for He is my all and all and my exceedingly great reward. He has bestowed upon His children a peace that passes all understanding and a joy that no one can take away! To know Him is to love Him and to desire to be more like Him! He is not silent, he speaks to His children. He calls them by name. He is forever speaking to His people and telling them truths and things which are to come. He leads His people into all Truth and leads them beside the still waters and into green pastures. He heals the broken-hearted and sets the captive free. He delivers us from all our enemies, and will prepare a table before us in the presence of the enemy. He is our Defender, our Redeemer, our Hope and our Answer. He is Holy, Righteous and Just. Our God strengthens His people with His power and might and fills them with His Holy Spirit. We do not walk in fear, but God's people are bold as lions. They are secure in who they are and in whom they believe. The rewards of this life are nothing in comparison to the reward He will give His people. We need not want of nothing, for He provides all to His own. He is our Provider. Nor do we desire accolades of this present world, for this world is not our home. What awaits us is a home that eye has not seen nor ear has heard, nor has it fully entered into the heart of man the things God has prepared for them that love Him. Oh how I love the Lord, because He first loved me. He will come riding on a white horse, and His Name is Faithful and True, His eyes like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords, and truth and justice will proceed out of His mouth like a sword! What an awesome mighty God our Jesus is. That is the King I will see one day. That is my King the One that I serve. He is the King of all the heavens and all the earth and everything below the earth. All creation will worship that King, the one and only King! Come Lord Jesus!!

Get fixed on Jesus

 Don't give in to temporary fixes. Our birthright is to have all that the Spirit has to give us. We have been given freedom, and whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Don't become entangled with the flesh and all it demands. True faith in Christ Jesus will establish His grace in us, which will work in us to will and do His good pleasure. Don't put  your self in bondage to sin. May we be sensitive to the voice of our Shepherd as He leads and guides us. Holy Spirit will tell us which way to go, what to do or not to do. May we listen to the voice of Truth and not the voice of lies. The enemy is a master manipulator that flatters with his words and knows how to speak to the longings of our flesh. The person who craves recognition can be easily enticed and deceived by the enemy. The enemy will use people to give us what we desire, which is not God's will for us. Like Esau, we can become hungry, weary, and desirous to have a longing ache filled, and someone may come along who has the power to give us what we think we want or even need. Upon receiving his offer, we soon realize that it did not reach the depths of our soul, but only satisfied us temporarily. Now we find ourselves discontented and in wanting once again. The void within remains. That nagging feeling is still there. We may pay harsh consequences because of temporary fixes. We wonder to and fro, discontented and no place to find peace. We may have feelings of anger, hurt and bitterness, all because of a momentary fleshly fix. The Word of God reads, that if we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, and the grace of God empowers us to do this. The Spirit of God in us is greater than the flesh. He that is within us is greater than he that is within the world. How do we rise above this flesh and walk in the Spirit? First, one must believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of sin and turn away from it, and ask the Lord Jesus to come and make His home within them and to become Lord and Savior of their life. When one does this, he will become born again. He becomes a new creation, old things are passed away and all things have become new. Jesus said, that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man can come to the Father except through Him. Jesus so loved us that He gave His life for us, He died for us, He took our place and died for our sins so that we don't have to die. When we leave this world, we do not die, but only go from this life to the next to live eternally with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He loves us more than anyone else could ever love us! When one is born again, the Holy Spirit comes to lead and guide that person into all truth and freedom. It is up to the person to listen to the Spirit and to do what He says. What He says for us to do is for our good and not our hurt. He loves us so very much, and wants our joy to be full, and our peace to be abundant! Read God's Word and communicate with Him, for when we do this our faith grows and the power of Holy Spirit strengthens us to be overcomers and more than conquerors. His grace in us becomes the power that overcomes sin!As we begin to obey the voice of Holy Spirit the enemy must flee. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. The Word of God says, that it is in Him (Jesus) that we live and move and have our being. And it is Jesus who works in us the ability to walk in freedom and not to be a slave to sin/flesh. If we give place to Holy Spirit and His leading, we will find that the void and longings of the flesh will have no power over us any longer. We are no longer in bondage to our flesh and all it demands. The flesh is now under submission to the Spirit. Temporary fixes no longer tempt us. Anger, sorrow, bitterness, acceptance by others, recognition, rewards, worry, addictions, all the desires of the flesh no longer rule us. We are not its slave any longer. We have been set free! There is no high like the Most High. Jesus is not a temporary fix but a permanent one (for now and all eternity)! Get fixed on Jesus!

Know who you are in Christ Jesus Pt. 5 (Christ in us our hope of glory)

What does it mean Christ in us our hope of glory? It begins with our faith in Him. "That eyes will be opened and men will turn from the power of darkness to the Light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness and release from their sins and an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" (words spoken by Jesus Acts 26:18). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6) and faith worketh by love (Gal. 5:6). There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love (1 Jn. 4:18). The Spirit of love will cast out the spirit of fear. If perfected in love Satan cannot touch you, you will not be deceived for you know who you are in Christ Jesus, you have been given a revelation of His love for you. You know who the true Shepherd is and He calls you by name and you follow Him and no one else. The hope you have in Christ is steadfast and unmovable and nothing will be able to shake your foundation which is built upon Christ Jesus! To live is Christ and to die is gain! To know Him and walk with Him while here in this earth is our zeal. To leave here and finally be with Him is our exceedingly great reward!

If we know who we are in Christ Jesus we will know that as servants of God we must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending) and have nothing to do with unedifying, stupid controversies over ignorant questions, for they only foster strife (2 Timothy 2:23 amp. paraphrased). Instead the servant of the Lord must be kind, patient and forbearing and gentle (2 Timothy 2:25 amp. paraphrased). We clothe ourselves as God's own chosen ones, His own picked representatives, who are purified and holy and well-beloved by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of ourselves, gentle ways and patience which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper, we must be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference a grievance or complaint against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has freely forgiven us, so must we also forgive ( Colossians 3:12-13 amp.). That is how we must treat our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When it comes to evil conduct it must be addressed with Godly wisdom by those who know who they are in Christ/who are mature in the Lord and His Word. There must be correction brought forth, rebuke, warnings and urging, for the time is coming when people will not hear truth any longer but only encircle themselves with others that share in their error as to satisfy their liking. Are we in that time yet? It truly seems as though we are but we must continue to be calm, cool and steady. Just as Paul told Timothy to do in (2 Timothy 4) and continue to do the work of an evangelist. The great commission is to go. Know Him (Jesus) for He is the Word, He is the Way, He is the Truth and He is the Life and no man can come to the Father except through Him. We should show forth Jesus in our lives in love and with great joy and have hope and peace from God which passes all understanding! If you desire to know what it is really like to experience freedom and the absence of fear and anxiety and to know total rest, peace and joy despite circumstances then you must know who you are in Christ and walk in the power of the Spirit and not the flesh! In so doing, you will fear no man but only reverence God. He is with you always and He will never leave you or forsake you. To experience freedom and boldness like you have never known before will be when you know who you are in Christ and who God has created you to be. Pray and ask God to help you to not just know of Him but to truly know Him and who you are in Him, and that He would do this in you by the power of His Holy Spirit in Jesus Name! For it is Christ in us our hope of glory for those that know Him and know who they are in Him!