The Peace That Passes Understanding
The peace of God is just that...of God. It has its origin in Him, in Christ by the Spirit, and the revelation of it in the heart by the Spirit. It is a gift to be known by the believer who is trusting and resting in Christ, doing His will. One cannot understand it, nor grasp the magnitude of it, but it can be known, and experienced in the life.
The Believer's Marching Orders
God's commands are God's enablement. Often times there comes a command of God to be obeyed, specific to a certain situation. The manifestation of Christ's victory will depend in great part upon the obedience of the believer to the command of God, of Christ, in that situation.
Sit, Walk, Stand
The Christian life begins with sitting down! This means discovering and abiding by all that now has become true of him in Christ. It is only then, as he discovers increasingly this great works of salvation, and his oneness with Christ, that he can begin to walk by faith, and stand against the attacks of the adversary.
All That Christ Can Be In Us
Christianity is not just a profession of faith in God, in Christ, but an appropriation, a receiving from Him all that is needed for the doing of His will and the glorifying of His name. As one author put it: "All in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God, all else is nothing."
True Fellowship With God
The call of God to lost man is to fellowship with Him, Christ and the Father, by the Spirit. Eternal Life is to know God, to have fellowship with Him. It is that experience of Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, that living by the power of the Spirit, being led by the Spirit. To have fellowship with God is to know His love, peace, and joy, while living for Him and by Him.
The Power Of God's Peace
The peace that God gives to the soul that believes in Him is very powerful in that it testifies to God's presence and provision, His love and goodness. It is also that which propels man through adversity and opposition to overcome in order to accomplish the work that God gives him to do. The peace of God is also that confirmation of God's guidance, the proof that all is well in His presence.
The Overcomer
When Christ comes into the heart by His Spirit at the moment of the new birth, His overcoming Life resides there. The measure of that overcoming is realized by prayer and faith, tending to the things of God, and abiding by His ways. God entrusts His power to the one who will respond to Him in obedient faith.
Revelation And Responsibility
When God reveals Himself through His word by speaking to the heart, it is in order that the individual will respond to His call, invitation, or admonition. He speaks in order to call forth life, Eternal Life by the Spirit, from the heart, to be seen and known by men. God's purpose is to reach the world with the knowledge of Christ.
No Greater Love
What is the measure of true love? Is the essence and measure of it found in man? When Christ came to walk this earth, He came as the revelation of the love of God, of the Father. His purpose in doing so was to win the hearts of men to trust Him fully. As one hymnwriter put it: "Grace alone can meet me and love alone can win."
Jesus The Lover Of My Soul
It is one thing that God should love the entire world. It is quite another when the individual comes to the realization that "Jesus loves me." Personal love by a personal God for a single person, and yet, it is a love for all individuals to know. How does one come to know this love? It is only by faith, a faith that God gives in answer to the cry of the heart.