“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2012/12/13/the-circle-of-the-wise/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

Philippians 4:6-7… Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  (NKJV)

I have written about 2 of the 9 fruit of the Spirit, the last couple of days; with thoughts of Christmas and what this special holiday means to Christians all over the globe… For those not familiar with the fruit of the Spirit; they are the “Christ like” attributes that God gives His new children, which start as seeds with the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit…and should continue to grow in what is called sanctification, until the Christian is called home to be with the Lord…

The Apostle Paul, who wrote almost half of the New Testament, gives us this “want to be like Christ” list, in…Galatians 5:22-23… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  (NKJV)

Peace is the third fruit of the Spirit… The only way there will ever be peace on earth, is if everyone receives the love of Christ into their hearts, with the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit…  I posted the following scripture yesterday, because my writing was about the joy the Holy Spirit will bring into the life of the Spirit filled Christian… Romans 15:13… Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (NKJV)

I can use the same piece of scripture today, in speaking about the powerful, God given peace that will flood the heart, mind, and soul of the Christian that is living for the Lord… I refer to the opening scripture often, because this truth about the supernatural “peace of God” really will boggle the human mind; because this peace truly “surpasses all understanding” of our feeble mortal minds…  Only God can give the Christian His peace under all stressful situations…  Only God can give the Christian His joy, even through life’s trials…James 1:2-4…

But we as Christians, must step back and allow God to do what He does best, by submitting to His will… So why don’t we as Christians stop dead in our tracks…put God back into first place in our lives (if He is not already there)…and then do our very best to share His peace to those around us who just might benefit from hearing about the love God has for all of us…

The world will not change overnight…  But one by one, God can take the seeds we as Christian’s plant, and nurture them into one of His children, as we share our own testimony and the gospel of Christ; and we will be doing our part as commanded by Christ Himself (with His last spoken words before Christ ascended into heaven (Matthew 28:19-20), to bring God’s peace to all mankind…

Please take a few minutes and really listen to the words of this Christmas classic… “Let There Be Peace on Earth”…       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPH4LRASWbo

Heavenly Father, I pray that all of Your children would submit to Your will, and be energized with Your peace, to be able to share their gift of grace with those around them in need… I pray Lord, that the unredeemed would be drawn in by You (John 6:44), to see the need of Your saving grace…  Urge us Lord, to use this Christmas season, to share the reason for our joy, our peace, and our eternal hope… I pray for hearts and lives to be changed by You for an eternity…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills