29.p. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

 

Colossians 3:15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Psalms 29:11  May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Isaiah 27:5 Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.”

Romans 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 4:7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Peace of mind and general peace with others makes life joyful, hopeful, thankful, and limits fear, anger, confusion, and unkindness.  Peace of mind is offered in many different forms and by many different people. They offer their solution to “Finding Peace”.  If you have enough money, lose enough weight, buy the right car, have the right clothes, wear the right make-up, live in the right location, work for the right company, take the right vacation, fly the right airline, use the right insurance company, read the right books, go to the right school, hire the right doctor, use the right financial advisor, do the right meditation, take the right medicine, do the right level of exercise, etc………….. If you just listen to them you will find peace of mind and be at peace with others.  Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Have you ever found lasting peace, deep in your soul, following the advice of these “Peace offering attempts”? Chasing after peace, in all of these attempts at finding it, will leave a person wanting, lost, and always searching more for it.  Tell me if watching or reading news media gives you peace. Do they ever present a story that gives you peace?  They promote worry, fear, anger, confusion, division, and give little in the way of “Peace of Mind”.  And yet, we turn it on or read it every day.  At the same time, we neglect the Word of God, which brings peace of mind, thankfulness, and hope. This world will offer a peace that will never satisfy and will leave us defeated.  You don’t have to listen to very many people to discern the level of peace in their lives. They certainly don’t speak of joy, hope, or thankfulness.  They seem consumed with just the opposite and don’t even know why.  True peace is in the hands of God through Jesus Christ. It is a peace that passes all understanding. It is a peace that overcomes all adversity.  It is a peace that floods the hearts, minds, and souls, of those who trust in, rely upon, cling to, follow, and obey Jesus Christ.  Their peace is found in Him alone and all other offers of peace are cast aside.  In Him alone we find a peace that is more than hope for tomorrow, it is a never-failing assurance of peace for eternity. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

2.n. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”

2 Chronicles 10:20  Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.”

Isaiah 7:9    And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”

Isaiah 26:3   You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

John 14:1   “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Romans 8:31   What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Luke 16:31    He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Hebrews 11:6    And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

John 5:46-47     For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Belief, non-belief, and somewhere in between.  A belief mindset with a whole heart, mind, and soul has visible and unseen qualities and attributes.  These qualities and attributes reflect the light, grace, love, and mercy of Jesus Christ.  This reflection can be a light on a hill to anyone within sight.  This reflection yields to that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ.  The person who yields must intentionally choose to yield.  Their light does not grow dim or become overshadowed when the darkness of storms roll into their life.  In fact, the light becomes brighter and more visible.  This person spends time in God’s word meditating on it, drinking and breathing it in for they seek above all else to hear and be used by God.  There is hardly a waking moment where they are not living in a sought after presence with Jesus Christ.  They hear, follow, and obey the whispers of the Holy Spirit through His word.  They continue to grow in understanding and knowledge of what it means to deny self.  They grow in understanding of sin and their sinful nature that keeps trying to take control.  They keep their eyes on eternity and humbly walk this life to serve, honor, worship, glorify, follow, obey, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ.

The non-belief mindset gives their whole heart, mind, and soul to do what is right in their own eyes.  Their guidance is focused on that which makes them feel good, in control, and false dreams of purpose.  Their satisfaction is never satisfied.  Their hunger for more pleasing and purpose is never satisfied.  They follow their own desires for self-interest.  Happiness and joy never last and they move from one thing to the next.  They spend their time purposefully without seeking or desiring Jesus Christ.  They happily mock and reject Him.  They are more concerned with things of this world and deny the creator of it.  They are lost and follow the wide path of life that leads to eternity in Hell.  They give approval to their lifestyle and others who do the same.  There is hope for these and others like them to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved.

Those somewhere in between are the ones who are truly lost.  Their belief leads them to think they are right with God but their life has no reflection of the light of Jesus Christ.  Their life in outward appearance looks no different than those with no belief.  They know what to say and they pretend all that they do is all that is expected in Christian life.  They compare themselves with others and perform to a level they think will be acceptable to God.  They spend little time in devotion and even less time in the study of His word.  They may attend church but display no gifts of the Holy Spirit to edify and grow the body of the church.   They have become satisfied with neglect and complacent living.  There are much self-interest activities in their life.  They allow the busyness of life to take control of their life and give little to no thought of Jesus Christ throughout the day.  They are lukewarm and seem to follow the path of least effort when it comes to serving Jesus Christ.  There is no growth and they are stagnating.  They are no more on the path that leads to life than those with no belief.  Because they have once heard and believed but now have chosen to turn their backs to God, His Word, and try to share their self-interest/self-centered heart, soul, and mind with Him.  This is a deception.  There is no sharing of our heart, soul, and mind.  We either give whole to one or the other.  These are the worst for they have the appearance of a Christian but have no power and light of Jesus Christ in their life.