John 14:27 (NKJV)
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.
Peace of mind is sought after vehemently by most people today. But, the greatest blunder most people make is the method by which they seek to obtain this peace. Many seek for money, fame, possessions, popularity, drugs, alcohol, sexual pleasure and many other forms of gratification which only bring a momentary peace for a very short time. God, on the other hand, grants us His peace at the moment of salvation which is durable throughout eternity.
Why is it then that we have such difficulty maintaining peace throughout the day? Our predicaments are usually based on focus. Paul told us, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful”, (Colossians 3:15, NKJV). Paul admonishes us to let God’s peace rule in our hearts, but this comes at a price. The previous verse, Colossians 3:14, tells us to put on love. We need to focus on the love of God and loving others persistently before we can walk in this peace. We also need to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16), which shows we need to regularly seek God and His word.
By practicing these principles, we can know God’s peace despite our surroundings. Anxiety hinders peace, lack of prayer cripples peace and lack of thankfulness destroys our Mindset for peace. Paul says, “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”, (Philippians, 4:6-7, NKJV). Focusing on Christ, what He has done for us in the past and His promises breed peace. His very words saying that He will never leave us should always bring about a sense of rest and peace.
We cannot produce this peace in and of ourselves. It is Christ alone by which we can know this peace, “For He Himself is our peace”, (Eph. 2:14a). Christ is our peace and one of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit is peace. At salvation we have peace with God, so it is then of utmost importance that we focus on God Himself, Who is our peace.
We also need to pass on this peace to others. We need to live out a peaceful lifestyle, showing the peace of God to others despite our situations. We also need to show grace and mercy to those who present a problem to us. Paul says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men”, (Romans 12:18, NKJV). When others treat us poorly, we need to choose to focus on the love of God, on how many times He has forgiven us. Think about how He keeps on accepting us despite the way we act at times and then display that to others.
Thoughts, comment, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
What Will Others Think
Matthew 1:18-21 (NKJV)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Can you imagine the thoughts that went through the mind of Mary and Joseph at the conception of Christ? An angel came to Mary and declared to her that she was chosen to bring forth the Savior of the world. She probably thought, “why me” or “how could I be worthy to bear the Son of God?” Many different thoughts could have gone through her mind. One of the most embarrassing questions she probably asked was, “what will the neighbors think?”
Today’s passage also displays the struggles that Joseph encountered. He and Mary were engaged. Joseph was a just man who had an upright reputation in society. When Mary’s pregnancy was revealed to him, he probably had many different kinds of thoughts. He could have felt rejection, dishonor and he probably wondered why Mary had sought after another man. At this time and in this culture an engaged couple were already considered married, but they could not live together as a married couple until the wedding one year later. They would have needed to get divorced to break their engagement.
Joseph sought to handle things discreetly, so he wanted to put her away secretly. By all reasoning, he could have felt violated and extremely upset. In addition he probably wondered what others would think. He was not guilty of any wrong doing and he did not want to be tagged with the stigma of promiscuity for the rest of his life. The fact that he wanted to divorce her secretly proved the fact that he was not malicious, but he just wanted to get rid of a messy situation.
God knew his thoughts, so it took a special manifestation of God in a dream for Joseph to realize that it was God Himself who had fertilized the seed of Mary. At this point, he exercised great faith in God by not being overtaken by his feelings. He knew that others would talk about him wrongly and tag him incorrectly. But his faith in God was the greatest passion of his life. He correctly exercised Act 5:29b, where it says, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Because of his faith each one of us now has the opportunity to believe in Christ and be delivered from our sins. Can you imagine this, your faith can affect many other people. So, exercise it often and with wisdom.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Can you imagine the thoughts that went through the mind of Mary and Joseph at the conception of Christ? An angel came to Mary and declared to her that she was chosen to bring forth the Savior of the world. She probably thought, “why me” or “how could I be worthy to bear the Son of God?” Many different thoughts could have gone through her mind. One of the most embarrassing questions she probably asked was, “what will the neighbors think?”
Today’s passage also displays the struggles that Joseph encountered. He and Mary were engaged. Joseph was a just man who had an upright reputation in society. When Mary’s pregnancy was revealed to him, he probably had many different kinds of thoughts. He could have felt rejection, dishonor and he probably wondered why Mary had sought after another man. At this time and in this culture an engaged couple were already considered married, but they could not live together as a married couple until the wedding one year later. They would have needed to get divorced to break their engagement.
