A Place of Peace

The Breath of Heaven

blessedwithpeace — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:35:39 +0000

Psalm 33:6 tells us “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” All the stars were created by the breath of God. Our God is a living God! He is still breathing; therefore, stars are continuing to be breathed into existence today. And this same breath and power breathes upon each of us every moment of every day.

The breath of God is Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Power, Knowledge, the Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). He is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, Revelation, Faith, Love, Peace, Joy, Holiness, Grace, Mercy, Adoption, and He is the Spirit of Light, and Fire (not an exhaustive list). He is everything we need at any moment of any day. Just think about the fact that Holy Spirit is breathing on us every second of every day, and He is breathing upon us every aspect of Jesus Christ, the great “I Am”. Oh, if we can only be still when we are in need of peace, or wisdom, or whatever the need, and breathe in and take in Holy Spirit and in faith receive whatever we need.

Jesus had been crucified and his disciples were afraid. After His resurrection, Jesus revealed Himself to them and said, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:21-22). I love this!

May Jesus, through His Spirit breathe on us, and may we breathe in His peace, or whatever it is we need, and in faith may we receive whatever we need. Jesus says to each of us today, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I send also you.” May we receive the breath of Heaven, walk in peace, and share God’s peace with others.

Shalom.

Knowing Who We Are: Part II

blessedwithpeace — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:36:17 +0000

We were created in the image of God. When Adam and Eve sinned, the image of God became distorted, and the image of Satan emerged. Satan’s character is reflected by pride, selfishness, reasoning and thinking, to name a few. Christ’s character is reflected by love, peace, joy. Christ’s character is “Light” and Satan’s character is “darkness”. We must have our souls restored so that we may reflect the character of Christ (image of God). A restored soul = the character of Christ.

A restored soul who reflects the image of Christ:
1. Knows who they are;
2. Has no fear;
3. Walks in love, peace, and joy;
4. Delights in the Lord;
5. Is an Over-comer;
6. Is quick to obey the Voice of the Lord;
7. Displays good Fruit (Galatians 5:22);
8. Life becomes about Jesus and not about “self”;

To have a restored soul, the wounds of our heart (emotional traumas) must be healed and we must be reconciled back to God. Having a repentant heart and asking God for forgiveness is necessary before our soul can be restored. Then, we ask God to heal our wounded heart and ask Him to restore our soul. (We will talk about being reconciled back to God another time).

Jesus bore our shame that we might share His Glory. Isn’t that awesome? Jesus died our death that we might receive His life. Jesus was wounded that we might be healed (physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually). Jesus was rejected that we might be accepted. To have our soul restored requires accepting what Jesus has done for us. Ask Him to heal our heart, and then we take one of the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (the key of faith) and receive healing and restoration. “…Most assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My Name He will give you.” Ask – Receive. Could it be that simple? Yes, it can be that simple. In Luke 7:50, Jesus said to the exceedingly wicked sinner, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.” The word saved is the Greek word Sozo. Sozo means delivered, healed, preserved, do well, be made whole. The woman Jesus was talking to was an outcast (rejected). She must have had a hurting heart, a wounded spirit. This woman did not have to go through days, weeks, or years of therapy. She did not have to go to a rehab. She did not have to go through any kind of “man’s formula of being forgiven, healed and delivered. Her faith saved her, and the same applies to us.

Smith Wigglesworth lived by two words. “Only believe.” Those are the two words I want to live by. How about you? May we let go of the past and walk in the benefits provided to us by Jesus. BELIEVE! ONLY BELIEVE!

Knowing Who We Are: Part I

blessedwithpeace — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:26:10 +0000

If we do not know who we are, Satan will tell us who we are, and he is a liar. Through the pain of life (emotional traumas), we become vulnerable to the lies of the enemy. Through the lies of the enemy, rejection gains a stronghold and fear becomes a controlling force in our lives. Rejection and Fear go together.

