Are you anxious about your kids? Are you worried about your job? Do you fret about money? Do you worry about what your spouse is up to? Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Or do you lie there thinking about bills that need to be paid, and relationships that are strained? Do you find yourself yelling at your kids and frustrated at your workplace? Do you get this hard knot in the pit of your stomach? Is it making you sick?
Sounds like you are a bit worried and stressed out. You could use some peace.
Did you know that God has made a way for you to get more peace?
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
The Bible tells us that real peace is a fruit of the Spirit. That means that we do not need to pray for more peace, nor do we need to take anger management courses to get it. We need more of the source of that peace. It is a fruit of the Spirit, so we need more of the Holy Spirit.
To receive the Holy Spirit the Bible tells us that we first must receive Jesus. The Spirit comes when we ask Jesus to come into our hearts. If you want to have peace even when things are in chaos you need to have Jesus in your life. You see, He has the power to calm the storm, and He also has the power to calm you in the midst of the storm.
The Bible doesn’t promise that if you become a Christian that everything is going to be super rosy from now on. No, it doesn’t promise no problems. But it does promise that you will have peace that transcends all understanding. No matter what happens you can stay peaceful. For God does not give us a spirit of confusion or fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind. Doesn’t that sound good?
Really, the root of the issue is control isn’t it? You want to feel like you are in control. And the harder you try, the less you feel like you are in control. Just let it go. Let God be in control. He is God after all. Can you run everything and do everything anyway? Relax. Stop running from Him. He is calling you. He has been calling you for a very long time. You know it. You have heard Him. What have you got to loose? You will gain peace of mind.
This is the beginning of a whole new life of more peace, more love and more joy for you. Don’t let this opportunity slip away. A life of peace is yours for the taking. All you need to do is say this simple prayer and Jesus will come into your life. Why wait? Say it now out loud and let the peace of God fill you up.
Dear Heavenly Father,
OK. I admit it. I have been trying to do everything all by myself and I have acted like I didn’t need You. I am sorry. I have done a lot of things wrong in my life. Please forgive me all of my sins. I ask You Jesus, come into my life and make me whole. I give You that empty spot in me. I give You every void. I give You my anger. I give You control. I give You my whole life. Holy Spirit fill me up to overflowing and baptize me. I ask You to give me your fruit of peace and joy and love as evidence of Your presence in my life. Be my guide, my teacher, and my counselor. Help me to grow in You so that I will be strong and mighty and have that fulfillment in my own life. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen”
So now what just happened?
The Bible says that when you confess Jesus with your mouth you become born again. You were not born again in a natural way. You were born again in a spiritual way. Your spirit just came to life! You are a new creation. But this is not the end of your journey. It is just the beginning. Now you will want to get strong in the Lord. Why?
Because if you remain a spiritual baby the devil is going to continue kicking you around. The Bible tells us in John 10:10 that he came to steal, kill and destroy. Do you want to stay weak and remain his target? You see, he can’t get your soul, once you have asked Jesus into your life, and he is a bit upset about that. But the next best thing for him is to keep you spiritually weak, so that you will not influence anyone else to become a follower of Jesus. He doesn’t want you to be a victorious Christian who is full of joy and peace like the Bible teaches you to be. He wants you to weak, defeated, and miserable so that your life will not bring glory to God and nobody will listen to you talk when you mention Jesus. He wants you to be a hypocrite. Don’t let him get away with it!
Don’t be a mediocre Christian who you can barely tell from any other miserable person on the street. Let God heal all of those broken areas. It doesn’t take much effort, just a little learning and growing. Here are a few simple steps to help you get started. And it would also be wise for you to pick up a copy of “Juicy Fruit Christianity” by KL George, either from your local Christian book store or from our resources page.
The Next Step
1. Read the Word
Some people think the Bible is a big ugly rule book, but in reality the Bible is God’s love letter to you. If you were a father who loved his kids you would want them to know how to have the best things in life. You would want to protect them from the things that would hurt them and you would want to encourage them. That is what the Bible is all about.
Start by reading the book of John. It is a wonderful story of how Jesus walked this earth and it will really bless you. Then try Luke and Acts. You will be captivated by the love that the Father has for you. If you do not have a Bible let us know. We can help you get one.
2. Pray
Jesus has been waiting for this day for you to come to Him. He is excited to hear from you. Begin to pray. Just talk to Him like you would talk to anyone else. Praise Him and thank Him for all that you have and all that you are. Thank Him for dying for you on the cross. Let Him know how you are feeling. It is alright to tell God that you are tired, angry, or frustrated. He understands your pain as well as your triumphs. Don’t be afraid to tell Him what you think. But then ask Him what He thinks. Ask Him to show you His way in the situation. It does not matter if you get answers immediately or if you get goose bumps. Just ask Him for direction and that direction will show up. Go ahead and ask for His peace and for the fulfillment of His promises.
Learn to pray out loud. Yes, God can hear you in your head. But prayers of faith are always out loud. Also you need to pray out loud so that the devil, who can not read your mind, know that he has lost all power over your life. This is a way of resisting his influence, and the Bible tells us in the book of James that if we resist him, he will flee from us! Sounds good, doesn’t it?
3. Come meet with other believers
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25 not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. In other words, come together. The devil is a wolf who loves to devour a lone sheep. He is just waiting for you to get alone so that he can bug you with doubt, make you angry and steel your joy. He wants to whisper in your ear, “Nothing really happened,” “You are still the same,” “You are unworthy,” and other such lies from the pit. He wants to use fear to keep you away from the body of Christ where you will get strong enough to kick his butt. He wants to build distrust in you toward other believers so you will not gain relationships that will help you on your walk to victory. He will tell you, “they are all a bunch of hypocrites at that church,” and “they don’t really accept you for who you are.” Recognize his tactics and take a stand against him.
It is true that there are sinners in the church. There should be. The church is meant to be a spiritual hospital where the spiritually sick come for healing and restoration. There are no perfect people anywhere but we serve a perfect God. He is well able to use even us imperfect people, and He may even use you and I in spite of our shortcomings if we will obey Him and do as He asks us to do.
Go to church, learn to be the church wherever you go and be an enemy to the enemy. There are people out there who are just like you and they need Jesus. This is how you will become strong enough to tell them what Christ has done in you. He is beginning such a miracle in you. Grow strong!
We welcome you to attend with us at New Life Valley Ministries. We have home churches being established all across Canada and beyond. To attend or host one of our home groups give us a call or an email today. If we are not yet having a service in your community, we would be happy to recommend a vibrant and life giving church in your area. So please contact us and let us know about your new commitment to follow Christ. We want to help you and pray for you.
Our Head Office phone number is 403-933-7804 and our email address is pk “at” newlifevalleyministries.com
We also have some great blogs for women and men. Check them out!
www.destinymen.blogspot.com and www.destinywomen.blogspot.com