Joseph sought to handle things discreetly, so he wanted to put her away secretly. By all reasoning, he could have felt violated and extremely upset. In addition he probably wondered what others would think. He was not guilty of any wrong doing and he did not want to be tagged with the stigma of promiscuity for the rest of his life. The fact that he wanted to divorce her secretly proved the fact that he was not malicious, but he just wanted to get rid of a messy situation.
God knew his thoughts, so it took a special manifestation of God in a dream for Joseph to realize that it was God Himself who had fertilized the seed of Mary. At this point, he exercised great faith in God by not being overtaken by his feelings. He knew that others would talk about him wrongly and tag him incorrectly. But his faith in God was the greatest passion of his life. He correctly exercised Act 5:29b, where it says, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Because of his faith each one of us now has the opportunity to believe in Christ and be delivered from our sins. Can you imagine this, your faith can affect many other people. So, exercise it often and with wisdom.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Immanuel
Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV)
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
One of the many wonders of the scriptures is the fact that when God makes a promise He always stays true to His word. The prophecy of God’s gift to man was promised many times and verified in many ways. Within this verse we find that God said a virgin would bear a Son. This humanly is an utter impossibility. How can a woman who has never known a man produce a child without fertilization from a man?
The next part of this verse prophesies that this Son will be named Immanuel which is defined as “God with us”. So, what significance is this? God has been with us since the beginning of time. God is evident in nature and His creativity is evident in countless areas of life. In this sense, God is with us from eternity past through eternity future. But our verse is taking this to a new level. God is saying that this human Son shall be called God with us. This must mean that this Son was God and man at the same time.
Scripture goes on to verify this fact in very subtle but extremely powerful ways when Christ came. Within the first chapter of book of Matthew we are given a genealogy of very key examples of faith from King David up until the time of Christ. Each one of the men on the list where recorded to have “begot” a son. Begot is a word used of men who fathered a child and this child would carry forth their lineage. But when we get to Christ, the wording is amazingly different. Matthew, at this point, states, “And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ”, (Matthew 1:16, NKJV).
The word “of whom” has amazing significance. In the original language this is a feminine singular word. This means that human seed came from a female alone. This could have only been Mary. Christ was fully human, completely able to feel and experience all that we do today. But the seed of fertilization was not of the human Joseph since they merely engaged and she was still, bodily a virgin. The seed had to be from the very God of heaven. Human seed and fertilized by God can only create a God/Man. This is why we can call Him Immanuel.
No other theology has been challenged more harshly that the deity of Christ. But, without Christ being God, He is nothing but a good man and not a Savior. John states in his first verse, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”, (John 1:1, NKJV). And Paul said, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist”, (Colossians 1:16, NKJV). Christ is God and holds all things together. The fact that He is Immanuel shows that He knows all that we go through, but He is also the Savior in whom we trust for salvation and all other things in life.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
One of the many wonders of the scriptures is the fact that when God makes a promise He always stays true to His word. The prophecy of God’s gift to man was promised many times and verified in many ways. Within this verse we find that God said a virgin would bear a Son. This humanly is an utter impossibility. How can a woman who has never known a man produce a child without fertilization from a man?
The next part of this verse prophesies that this Son will be named Immanuel which is defined as “God with us”. So, what significance is this? God has been with us since the beginning of time. God is evident in nature and His creativity is evident in countless areas of life. In this sense, God is with us from eternity past through eternity future. But our verse is taking this to a new level. God is saying that this human Son shall be called God with us. This must mean that this Son was God and man at the same time.
Scripture goes on to verify this fact in very subtle but extremely powerful ways when Christ came. Within the first chapter of book of Matthew we are given a genealogy of very key examples of faith from King David up until the time of Christ. Each one of the men on the list where recorded to have “begot” a son. Begot is a word used of men who fathered a child and this child would carry forth their lineage. But when we get to Christ, the wording is amazingly different. Matthew, at this point, states, “And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ”, (Matthew 1:16, NKJV).
The word “of whom” has amazing significance. In the original language this is a feminine singular word. This means that human seed came from a female alone. This could have only been Mary. Christ was fully human, completely able to feel and experience all that we do today. But the seed of fertilization was not of the human Joseph since they merely engaged and she was still, bodily a virgin. The seed had to be from the very God of heaven. Human seed and fertilized by God can only create a God/Man. This is why we can call Him Immanuel.
