Category: Scripture Journaling

Committing to spending a little time each day to write out selected scripture passages will aid in penetrating God’s Word deep in your heart.

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PEACE

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23

The world all around us is full of trouble and turmoil.  There are wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, great earthquakes in various places, famines, infectious outbreaks, persecutions, etc.  God states these things must come to pass for His Word to be fulfilled (Matthew 24:3-31; Mark 13:5-27; Luke 21:8-33).

Christians are not excluded from trouble, turmoil, and calamities living in a sin filled world.  There is strife among countries, corporations, nations, churches, families, and even in the pews. 

What is PEACE?? 

How does one attain PEACE in the midst of all these commotions? 

Webster defines peace as “a state of tranquility or quiet”.  Peace is a tranquility of mind which frees one from worry or fear.  Peace is an untroubled heart that comes from trusting God.

Peace does not come naturally, and as humans we tend to fail at times, but God commands us to pursue peace.  Psalm 34:14 “…seek peace, and pursue it.”

The best way to seek Peace is to:

  • Keep an attitude of prayer. 

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

  • Read your Bible daily.

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.  Psalm 119:165

  • Submit your heart to God regularly.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  Colossians 3:15

  • Meditate on God’s Word faithfully

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever:  for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:  Isaiah 26:3-4

  • Keep living right

Dr. Bob Jones, Sr once said, “Do Right ‘til the stars fall.”  Nothing destroys peace faster than when we have sin in our hearts before and Almighty God.

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.  Psalm 37:37

We can only impart the evidence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit working in and through our lives when we allow Him to work freely in our hearts and lives.

The best way to seek Peace is to:

  • Keep an attitude of prayer. 

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

  • Read your Bible daily.

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.  Psalm 119:165

  • Submit your heart to God regularly.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.  Colossians 3:15

  • Meditate on God’s Word faithfully

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever:  for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:  Isaiah 26:3-4

  • Keep living right

Dr. Bob Jones, Sr once said, “Do Right ‘til the stars fall.”  Nothing destroys peace faster than when we have sin in our hearts before an Almighty God.

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.  Psalm 37:37

We can only impart the evidence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit working in and through our lives when we allow Him to work freely in our hearts and lives.

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Joy

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. John 15:11

Webster’s dictionary defines joy as “the emotion evoked by wellbeing, success, or good fortune by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” That definition by the world’s standards leaves something lacking; however, Theopedia defines joy as “a state of mind and an orientation of the heart.  It is a settled state of contentment, confidence, and hope.”

The word Joy appears 155 times in the Bible.  It appears 82 times in the Old Testament and 73 times in the New Testament. Joy is the keynote of Philippians “Joy in Prayer” (Philippians 1:3-11).

“Joy” and “Rejoice” are repeated multiple times throughout Scripture.  Joy is not to be compared to happiness.  Happiness is an emotion based on your circumstances.  Just like holding your child for the first time or making a final payment on your car or moving into your first home – these things make you happy. As long as things are going well in your life, you are happy.  As soon as circumstances are out of our control or things aren’t going just so, we become irritated and disgruntled and lose the emotion of being happy.  Joy is being contented in whatsoever state you are in whether it’s good or bad (Philippians 4:11). 

Man has an inexplicable desire to seek Joy in all they do.  We seek out happiness through all we do.  Some seek to climb the ladder of success thinking that if they’ll obtain joy when they reach the top.  Some look for joy in seeking out fame, but they find no joy

“Joy isn’t a passing moment of happiness, but rather, an entrenched anchor that keeps our hearts from descending into the deep pit of bitterness, because thankfulness is what keeps us afloat.” True joy is found in having an ongoing relationship with God.  It is knowing that our lives originate from the True Vine – Jesus Christ (John 15).

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Charity

“And now abideth  faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

We will find that the word “love” is mentioned in the Bible in some form around 373 times.  Upon closer study, one can find that the Greek language has three notable words for love in the Bible: Philo (brotherly love), Eros (physical love in marriage), and Agape (unconditional love of God).  Charity is the Agape love of God.  It is a love that is comprehensive and pure. 

