Fruit of the Holy Spirit in You - Peace ( Psalm 23:1-6) Day 46
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 46
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
want. 2 He makes me to
lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s
sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they
comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my
life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Psalm
23:1-6
The
Twenty-third Psalm has been read and memorized for generations. Even though it
only consists of merely six verses, its power is obvious. The Psalm is an
indicator of our need for comfort. Through each generation, this Psalm has
reminded us that peace is available to us because of who and how our God is. He
is a God who can grant us peace by covering our needs.
Just from the verbs of the scripture, we learn how He cares
for us. God makes us lie down in green pastures, leads
us, restores
our souls, comforts us, prepares a table before us, and anoints
us. He does all of this while He “is” with us. Meanwhile, all that is
left for us is to choose not to fear the shadows of difficulty and simply let
Him have our cups run over with His blessings. By doing this, His goodness and
mercy will follow us for life.
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Monday, January 26, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 45
38 But He was in
the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do
You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked
the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there
was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful?
How is it that you have no faith?”
Mark
4:38-40
As a storm approaches, dark and threatening clouds can be
seen drawing near. Trees sway from the strengthening winds. The sound of
thunder booms in the distance. There is the scent of the coming rain. We feel
the first heavy drops of rain. With all of these signs, we know to seek
shelter. For with proper shelter, we can have peace in knowing that we will
endure the coming storm.
Like storms in the weather, we all experience storms in our
lives. These storms may come from different directions, have multiple causes,
and have various possible outcomes. Yet, there is still one common shelter
available to us for peace, Jesus. In Christ, we have a reassuring lover whose
guidance can lead us through our most difficult times.
Just as one songwriter wrote, let us proclaim, “Though the
storms keep on raging in my life . . . my soul is anchored in the Lord.” Let us not be fearful like the disciples who were physically present with
Christ in Mark 4:38-40. Let us have peace in knowing He is always with us, no
matter our circumstances.
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 44
1 I will lift up
my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes
from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your
foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Psalm
121:1-3
During our lowest moments or when seeking strength to face
challenges, we choose how we will respond to our emotions. Just as “beauty is
in the eye of the beholder,” we have the opportunity to choose how we will
perceive and respond to mountains in our lives. Do we focus on the challenging
terrain that can discourage us and weigh down our hearts, or do we set our eyes
to where we may find strength?
Let us fix our eyes on God. The Creator of Heaven and Earth
is more powerful and grander than any trial or situation that we may encounter.
We may be shaken by our temporary problems, but He is a timeless God. He is a
God who was, is, and will be. Therefore, we do not have to worry about how to
deal with tomorrow. He will be with us then, just as He is now.
Whether in the valleys of our situations or down on our knees
with nowhere to look but up, let us choose to gaze upon our higher power and
not on our challenges. When we focus on God, we discover that He is taller and
higher than any mountain we will ever face.
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Monday, January 19, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 43
29 Take My yoke
upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you
will find rest
for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew
11:29-30
With the common usage of tractors, it is rare to see mules or
oxen connected with a yoke around their necks, pulling a farmer along in a
field. For many people, however, this is the image that comes to mind when
considering committing their life to Christ. They equate the Christian life with
carrying a heavy load that will steal their joy and tell them everything in
their life is wrong. Unfortunately, this idea is often relayed to them by
Christians, who seem to only speak of gloom in their personal lives.
Jesus explains that while He indeed is a yoke that one may
assume, He is far from a heavy burden. His yoke is easy. In fact, He operates
opposite of the traditional yoke. Instead of adding weight, He takes the weight
of our burdens. Instead of restraining us, He strengthens us in times of
trouble and propels us forward. All we have to do is volunteer, and we will
discover Him to be the key to peace.
Let us choose to submit to a yoke that does not confine us
but only serves to keep us closely connected to Christ. When we are near Him,
we can give our burdens to Him, knowing that He will never leave nor forsake
us. With Christ, we may be chained to eternal peace.
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 42
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
Psalm
46:1
There are times when all that we truly desire is to just take
a break and rest. We want time to refuel our minds and emotions from all the
busy hours of life. We may feel physically tired because we have not taken time
to rest from all we have to do. At times, we may feel broken down due to the
emotional mountains we have climbed and from the heart aches we have endured.
When we have these moments, it is good for us to go to our
place of refuge and to our source of strength. Whether in a time of trouble or
in a time of spiritual, physical, mental, or emotional exhaustion, we have God
as a continuous refueling station. The question, though, is how do we access
and utilize this source?
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 41
11 Not that I
speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be
content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both
to abound and to suffer need.
Philippians
4:11-12
There is much excitement in watching children learn to crawl,
walk, speak, and accomplish so many other firsts. We understand that a child
will not learn to speak a first word one week and then sing the ABC’s the next
week. Even as adults, it often takes us years to learn new skills and facts.
However, many of us become frustrated as we struggle to immediately find peace
when encountering life’s challenges. We want instant results.
Paul wrote about his own struggle with this process in his
letter to the Philippians and explained that he had to learn to be content. It
was not a spontaneous event in which he attained grand maturity and everlasting
peace. He learned how to be content through a process. We, too, can break away
from expectations of immediate contentment.
In our fast paced culture where instant gratification is the
norm, let us accept that we must learn to be content. In Christ, we may find
peace from challenge to challenge and from success to success. Through Christ,
let us learn how to be steady and unmovable during our ups and downs. We can do
all things through Christ who gives us strength.
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 40
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is
anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Philippians
4:8
It is easy to become distracted and lose sight of God’s ways.
The world gives us so many alternative messages that we may easily lose focus. Instead
of focusing on Him, the world says that it is all about us. In the world, we
are told to focus on our pleasure, our money, our materials, or simply to
accept popular culture - even if it goes against God’s Word.
When
we evaluate whether our lives are focused on the right things, we can simply
ask ourselves a few questions. Is there any virtue in what we are
thinking or doing? Are our thoughts and actions noble and just
or self-serving? Do we pursue what is true and pure or lie in order to
get what we want? Are our actions worthy of good report or tales of
secret sins? Do we seek those things that are lovely and pleasing to
God and meditate on them for guidance?
Let
us focus our thoughts on godly ambitions and have our minds set on where God
wants us to be. He has a unique path and plan for each of us that is both to
His glory and for our good. Let us not miss out on the opportunities He places
before us. Let us stay focused and meditate on Him and His ways.
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
Peace (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)
Peace Day 39
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do
I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John
14:27
Before making large purchases like houses, vehicles, or even
furniture, many people acquire loans that must eventually be repaid. Likewise,
when we want temporary access to items, but do not wish to fully purchase them,
we may have to rent them. It is typically only on special occasions like
birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas, that we receive free gifts without
payment. How great to know that these are not the circumstances in which we access
peace, which Christ freely left for us. Peace is always available to us.
In John 14:27, on the night of His anticipated betrayal,
Christ prepared His disciples for the challenges to come. He expressed to them
in that while He would not always physically be with them, His peace would
remain with them. Thus, in the years ahead, through the disciples’ challenges
and difficult circumstances, the peace of Christ was available to them. All
they had to do was receive it.
Let us learn that even before chaos and disappointment enter
our lives, we already have access to peace. The world adds conditions when
giving anything away, but Christ left us with an unconditional and eternal
peace. The only condition we have is to allow Him into our hearts. Let us learn
that a piece of Christ is the key to our peace.
See more at www.thefruitinyou.com
Thursday, January 1, 2015
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