Glory in the highest heavens to God... - Spirit & Truth Fellowship ...

Spring Bible Study 2008
This year is dedicated to beginner students
DATES:
April 16-20, 2008
LOCATION:
Camp Vision - Bloomington, IN
Register online at
STFonline.org/register
(7) And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard [as with a military guard]
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(8) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever
is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything
is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such
things.
(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.
There is no situation in your life too big or too small
for your heavenly Father, and your Lord, to care about and
want to get involved in. They have your back. Your part in
the reciprocal relationship with them is clear: do not freak
out, come to them with your requests, think about godly
things, practice the same. Of course, God would never ask
you to do something you can’t. And all He asks is that you
do what you can (Mark 14:8a). 4 When you do, the peace of
God guards your heart, and the God of peace is with you. It
doesn’t get any better than that.
In light of this being the season of both Thanksgiving and
Christmas, I think that in closing it is appropriate to examine
what we just saw in Philippians 4:6, which I believe is the
inseparable correlation between peace and thankfulness.
Take a look at these fabulous verses:
Colossians 3:15-17
(15) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you were called to
peace. And be thankful.
(16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you
teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
(17) And whatever you do, whether in word or
deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through him.
In verse 15, the Greek word translated “rule” means “to
be an umpire.” What is an umpire He is one who watches
very closely to see if there is the slightest infraction of the
rules, and when he sees one, he lets you know about it in
no uncertain terms by loudly blowing his whistle! As we
put “the word of Christ” in our hearts, it acts as an alarm
system to warn us when we are having a thought that is not
in keeping with “the rules.” Anxious, agitated, un-peaceful
thoughts are “whistled dead,” so to speak. One big key to
staying peaceful is to stay thankful. Thanksgiving focuses
our hearts upon the Source of that for which we are thankful,
and Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep in perfect peace him
whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in Him. Amen.
The greater our individual peace, the more likely we will
be to act in such a way so as to bring corporate peace in the
Body of Christ. The more we pursue peace in our own heart,
the more we will relate to others in a peaceful way, and, as
per Ephesians 4:3, that is critical to the effective working of
the Body.
Ephesians 4:3-6
(3) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.
(4) There is one body and one Spirit—just as you
were called to one hope when you were called—
(5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
(6) one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all.
The Sower Nov/Dec 2007 7