the peace of God

With six kids we seem to accumulate a little trash.   What if on Monday morning I went through the weeks discarded trash and brought back with me a plate for my kids to share at breakfast from the trash?  What if I said:  "Here, help yourself. Have some." They would look up at me like - dad, you've finally flipped. "Oh, no, daddy." Why not? "If I ate that it would make me sick." 


That is right!  My momma always told me garbage in, garbage out.  You know, just as that garbage will make you sick physically, the wrong kind of things in your mind can  make you sick mentally and morally and spiritually.   We must be careful what we think.

Statement of Truth: The way to get rid of bad thought is not to focus on the bad thoughts.

The way to get rid of your bad thoughts is not to fight those bad thoughts. The mind tends to get in a rut. You begin thinking about something and you get to the point that you can't think about anything else. The way you are fight those ugly thoughts or those bad and impure thoughts is by refusing to focus on them.  The way to overcome a evil thought  is to replace them with the right kind of thoughts.

Turn to Second Corinthians 10, verse 5 says, ^NIV 2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Take your thoughts captive. Every now and then an enemy thought will fly overhead.  What must we do?  Shoot it down in the name of Jesus. How?  Fill your mind with the Word of God. Fill your mind with holy and beautiful and lovely things. Whatsoever things are good. Whatsoever things are honest. Whatsoever things are just. Whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely. Fill your life with the beautiful lovely things. Learn to appreciate  good and godly music, books and relationships.

He goes on and says, "Whatsoever things are of good report."  Things that are excellent or praiseworthy. If there is any virtue, if there is anything that is beautiful about it, think on these things. The right kind of thinking.

Paul talked about THE RIGHT KIND OF LIVING. 

^NIV Philippians 4:9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

The reason some people don't have peace of mind is because they are living wrong. You are doing wrong things. You are going wrong places. You are having wrong values in your life. You've established wrong goals in your life. Live right and it will bring peace in your heart. There is no peace like knowing you've done right. You've done the right thing. You've lived the right kind of life.

The right kind of praising. The right kind of praying. The right kind of practicing. Then in verse 7 becomes a reality in our lives…   "And the peace of God." Look what he says about the peace of God. First of all, The peace of God passes all understanding. The peace of God is beyond our intelligence. The peace of God is incredible. The intellect can't fully understand this. The intellect becomes like a bird with a broken wing.

Statement of Truth: You can't understand this peace, but you can experience it.   


Some of you have been through a crisis in your life and to your utter amazement, through it all there was the peace of God. It passes all understanding. The peace of God is incredible. The peace of God will stand guard at your hearts and minds. The word, stand guard, really was used of a sentinel who would stand guard around the sleeping quarters of the army. He would say, "Who goes there?" he would say, "It's midnight and all is well." God says I'll put my peace to stand guard at your hearts and your minds and it's invincible. Nothing can get through the peace of God.

Then he says the peace of God is available. "It is through Christ Jesus." He says in verse 7 that the peace of God comes through Christ Jesus. Verse 9 says, "And the God of peace shall be with you." Peace is not only a spiritual commodity. Peace is a person. You come to the Lord, give your life to Jesus Christ and He will give you the peace of God. He gives you the peace of God through the God of peace - through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want peace, you have to know the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus.

Jesus was on a boat one time and storm came up and Jesus was asleep in the boat. The disciples came down and told him about it. Jesus went to the deck of the ship and said, "Peace, be still." When He did, the storm ceased its raging. Are you in a storm today? You need some peace today? Jesus says I want to give it to you. You come to me and I'll give you peace.

The reality today is this:  the peace of God is yours because the person of God is yours!  

For the Record

Just in case you wondered...   I really am convicted that when someone, regardless of who they are:  a president, or some goofy popular person in Hollywood.  When they start talking about theology,  trying to persuade our country to  erroneous theological positions,  I feel as if I have a biblical mandate to respond with the truth.   Be it a politician,  or some popular dope head.

And yes, I understand with that mandate comes a great responsibility to my soul.   I covet your prayers.

Walking Rightly in the Days of Deception

We live in perhaps some of the most difficult days in recorded history.  We live in some of the most insecure times in human history.  The days we live in are unsettled, many of us are concerned as to what will happen.  No one knows tomorrow morning with the stock market will do.  From day-to-day we have no idea what our retirement or stocks will do.  We have no idea what oil speculation will do to prices at the pump.  We have little idea of what our economy is going to do, and when you look at the world economics certainty is a word seldom used.  No one knows what can happen militarily in our world.  From North Korea, to India, over to Iran, across the Middle East, we simply do not know what will happen if any or one of these countries becomes a nuclear power. 

Consider what Paul told Timothy.   ^NIV 1 Timothy 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

The question can be asked why did they fall away?  It is because they are paying attention to the wrong things.  Paul says they are following, they are looking at, and they are paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  This word, “follow” is in the present tense and means to look at it and to continue to look in its direction.   Many times I am concerned by what we as Christians pay attention to.  I'm concerned moreover as to what we give our ears to, and what we continue to go back to.   Who we listen to on TV, and what we listen to on the radio, and yes even the books we read have a huge impact on our lives.  

Please heed this warning today:  Just because it is emotional does not mean it is good sound theology! 

Who you listen to is important: that is why these people have fallen away.   They have been paying attention to the wrong person. The word for “deceiving” is the word we get our English word planet from!  The ancients would look at the sky and see the stars they are fixed, they do not move.   Planets move across our skies.  The planets wandered across the heavens.  And what Paul is saying in this passage, is that these are spirits who have wandered out of the orbit of truth, and this is what they're listening to: Deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.

As you live in this world my caution for you is to be very careful as to who you listen to.  Do not be deceived but stand firm rightly dividing the word of God.

A Saving Light

^NIV John 9:25 He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

On Sunday nights I have been preaching through the Gospel of John. We've made our way to John chapter 9.  We haven't encountered the man who was born blind.  One of the things that struck me as I studied this passage was that this man was very excited about his new life! 

My remembered what it is like to have a newfound faith.  I think many times we as believers lose the luster of our faith.  This world will discourage us.  If we're not careful we can loose the excitement of knowing Jesus.

This man was not a theologian, but he knew what had happened to him personally! He couldn't explain what had happened, but he knew that he had met someone who had the power to make an eternal difference in his life. When he looked at where he had been and what Jesus had done in his life, he was more than a little excited!

His is true in the life of every child of God. You may not shout like a Comanche Indian. You may not lap the church like an Indy racer, but if you are saved by the grace of God, you will know it and you will never get over it! I believe that the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ is something to get excited about, don't you?

Jesus Is A Shining Light  consider v 5 When He walked upon this earth, Jesus was in the business of delivering men from darkness. May I say that He is still doing that today? If you have never been saved, you can come to Jesus today and He will bring you out of the darkness and the bondage in which you find yourself. He is still a Shining Light and a Savior to all who will come to Him - Matt. 11:28; Rev. 22:17.

In verse 35  Jesus Is A Seeking Light  - After this man had been cast out by the Jews, Jesus went looking for Him. This is why He came - Luke 19:10. It may the case with you that religion wouldn't have you, many churches wouldn't want to be around you and most people wouldn't have anything to do with you, but let me tell you that Jesus Christ loves you just like you are and will save you by His grace if you will only come to Him by faith and ask Him.  He is still seeking souls to save!

Jesus Is A Saving Light  consider verse  38 - When this man bowed and received Jesus, I am sure that he forgot about the days of blindness and the pain of being removed from the Synagogue. When he called on the name of Jesus, He was eternally saved and received into a family from which he will never be removed! (Ill. Did you realize that what God does in saving the sinner is a forever work? John 10:28-29; 1 Pet. 1:5)

This man never expected that he would be healed and saved when he got up that morning. I am sure that he planned to live that day like everyday before in the blackness of darkness. He did not realize that there was a man named Jesus who drive the darkness forever away from his life. Many are in that same shape today! They are lost and in the depths of great spiritual darkness and they do not even realize that Jesus can set them free forever. If they do understand this, they feel that it is something for others and not for themselves. Allow me to remind you today that Jesus loves all men just as they are and that He will save anyone who will come to Him by simply faith. The question is, which do you prefer, darkness? Or light? If you are tired of the dark come to Jesus and step into the Light of His glorious salvation. Will you do that today?

