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Philippians 4:6-7

Today’s guest post is written by Corey Alderin, you can learn more about Corey at the end of this article.

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Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Do not be anxious about anything

Do not worry about the things in this life.  However, the original text in this passage was not intending to say that you should be careless.  You still need to be wise with your finances, provide and protect your family, live a healthy life, etc.  Put your full faith in God, and if you believe he cares for your needs, there is nothing to be stressed about.

But in everything

This truly means EVERYTHING.  And anytime, anywhere, and as much as you want.

By prayer and petition

Petition is used as a more specific type of prayer which refers to prayer for you specific wants and needs.

With thanksgiving

In your prayers, always thank God for the good things he has given you in your life.  There is always something you can think of that he has provided you with (life, forgiveness, etc.).

And the peace of God

God will give us peace in all our anxieties and we will remain at peace, as long as we continue to trust in God.

Which transcends all understanding

The peace given from God is a peace that is better than any other source and when experienced, can only be explained by God.

Will guard your hearts and your minds

God will guard you from your anxieties.  “Hearts” represents your wants, needs, and passions.  And “minds” represents your conscience and understanding.

In Christ Jesus

This gift is given to all who believe in Jesus.

Corey Alderin is the founder of Tools for Christ where he designs all the Christian t-shirts.  His mission for his website is to provide Christians with the tools to be witnesses of Jesus without the need to say a word.  Please check out his website and feel free to contact him at corey@toolsforchrist.com

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I wish…

 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

I wish there was no more war

I wish all people would learn to get along with each other

I wish love were not used as a word that means nothing

I wish Christ was revered by all people not some of them

I wish babies were never aborted

I wish the truth were always spoken in love

I wish churches focused on Christ first, everything else second

I wish all people understood worship is about God, not us

I wish families stayed together

I wish there was no abuse in the world

I wish love of others always came before love of self

I wish everyone would come to Jesus

I wish the Bible spoke to all, and that all would have ears to hear

I wish evil would perish

I wish Satan were a child’s tale

I wish the Truth were accepted

I wish that violence were not a solution

I wish that drugs and alcohol were not self-medications

I wish all the hurting rest and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ

I wish we all possessed faith like a child

I wish all sin were a thing of the past

I wish everyone possessed the peace of Christ

I wish there would be no more killing

 

I wish for all of these things knowing they will not happen. True complete peace and wellness shall not come until our Lord and Savior comes. So many are lost, and many will remain lost. I cannot begin to imagine a world without suffering and loss, but the Word of God promises just that, so it will happen. One day we will all be in eternity together with the Lord of life…those who believe anyway.

It is my prayer that the hurting would find rest and peace in the only true source of healing…Jesus. It is also my prayer that the lost would be found and brought into the fold.

Imagine if you will the worst Believer on earth, a true believer in Jesus but not one who lives the faith well at all. Now imagine the best, the least sinful person on earth…but this person does not know Jesus. Now realize that the believer is going to heaven, and the sinner who may very well be a better person than the Believer is going to hell because he/she does not know Jesus.

I wish all would come to know Jesus…a life is a terrible thing to waste.


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Who does God choose?

Below is a recent devotional from Greg Laurie. http://www.harvest.org/
I have written a commentary after.

Not Ability, but Availability

“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.”

—Isaiah 42:8

What kind of person does God seek to use? What qualifications is He looking for in someone? Is it a towering intellect? Is it natural leadership ability? Could God ever use someone who is a bit shy by nature? Does this person have to be very talented or handsome or beautiful?

The answer to all of these questions is clearly no. It seems as though God goes out of His way sometimes to choose the most unexpected people to use.

If I had to choose one passage of Scripture that I think best summarizes my life as a Christian, it would be 1 Corinthians 1:26–29, where the apostle Paul wrote,

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

There is not a person who had less promise to achieve anything with his life than me. I was literally the last person picked for the team for whatever sport it was. I never was academically strong. I always underwhelmed in most areas of my life. So when the Lord chose me to serve Him, it was very clear that it was His doing—not mine. This is because God will not give His glory to another. As I have said before, God is not looking for ability as much as availability. Are you available to Him?


Moses pleading with the Children of Israel, lithography from a Bible card published in 1907

I can really identify with this, I was that kid that no one wanted; you know, the one that was always last in line, the one that no one wanted on their team, the one that everyone picked on. That was tough, very tough.

I grew up being told I was good for nothing, that I would never amount to anything. I heard things such as “can’t you ever do anything right?” Why can’t you ever do anything right the first time?”. I was made to feel worthless and stupid, certainly not worth the bother of anyone investing their time in me. I would point out here that the person doing this was my Dad, not Mom…she tried and was a good Mom.

It naturally follows that a person, (in this case me) would begin to believe what they are told. Words have tremendous power, negative words tend to have the most power. Why is that do you think?

I went on to live a not so good life; trouble with the law, drinking, some drug use, failed marriages etc.
Then Jesus got a hold of me. Why on earth would the Lord of all choose a worthless loser like me to become one of His? Maybe I was not so worthless after all. Maybe God in His infinite wisdom sees worth not visible to me (us)?

Never assume that you cannot be used of God because of who and what you are, or were. Don’t ever make the mistake of assuming that someone else is not ever going to be able to serve the Lord either. Many strong Believers of today have some pretty checkered pasts, I am one of them…and so is Greg Laurie. That is not to say that I have it all together as a Believer, I don’t.

God has chosen me as one of His despite who I was. God chose others like me as well; in that they were not the cream of the crop. You would know them as the Apostles, or Moses, or Jonah…or a bunch of others as well.

God uses the foolish things, and the not so good things. The first will be last, and the last first. If God is speaking to your heart, answer Him today…say yes!

Need help in getting to know Jesus? Click this link for help that could change your life; http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/

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