No other theology has been challenged more harshly that the deity of Christ. But, without Christ being God, He is nothing but a good man and not a Savior. John states in his first verse, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”, (John 1:1, NKJV). And Paul said, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist”, (Colossians 1:16, NKJV). Christ is God and holds all things together. The fact that He is Immanuel shows that He knows all that we go through, but He is also the Savior in whom we trust for salvation and all other things in life.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Undying Faith
Romans 4:20
He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God
Within scripture, we are given many examples of people who believed God. Within these examples, we have those who stand out as exemplary because they believed God in spite of what people said or what it looked like at the time. Today’s verse concerns Abraham. He did not waver in unbelief concerning God’s promise. He found strength in God when all around him said that there was no hope. It is righteous to believe God. Paul says that Abraham, “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”, (Galatians 3:6, NKJV). Abraham believed God for a son as a young man and God delivered His promise when Abraham was 100 years old. This alone is a great example of long enduring faith.
It only takes a mustard seed of faith to believe God, but it takes God’s power and strength to put this into action. We need to look past our emotions, our circumstances and others remarks. We need to trust God as Paul said, “For we walk by faith, not by sight”, (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV).
Great examples of faith are evident in the Old Testament. Nehemiah knew that God wanted him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. After he sought God in prayer, he discovered a travesty of rubble where the old wall had once stood. He believed God anyway and began the task. The community complained and political leaders gave him a challenge. The workers needed to work day and night with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other to fight off the enemies. His workers began to complain and wanted to quit. He believed God, prayed unwavering and helped as much as he could. The wall was then built in 52 days. When we believe God and walk in His ways great things happen.
Job was an upright and very successful man before God and others. He owned more than most people and God tested him. His wealth, family and health where taken away, but he would not speak against God. His first response at his many disasters was, “And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away, blessed be the name of the LORD”, (Job 1:21, NKJV). Job was willing to accept the fact that God is in control and He knows what He is doing.
He even received resistance from his closest supporter, his wife. “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”, (Job 2:9, NKJV). His closest friends also condemned him and tried to shake his faith in God. Job did not let these things bother him. He kept His faith in God and God rewarded him with double the wealth and double the size of His Family.
We all need to believe God despite what it looks like, despite what it feels like or despite what other people are saying. We need to obey God and then say as Ester did, “If I perish, I perish”, (Esther 4:16f, NKJV). She was willing to believe God even if it cost her very life.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God
Within scripture, we are given many examples of people who believed God. Within these examples, we have those who stand out as exemplary because they believed God in spite of what people said or what it looked like at the time. Today’s verse concerns Abraham. He did not waver in unbelief concerning God’s promise. He found strength in God when all around him said that there was no hope. It is righteous to believe God. Paul says that Abraham, “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”, (Galatians 3:6, NKJV). Abraham believed God for a son as a young man and God delivered His promise when Abraham was 100 years old. This alone is a great example of long enduring faith.
It only takes a mustard seed of faith to believe God, but it takes God’s power and strength to put this into action. We need to look past our emotions, our circumstances and others remarks. We need to trust God as Paul said, “For we walk by faith, not by sight”, (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV).
Great examples of faith are evident in the Old Testament. Nehemiah knew that God wanted him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. After he sought God in prayer, he discovered a travesty of rubble where the old wall had once stood. He believed God anyway and began the task. The community complained and political leaders gave him a challenge. The workers needed to work day and night with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other to fight off the enemies. His workers began to complain and wanted to quit. He believed God, prayed unwavering and helped as much as he could. The wall was then built in 52 days. When we believe God and walk in His ways great things happen.
Job was an upright and very successful man before God and others. He owned more than most people and God tested him. His wealth, family and health where taken away, but he would not speak against God. His first response at his many disasters was, “And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away, blessed be the name of the LORD”, (Job 1:21, NKJV). Job was willing to accept the fact that God is in control and He knows what He is doing.
He even received resistance from his closest supporter, his wife. “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”, (Job 2:9, NKJV). His closest friends also condemned him and tried to shake his faith in God. Job did not let these things bother him. He kept His faith in God and God rewarded him with double the wealth and double the size of His Family.
We all need to believe God despite what it looks like, despite what it feels like or despite what other people are saying. We need to obey God and then say as Ester did, “If I perish, I perish”, (Esther 4:16f, NKJV). She was willing to believe God even if it cost her very life.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Goal of Jealousy
Exodus 34:14 (NKJV)
For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God
Most of the time, when we think of jealously, we think of a possessively enraged boyfriend or husband who wants total control of his female counterpart. Or we think of an insecure teenage girl blinded by jealously because her friend has something or someone that she does not have. The goal of this kind of jealously tends to be one of revenge or stealing back that which they thought was theirs.
With God, though, His goal is quite different. God indeed is jealous and He wants all of our love to be directed toward Him, but His method of gaining our love is quite different. Observe the way He has responded to those who have stepped away from Him. Adam and Eve had a pure relationship with God, no sin present, and they only had one way to disobey. Even though they did walk away and fail God’s command, what did God do? Did He destroy them or completely wipe them out? No, He treated them with love. Any father who loves his children will discipline them and then give them another chance. Even though Adam’s decision affected the whole human race, God still gave him and sinful man a way to still reach Him – faith.
God’s chosen people grumbled continually in the wilderness. They walked away from Him many time and openly disobeyed His commands, but God had mercy on them time and time again. He did not respond in hurt or vengeance, but He responded in love in order to win their love back toward Him.
We disobey God all the time and He will forgive us every time if we ask Him. God’s methods are one of winning our love and not one of enraged wrath because He has lost our love for that second. Man has committed every kind of despairingly evil form of wickedness, walking away from Him and rejecting Him in every form possible. But He humbled Himself, became a man, experienced life as we do, died in our place because we sinned against Him, and He did this all out of love. He jealously yearns for our love, but He will not force us to love Him if we do not want it. He may make things very uncomfortable in order to show us how much we need Him, but He is only doing this out of extreme love for us.
He desires to have an intimate relationship with us so deeply that he will go to every extent to bring us to Himself. He will use every form of kindness and love to capture our love, but if we do not want it we will be disciplined or allowed to see the results of our decisions. This truly pains the heart of God when He offers His best and we still reject it. But it trills His heart when we follow Him and obey Him in faith.
The only people that God will not forgive any more are those who have died and have knowingly rejected him. They no longer have a chance after death. If you have never asked Jesus to be your savior, you still have a chance before your last breath. Repent of your sins and trust Him as savior this day.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God
Most of the time, when we think of jealously, we think of a possessively enraged boyfriend or husband who wants total control of his female counterpart. Or we think of an insecure teenage girl blinded by jealously because her friend has something or someone that she does not have. The goal of this kind of jealously tends to be one of revenge or stealing back that which they thought was theirs.
With God, though, His goal is quite different. God indeed is jealous and He wants all of our love to be directed toward Him, but His method of gaining our love is quite different. Observe the way He has responded to those who have stepped away from Him. Adam and Eve had a pure relationship with God, no sin present, and they only had one way to disobey. Even though they did walk away and fail God’s command, what did God do? Did He destroy them or completely wipe them out? No, He treated them with love. Any father who loves his children will discipline them and then give them another chance. Even though Adam’s decision affected the whole human race, God still gave him and sinful man a way to still reach Him – faith.
God’s chosen people grumbled continually in the wilderness. They walked away from Him many time and openly disobeyed His commands, but God had mercy on them time and time again. He did not respond in hurt or vengeance, but He responded in love in order to win their love back toward Him.
We disobey God all the time and He will forgive us every time if we ask Him. God’s methods are one of winning our love and not one of enraged wrath because He has lost our love for that second. Man has committed every kind of despairingly evil form of wickedness, walking away from Him and rejecting Him in every form possible. But He humbled Himself, became a man, experienced life as we do, died in our place because we sinned against Him, and He did this all out of love. He jealously yearns for our love, but He will not force us to love Him if we do not want it. He may make things very uncomfortable in order to show us how much we need Him, but He is only doing this out of extreme love for us.
He desires to have an intimate relationship with us so deeply that he will go to every extent to bring us to Himself. He will use every form of kindness and love to capture our love, but if we do not want it we will be disciplined or allowed to see the results of our decisions. This truly pains the heart of God when He offers His best and we still reject it. But it trills His heart when we follow Him and obey Him in faith.
The only people that God will not forgive any more are those who have died and have knowingly rejected him. They no longer have a chance after death. If you have never asked Jesus to be your savior, you still have a chance before your last breath. Repent of your sins and trust Him as savior this day.
Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.
Daniel A. Smith
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