Signs, C.S & the 2nd Coming

Most of us probably know of C.S. Lewis.  We know him for the great character in Chronicles of Narnia called Aslan The Lion.  His use of metaphors brilliant Hollywood has taken his great work and turned it into a major media production.   C.S. Lewis was scholar, author and apologist.

What I did not know about C.S. Lewis was that he cared about eschatology.  Here's a quote from an essay that he wrote:

“Many people find it difficult to believe in this great event without trying to guess its date, or even without accepting as a certainty the date that any quack or hysteric offers them.  To write a history of all these exploded predictions would need a book, and a sad, sordid, tragi-comical book it would be…Clearly no one wishes to say anything that will awaken such mass hysteria.  We must never speak to simple, excitable people about ‘the Day’ without emphasizing again and again the utter impossibility of prediction.  We must try to show them that impossibility is an essential part of the doctrine.  If you do not believe Our Lords’s words, why do you believe in His return at all?  And if you do believe them must you not put away from, utterly and forever, any hope of dating that return?  His teaching on the subject quite clearly consisted of three propositions: (1) That He will certainly return; (2) That we cannot possible find out when; (3) And that therefore we must always be ready for Him.”

Could it be possible that Jesus taught on his Second coming for this very reason alone? That we would live our lives every day ready for him to come?  Watch! Watch! Watch!

Journey with me at www.expectinganencounter.com this summer as we walk through the Signs of the Second coming.

FB Clarification

Here is a recent Facebook post:  “Many have asked my opinion today concerning Obama. I say when a nation embraces and accepts homosexuality it is a signal sin of judgment.”

Certainly my heart is heavy concerning this issue and frankly for other issues.   This statement that I made on Facebook is no doubt without great thought on my part. 

Let me say that there is so much I would like to share I'm not sure where to start.  I guess I should start by saying I don't consider myself a bigot, or closed minded in general terms.  I'm very much open to learning, and dialogue, and truth seeking.  Now having said that, I do believe that there are absolute truths in Scripture that we need to uphold absolutely.

However, before I get too far down the path of my thoughts, let me express personal testimony and window into my upbringing.  The issue of homosexuality I dare say touches almost every person in America, and perhaps even the world.  I am no stranger to this debate.  Growing up in a fairly small east Texas town, I had an uncle who was gay.  I watched his lifestyle pitt our family against one another.  There were those in my family who were outraged to say the least.  On the other hand there were those who disliked his choices and yet still embraced him as a person.  I have often wrestled with the appropriate balance in this issue as well as other issues.

To have come to understand that there is a difference in being judgmental and making a judgment.  God has given is right and wrong.  He has given us standards to uphold, truth to seek after, and there are times when we have been called upon to make a judgment.  We see our Lord many times in the gospels making a judgment. Yet, it was the Pharisees and Sadducees who are often seen as being judgmental.  {Remember the woman caught in adultery?}  Christ came to be the light; he came to expose the darkness in mankind's hearts.  Christ came to seek and to save those who were lost.  And there were many times when Christ extended grace to those that he met.   When Jesus said Judge not lest you be judged, the context was not that we would make a judgment, but that when we make a judgment that would make it with clean hearts, eyes and minds. 

Please understand: we were sinners headed to a devils hell until by grace Jesus saved us! 

All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God {as seen in Romans 3}. The Romans chapter 1 is clear, in verse 24 verse 26 verse 28 God says he gives them over, he abandons men who've rejected him, he abandons people when they rebelled and worship anything but God the word there that Paul uses basically means to hand over.  The point of Paul in Romans 1 is that God gave them over to the last of their hearts.  The word lust there is sexual in nature and you cannot get around that.  And when you look at the context it becomes clear that the sexual nature with Paul's referencing his homosexuality.  God gave them over because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator. And God comes and says you've dishonored me therefore I'm going to give you over and dishonor you.  What was it that mankind was worshiping in Romans chapter 1?  They were worshiping the beast of the field the birds of the air the snakes the crawl on the ground.  God gave them over to do with the beast that they worshiped would not do. 

I challenge anyone to look to the animal kingdom and find me an example of a homosexual animal that God created?   {HINT:  You won't find one.}

I would also say that God did not create mankind be homosexual, but rather God has lifted his hand and said I will no longer be involved with you.  That is why I posted on Facebook that the signal sin of God's judgment on nation is homosexuality.

God said through Paul in Romans one, “you would not honor me therefore I've decided you to let your passions drive you to do with the animals that I've created would not do.” 

Read Judges 18 ,19 & 20. The Israelites almost wiped out the traveler Benjamin over the sin of homosexuality. 

You know what people are going to try to say,  “the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was not the sin of homosexuality.”   In an effort to defend their position people will point to passages like this one:

 Now this was the sin of Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. —Ezekiel 16:49-50

They often say that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was nonsexual.  Sure, there were some non-sexual sins that were present in Sodom and Gomorrah. There is no doubt about that in my mind, however Scripture does indicate that the homosexual relationships occurring was the prevalent physical sin in Sodom.  Be careful holding a position like that because Jude verse 7 is clear:

^NIV In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

When you look at 2nd Peter chapter 2 verse 6 the fishermen had pretty clear things to say about Sodom and Gomorrah:

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,^[a] putting them in chains of darkness^[b] to be held for judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶ if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. ¹⁰ This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh^[c] and despise authority.

Peter's words are very clear God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the rest of history to see: Here is an example of what God does want culture gives way to this kind of ungodly lifestyle.  Also his words are comforting to me.  God knows how and is fully able to protect the righteous!   Honestly, I have considered moving to a foreign country given the current drift and direction of our nation.  But this verse brings me great hope and steadfastness in that God is in Control, and he sees all men and knows the depths of their hearts!

Many times in Scripture Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned and almost every time it is mentioned alongside the judgment of God.  Jesus does mention Sodom and Gomorrah right alongside judgment:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. --Matthew 10:14-15

Keep in mind, my original post; “… I say that when a nation embraces and accepts homosexuality it is a signal sin of judgment.”

I do not make that statement with a judgment heart, only to say that I'm deeply concerned for the direction in which our nation is headed, not only in the area of homosexuality, but in the area of marriage, divorce, gluttony, and hatred.  We are a nation out of control.

I want t be clear, please hear me:  the Bible does not say that having people who practice homosexuality brings total judgment and destruction on a nation because, in reality there is homosexuality in the culture. Just like there's adultery in every culture, just like there's murder in every culture, just like there's theft in every culture.  I think what is being taught from Scripture is this:  it is when the culture, or the nation embraces the lifestyle of homosexuality that we should interpret it as a sign of God's judgment.

Look across our nation, from California to Massachusetts, our culture is on the fast track of accepting homosexuality.  Of course what prompted this Facebook discussion were comments that our president made,  yesterday.   If you watch TV you can’t watch much programing without references to it in the story lines.   And whenever we accept this lifestyle as normal, and whenever the culture embraces it, we had better watch out.

God has a design for human sexuality, it is called heterosexual relationships inside the covenant of marriage. One man and one woman for life.

In Romans 1:27 Paul talks about God’s schematic for sexual relations.  Paul is basically saying that what they are doing is Not the Way, God designed it to be done.  They are doing something that is not according to God's game plan or design.  The point is made that this is not God's plan or design for human sexuality to be homosexual.  It is listed among many other sins, as something to repent from.  Repentance is what God desires.

By the way another form of judgment and perhaps worse than God giving a nation over to the signal sin of homosexuality, is apathy.  Apathy is a form of Judgment.   I think there are many today who do not care.  Many today live with their head in the sand and live as if they are asleep!  This kind of reckless living is really is bothering to me...  I am determined not be one of them!