Gentle Joy and Peace

Does you have joy in everything you do? Think back to the last time you did something you know you shouldn't have; did that bring true joy to you, or did it drag you down? How long did it take you to get back up, or are you still struggling? Philippians 4:4-5 tells us God is near, and we should rejoice in Him always. Can you rejoice in the Lord while doing something that drags you down spiritually?

Then, after you realize that you've sinned yet again, you wring your hands and worry; you worry about getting caught, worry about whether or not God will forgive you yet again, worry that it won't be the last time. But Philippians 4:6-7 tells us not to worry about anything, but to talk to God about everything and His peace will guard our hearts and minds. His peace will be our shield if we'll stop worrying and just turn our problems over to God.

The last two verses of this section, Philippians 4:8-9, then gives us the most simplified version of everything that the entire Bible contains and teaches. If we all practiced just these two verses, and truly lived by them, we would have nothing to worry about. I love the last sentence there, "And the God of peace will be with you." Not "He might be" or "He'll occasionally be", but "He will be".

If you're having problems, struggling with addiction, or you've got worries weighing you down, I would encourage you to write down these verses somewhere where you'll always see them or commit them to memory. When Satan comes to try to drag you back into sin, into worry, or take away your joy, repeat them to yourself. It's a promise in the Word of God, and you can count on it in your life.

Dead Men Walking

Have you been baptized? Matthew 3:16 reports the baptism of Jesus. John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Through baptism, we are partakers of the death of Christ, and are alive in Christ! Romans 6:3-5 explains this to us. But Romans 6:6-10 tells us what the purpose of our death in Christ is: that we can have life without the bondage of sin and death.

Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have already died with Him that we can overcome sin and will have no fear of death; when we die in this world, we will be alive with Him!

How great it is that through the death of one man, the Perfect Man, we can have life. Romans 6:11 says that we are dead to sin. We're in the world with sin, but we're dead men walking. We aren't part of the world any more, we're just here until we pass into a fuller life with Christ. We are dead to the world, we are alive only to God!