True Agape love is missing in most relationships at work, at school, and at home.  Most homes know nothing about the true agape love rather their lives are filled with pride and selfishness.  The way to grow in our faith and our maturity is to love as Christ loved and be humble.  Humility is not disliking one’s self but rather thinking less of one’s self.

Charity in 1 Corinthians 13 is a special kind of love.  Agape love is the highest form of love.  This type of love can only come from the Lord.

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Brotherly Kindness

Brotherly Kindness

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness;…”  2 Peter 1:5-7a

The Greek word for brotherly love is philadelphia which is a combination of two words “philia” (love) and “adelphos” (brother).  It means to have kindness or love towards your brother.  Romans 12:10 admonishes us to “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love”.  Affectioned is to cherish one’s kindred. 

The way to develop brotherly kindness towards others is to spend time with other believers.  This is not just socializing with them before and after services.  This is putting into practice the commands found in scripture which tell us to not “forsake the assembly of ourselves together,…but exhorting one another…” (Hebrews 10:24).  When we spend time in fellowship with other believers we not only build relationships, but we also exhort (encourage) and spur (provide the needed prodding) to seek the Lord.

Notice that in order to obtain brotherly kindness in our lives we must first have faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, and godliness?  Once we become a part of God’s family we do not automatically have brotherly kindness towards others.  Kindness is an important ingredient in dealing with relationships “especially unto them that are of the household of faith” Galatians 6:10.  If we are to grow in our walk with the Lord, we must work on developing brotherly kindness, which is having true love of the brethren (1 Peter 1:22).

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Godliness

How does one attempt to live a godly life when you live in a wicked sinful world?  Where there seems to be evil doings everywhere you turn…people have replaced God with whatever suits their fancy; God’s name is taken in vain even by those who call themselves Christian; Sunday services are no longer important; children disrespect and even hate their parents; killings everywhere; selfish pleasures come before serving others; there is lack of respect for other and their belongings; dishonesty is viewed as okay as long as it is for the greater good; immorality is praised everywhere we go; and you better keep up with the Jones in order to be happy.  This is not godliness.

Webster’s Dictionary defines godliness as “believing in God and in the importance of living a moral life”.   Godliness in the Bible is basically an active obedience that springs from a reverent awe of God.

It is virtually impossible to build a godly life without a foundation built on Jesus Christ.  To practice godliness, we must first develop a relationship with God, and further practice a life that is pleasing to God.  Our view of God and our relationship with Him will be portrayed in our behavior.

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Patience

2 Peter 1:5-6b “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience;”

Webster dictionary defines patience as ” the capacity, habit or fact of being patient. Patient defined is “being able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people.

I don’t know about you but since my lightning strike my patience isn’t what it used to be. I am more easily annoyed or frustrated because of my limitations or lack of understanding why things are or aren’t working the way I think they should be. I am pressing towards the mark…

Patience is the ability to walk through a trial, test, or tribulation without getting stressed, anxious, or impatient. That is a difficult trait to learn. Mostly because our physical nature wants everything now. But being impatient will cause us to hinder the work of the Lord or a delay in our blessings.

Patience is the result of our practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). It is perfected when God allows difficulties and trials to remove the rough edges in our lives so that He can mold us into the person He wants us to be.

We need to learn to trust the Lord in all circumstances regardless of the outcome.

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Temperance

2 Peter 1:5-6a ~ “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance…”

Webster defines temperance as “the practice of always controlling your actions, thoughts, or feelings so that you do not eat or drink too much, become too angry, etc.” OR “Moderation in action, thought, or feeling.”

It is not self-control. It is Spirit control. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to maintain control over all areas of our lives.

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Knowledge

2 Peter 1:5 – And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

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Abiding in Christ

I enjoy how Christ uses tangible illustrations in Scripture to helps understand what He is trying to teach us. In John 15, Christ uses the example of the relationship of the vine to the branches to portray how our relationship with Christ should be.

Our Christian life can be successful as long as we are obedient to Him. As a result of our obedience, we will be have the following fruit in our lives: we will have abiding love, full joy, love for one another, a personal relationship with Christ, exemplify the fruits of the Spirit, and have an answered prayer.