Posted on May 31, 2021
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
The Book of Philippians began as a thank you note for the gift the church at Philippi had sent Paul when hearing of his arrest. Paul was no stranger to pain and dire straits. His letters to the churches he helped establish were meant to bring hope, encouragement, and instruction. He wrote to them to clarify things the early Christian churches were confused about, and to help them remember they were moving away from the legalistic religious structure of the past to embrace the hope of Jesus Christ, which no one could ever earn or be deemed worthy of.
Paul himself tortured early Christians before he became a Christ follower. To be washed in grace and forgiveness changed the countenance of his heart. He wrote this letter to the Philippians on what we would call a modern-day house arrest. He was imprisoned, but at a home in which he was allowed to preach the gospel to all those who came to him, explains the NIV Study Bible.
“The peace of God is the opposite of anxiety. It is the tranquility that comes when believers commit all their cares to God in prayer and worry about them no more,” explains the NIV Study Bible Fully Revised Edition. Paul knew this peace. As he wrote to the Philippians, Paul’s genuine hope and peace in Christ is evident, despite his past as a persecutor of the church, the thorn he speaks of living with, and his present suffering. It’s a prayer we can blanket our lives with today when we need to cling to the peace of Christ:
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Category: Bible Study, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer Tagged: calm, Jesus, Peace, peace of Christ, supernatural peace
Posted on September 24, 2018
“ There is no fear in love.” 1 John 4:18
“How was your day?!” I routinely asked as my two daughters flung open the doors and clamored with chatter. As she set her book bag down and clicked her seatbelt, my older daughter suddenly became serious …
“My head really hurts…” and that’s when I caught sight of blood dripping down my sweet girls face.
“OH MY GOODNESS, BRIANNE!!!!” I reacted, which sent her calm demeanor into a frantic set of questions…
“What -what is it- is it bad- can you see it?”
When we prayed on the way to the ER, my purpose was to level the emotion in the car with calm. With peace in knowing that we don’t always understand His plan, and reminders that He’s good …His plans for us are good …and He loves us. A love that is so strong that when we cry out He hears every word. He is there, with us.
He was there in the car that day, as our evening was re-routed from dance class to the ER.
It was bad. Staple in the head bad.
When our playlist gets interrupted, we need to steer our thoughts to a solid plan of action.
New hardware in place, she looked at the doctor and asked,
“Can I dance with this in my head?”
“Well, sure,” he answered …“when is dance?”
“Right now,” she stated matter of factly, “I’m late.”
(Insert room full of laughter…)
Father, Praise You for brave little ones. Thank You for the lessons that You teach us about Your love through their lives. Forgive us for letting fear kidnap our focus on You when calamity strikes, and help us to breathe deeply into Your love when unexpected hardship happens. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Stapling,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
Category: Christian Living, jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, calm, staple
Posted on September 24, 2017
“ There is no fear in love.” 1 John 4:18
“How was your day?!” I routinely asked as my two daughters flung open the doors and clamored with chatter. As she set her book bag down and clicked her seatbelt, my older daughter suddenly became serious …
“My head really hurts…” and that’s when I caught sight of blood dripping down my sweet girls face.
“OH MY GOODNESS, BRIANNE!!!!” I reacted, which sent her calm demeanor into a frantic set of questions…
“What -what is it- is it bad- can you see it?”
When we prayed on the way to the ER, my purpose was to level the emotion in the car with calm. With peace in knowing that we don’t always understand His plan, and reminders that He’s good …His plans for us are good …and He loves us. A love that is so strong that when we cry out He hears every word. He is there, with us.
He was there in the car that day, as our evening was re-routed from dance class to the ER.
It was bad. Staple in the head bad.
When our playlist gets interrupted, we need to steer our thoughts to a solid plan of action.
New hardware in place, she looked at the doctor and asked,
“Can I dance with this in my head?”
“Well, sure,” he answered …“when is dance?”
“Right now,” she stated matter of factly, “I’m late.”
(Insert room full of laughter…)
Father, Praise You for brave little ones. Thank You for the lessons that You teach us about Your love through their lives. Forgive us for letting fear kidnap our focus on You when calamity strikes, and help us to breathe deeply into Your love when unexpected hardship happens. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Stapling,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
Category: Christian Living, jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, calm, jammed daily devo, staple