You may ask, how should we behave in these contentious times, when it seems much of the world is actively fighting against God and His people? And I will point you to the words of Paul. Rejoice in the Lord! Celebrate and revel in your relationship with Him! Be a reasonable person, not one whose emotions are uncontrolled. Another translation says let your gentleness be known to everyone. Amen! And how can you have this Spirit of rejoicing, reasonableness, and gentleness? Because the Lord is at hand, the Holy Spirit lives within you. Fear, anxiety, discord all disappear if we bring our concerns to the Lord and thank Him for His love and good gifts. Then you will have peace that makes no sense in your circumstances. He will bless you with His holy peace, that which is only found in the midst of His presence! Finally, how do you maintain this intimate connection with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of peace? Keep your mind on those things which honor Him and draw you constantly into His presence. The only way we can control our behavior is in the power of the Holy Spirit, and our part is to be continually renewing our mind with that which is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise! If you are so inclined, feel free to share this message. Also, in the comments is a link to our website with blogs where we answer difficult questions Jesus followers often ask.
Pride is to put yourself first which means God is not first in your life. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me". That is how bad pride is. Only through the out pouring of the Holy Spirit are we able to keep this deadly sin at bay. Only through our relationship with Christ can we humble ourselves to serve Him and others. Thank God for His great love for His creation. “"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 NASB “and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2 NASB “A man's pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.” Proverbs 29:23 NASB “"For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2
The beauty of the life surrendered to Jesus is that the repsonse to the pressures of the world around us that Paul mentioned in this passage becomes our "default". If we are full of the Holy Spirit, when the world squeezes us with trials and calamity, Jesus oozes from our pores. We have a peace that makes no logical sense. All because we give up the deed to our lives, to the only One who has overcome the world. Blessing Troy, and thanks for the challenge.
Rejoice rejoice and again I say Rejoice.
AMEN 🙏🏻❤️
Amen 🙏 🙏 🙏
Amen
Hallelujah. Amen.
Amen 🙏
Jesus follower helping others recover the joy of the Lord in their life. Cybersecurity and IT professional with extensive experience.
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