The link below is for “Our Daily Bread”…   http://odb.org/2012/06/18/hidden-away/

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

Colossians 3:15… And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  (NKJV)

I was on my way to church this morning (yesterday for you), and Charles Stanley was preaching about the peace of God…  He mentioned the following scripture I so often reference, and the truth that resonated from his preaching has led me to write once again on this supernatural peace that only God can give the Christian…

Philippians 4:7… and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  (NKJV)

Charles Stanley spoke about this unbelievable peace that many Christian’s have a hard time understanding and/or experiencing…  After all, how could anybody be able to have absolute peace through all of life’s inevitable trials ??  How can somebody have peace, even after loosing a job, or a loved one…when we should be upset, or mad, or worried, or sad ??  This God given peace can only be obtained by the Christian who is totally filled with the Holy Spirit…  And this supernatural peace is from God, because the Christian’s heart and life are consumed and controlled by the love of Christ who dwells with-in every Christian (“let the peace of God rule in your hearts”)…

The apostle Paul goes on from the opening scripture with this, in…Colossians 3:16-17…  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.  (NKJV)

If someone cannot claim this unbelievable peace I am writing about today, it is only because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit, as Paul writes about in another piece of scripture…with the exact same talk of singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; with melody in our hearts (instead of grace)…but also speaking of giving thanks to God the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ…Ephesians 5:18-20…

If we as Christian’s are harboring any sins in our heart…we will be grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), and can in no way be filled with the Holy Spirit at the same time…  God hates sin, and will not allow a Christian to live with sin in their hearts and lives, and still bless them with the supernatural peace He reserves for Christian’s who are living in His will and His ways…

To be re-aligned with the Lord, which will allow the fullness of the Holy Spirit to provide this peace beyond our mortal understanding…Christian’s have to confess and repent of these sins that separate them from God’s blessings… Oh how sweet it is to be walking in the Spirit; when the obedient Christian will once again be declared righteous in God’s eyes…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)

It is as simple (and yet as hard), as putting ourselves dead last…and totaling submitting our lives to the Lord… He must come first in everything…and others must always be put ahead of ourselves…  As Christians, once we learn to get out of our own way and look to the Lord for all things…He will be free to bless us like we never thought possible…

This truth is seen very clearly in this scripture written by the apostle Paul; and I will use it for my closing prayer…Ephesians 3:20-21… Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  (NKJV)

written by bruce r mills