The link below is for “Our Daily Bread”…   http://odb.org/2012/06/13/the-best-teacher/

The link below is for the Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                   http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

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 heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  (NKJV)

There is a peace and contentment that one can feel; believing that all is well in their lives… I had this feeling for much of my adult life… Before my salvation, I had a 6 figure income and a new company car every few years…  I had then, and still do…a lovely, caring wife; and three great kids !!… But my peace was a piece Satan uses in our lives, to deceive us into falsely believing we are living as God wants us to live…  It is a peace and contentment that is mostly based on material things, and the physical lusts of the world; not on the peace that only God can give us as one of His Spirit filled, obedient children…

I say this peace is mostly based on wealth and material things, because any peace and contentment we feel because of our spouse and our children God has provided, is a peace from God… The sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman is biblical…Genesis 2:24… Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  (NKJV)

At this point, I would like to interject what the Bible clearly tells us, with this scripture…Hebrews 13:4… Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.  (NKJV)

I know several young people who have had children out of wedlock; and many others who don’t have a problem with sex outside of marriage… I am not here to judge anyone… But God clearly will… The apostle Paul writes this, in…1 Corinthians 6:9-10…  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  (NKJV)

Any peace we have, because of financial stability in our lives…or because of children that one has outside the normal bonds of matrimony between a man and a woman…is a piece that Satan, and only Satan, can be providing… This is not a peace that God provides, because it is a peace through the sin of deception that Satan, the father of all lies and deception has created…

John 8:44… You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  (NKJV)

Absolute God given peace and happiness, can only be accomplished by the Christian who remains Spirit filled… I often quote the apostle Paul’s writing about the Christian’s need to be constantly re-filled (controlled by) the Holy Spirit…Ephesians 5:18-20…  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (NKJV)

If you think you have finally found this peace from God because of your financial stability…or because life seems to be perfect right now…or because your flesh is being fed by Satan and his lies…think again !!  God must be the center of your life…you should be waking up praising the Lord…thinking of Him during the day…and going to bed thanking the Lord for taking care of you, and providing for your needs for the day…

Any sins you have committed that day, should be confessed and repented of before the Lord…1 John 1:9… If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (NKJV)

If you don’t involve God in all your important decisions…and you are not being spiritually fed by God’s Word on a regular (hopefully daily) basis, as Jesus tells us is a must…Matthew 4:4… But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”  (NKJV)…I am here to tell you that it is quite possible that like me for 52 years…you may not be a Christian in God’s eyes, or you have backslidden, and possibly taken back control from the Holy Spirit, and are not Spirit filled…

But if you really believe you are a Christian…the Holy Spirit must be in total control of your life…or there is no way, in my humble opinion, that you will be able to experience the joy and the supernatural peace I so often write about (Philippians 4:7)… Paul reminds us we must be continually filled with in the Holy Spirit, in this scripture above…Ephesians 5:18-20…to possess this peace that only God can provide…

God is a loving and longsuffering God… He gives us time to make things right with Him…  But any peace not created by God, is created by Satan…  And there will come a point with God’s patience…where Satan’s peace will no longer be tolerated, and a price will be paid…

Heavenly Father, I pray that readers will take Your Word, and do a self analysis of their own lives…  I pray Lord, that those who don’t know You as their personal Lord, Master, and Savior…would seek You while You may still be found (Isaiah 55:6), by understanding and obeying the gospel of Christ… And then Lord, I pray that their peace will be a supernatural peace that only You can provide…given to Your children that choose to live in Your will and Your ways…  I pray for this God given peace for all of us, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills