PRACTICING INNER PEACE

PRACTICING INNER PEACE

By Dwight Cunkle

Four Practices to develop inner peace (meditate on these):

1. Keep internal calm by disciplining external senses (what I see or want to see because of my flesh and pride or unholy desires).

2. Establish in ourselves an intention to love all people and live in harmony with everyone. Listen for their heart and with your heart, not just for the facts or to fix it. Be in the moment.

3. Keep our conscience clear within, toward God and  between us and others. Practice confession of fault and sin (openness).

4. Must accustom ourselves to bear unpleasant things and insults without becoming upset or agitated.

I don’t want to be controlled by shame and blame but by the peace of God. Many of us were raised in a shame-based matrix: interpreting life and people and ourselves through the lens of what’s wrong. Exchange that for a view of the world through God’s love, mercy and goodness.

Also, many of us grew up with many anger, adrenaline and control issues-either our anger or the anger of others around us. We need God’s help to be emotionally aware of how our emotions impact others around us-spouse, children, church or work.

Romans 13

Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to

one’s fellowmen, meeting all its requirements]. 9 The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.

NEVER GIVE UP

NEVER GIVE UP

By Dwight Cunkle

In a movie I watched recently the main character has lost round one and two in the fight. With one round to go he realizes instead of just enduring or even quitting he could actually win - and thereby earn the needed cash to save the H.S. Music teacher's job and program for the students. The music teacher is in his corner and tells him that even if he loses the fight he already has won by the inspirational example he gave his students. Then he gave this quote:

"You are showing complete resolve in the face of an unbearable obstacle"

(from the movie, "Here Comes the Boom")

Don't Give Up

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.— Hebrews 10:36

Effective leaders accomplish seemingly impossible tasks because they never give up. They never buckle under. Despite mounting criticism, intense opposition, and overwhelming obstacles, they persevere with determined resolve. They refuse to throw in the towel.

Often, the easiest thing would be to quit. Just give up. Forget about one's dream and return to the comfort and convenience of mediocrity. Give in to the words of the critics, give up to the opposition, and give way to the obstacles. Simply tuck tail and run away.

Great power is embodied in persistence. The race is not always won by the fastest, nor the game by the strongest, but rather by the one who keeps on keeping on, who refuses to give up.Consider the postage stamp. Its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. Race car driver Rick Mears said, "To finish first you must first finish."

It is always too soon to quit. One of the most powerful and destructive tools that Satan has in his arsenal is discouragement, the subtle but dangerous compulsion to give up, to quit, saying, "What's the use?"

When you are tempted to quit: resist. We must endure in the battle until the evil day is over. We must press on in the face of the temptation to quit. Until the war is over, we must fight to the end. Until the race is finished, we must keep running. Until the wall is built, we must keep stacking bricks. Never give up. Never. The promises of God are always at the end.

From an online article in Ministry Today

TRANSITIONS

TRANSITIONS

By Richard Lineberry

By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place that he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8

The Bible, as well as church history, is full of transitions from one place to another. The exodus tells how God delivered his people from Egyptian slavery, took them through and unfamiliar wilderness and finally to a land they'd never been. Why? Because it was His purpose for them at the time. Many a missionary has been uprooted from his familiar surroundings and told to go unfamiliar places. It seems that following the Lord is accompanied by our willingness to change and take a few risks occasionally.

Such is a time for us as we have sought the Lord with faith and are now in the process of selling our physical property and finding where the Lord is leading. Has the Lord told us everything we want to know about it so far? No. He has shown us how to get moving in the now. It would, of course, be nice if the Lord has said everything up front like, “Here’s where you’re going, here’s how much it will cost, and here’s the list of everything you will need.” Yes, that would have satisfied our wonderings. However, there is no story in Scripture of the Lord leading anyone that way. His word, Proverbs tells us, is a lamp unto our FEET and a light to our path. He shows us step by step. It’s sort of like, take step #1 and I’ll show you #2 but not before the first one. When God says GO and we don’t go we may be cutting off the fruit He planned for us in the future. Are transitions risky? Usually they are. But if we aren’t willing to trust God, everything stays the same.

As we, as a corporate body, pray for God’s leading, we will come into a greater unity of purpose. Things will become clearer as we walk. Now is the time for seeking the Lord’s will relative to finding a buyer and directing us to a new location. We are taking baby steps but if our hearts are open to Him in faith, God will direct our path.