Why do we fear? We fear because we do not know who we are, we fear because we do not trust God, and we fear because we do not understand God’s perfect love. What are Some of our fears (a partial list):

Fear of rejection
Fear of man;
Fear of failure;
Fear of financial lack;
Fear of not being good enough;
Fear of something happening to us;
Fear of something happening to those we love;
Fear of old age;
Fear of sickness;
Fear of death;
Fear of not being in control;

To know who we are, we must have our soul restored. Our soul is who we are. Our soul is our Mind (Intellect: what we think), our Will (self-want; self-determination); and our Emotions (Feelings). In other words, our soul = what we think, what we want, what we feel. Before Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, nothing was about “self”. They had the character of Christ, for they had been created in God’s image. Once they sinned, everything became about “self”. Their perfect relationship with God was broken. They took on the “character of Satan” (pride, rebellion, “what about me?” Since Adam and Eve’s fall, every human soul is in need of restoration.

Our soul must be restored and reconciled back to God.

Scriptures: Genesis 2:7 – 3:8; Psalm 23:3;

Being Stretched Can Bring Unpeace

blessedwithpeace — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:24 +0000

I am being stretched today. I realize that I am in great unpeace. I have been asked by my Pastor to do something I do not feel qualified or capable of doing. Yet, when one’s authority asks one to do something, we are not to question or argue, but say, “Yes!” Miriam, in the Bible was struck with leprosy when she murmured and complained against her leader. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were cast into hell alive when they didn’t agree with their authority and tried to overthrow him. Submitting to authority is something God takes seriously. I’m thinking the alternative to submission is not a good plan. I choose to submit. I will ask God to give me His Grace to do what I’ve been asked to do, and to do it with a glad heart. A bad attitude won’t help me. Fear of failure won’t help me. God’s Grace can and will.

How can I step into this new job responsibility in peace? Not only do I need God’s Grace, it will require a “mindset” change. It will require making choices to embrace change, not resist change. It will require making a choice to believe that God is in control, and that He means for me good and not harm, and that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I also have a strong accountability group. They have circled around me in spirit, and have prayed and prophesied over me in regard to this situation. How blessed I am.

There is a song, “Sleeping.” The song is about being in a storm, and Jesus is in the bottom of the boat with His hair all wet, a smile on His face, dreaming of another place, and how we need to lie down by Jesus, and rest in Him while the storm rages on. I am not in a major storm today by any means, yet, anytime we are in “unpeace” , there is a storm brewing. So, I need to go to the bottom of the boat, lie down with Jesus, rest in Him, and allow His peace to fill me.

Ahhh, I’m feeling better already. Now, I can see the excitement of what I’ve been asked to do. New opportunities, new challenges, new relationships, new anointing! WhoooHooo!!!

Truth is, being stretched is good for us, regardless of how we may resist. Truth is, we should rejoice and get excited about our “stretching moments”.

Shalom

Jesus Understands

blessedwithpeace — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:52:58 +0000

“As he [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had known this day what would bring you peace…’“Luke 19:41-42 (NIV).

As Jesus came into Jerusalem, He began to weep…not for Himself…but He wept for others. Jesus could see into the hearts of those in Jerusalem. He saw the pain of their hearts…the pain of what they were going through and, the pain of what would come. Just as Jesus could see into the people’s hearts in Jerusalem, Jesus can see into my heart and into your heart. He sees the pain of our heart…the pain of what we’ve been through…the pain of what we are going through today…and Jesus sees the pain of what you and I will go through in the future.

Jesus understands the hurting heart. Jesus understands the pain of loneliness…the pain of physical illness…the pain of not having enough money to pay the bills. Jesus understands the pain of overwhelmingness…the pain of guilt…the pain of regrets…the pain of failure. Jesus even understands the pain of the fear of tomorrow. He knows. He cares, and I believe, just as He wept for His beloved Jerusalem, He weeps for us. Jesus cried out to His people in Jerusalem and He cries out to you and to me, with the words, “If you only knew what would bring you peace.”

What will bring us peace? Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)…He Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Regardless of what you and I are going through, Jesus can sustain us, comfort us and strengthen us.

Today is a new day…a new beginning. With each new sunrise we are blessed with a new beginning. Each beginning brings with it new hope. May we trust Jesus to help us and wait with hopeful expectation. As we wait, sing hymns of praise to God (even if you don’t feel like it) and experience the peace and the hope that will flood into our hearts as we praise Him.

Selah (Pause and Think About)

blessedwithpeace — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Now as He [Jesus] drew near, He saw the city [Jerusalem] and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!… (Luke 19:41-42);

I can see Jesus weeping over each one of us when we get stressed, worried, and/or fearful and anxious, saying the same words to each one of us, “If you only knew in this your day, the things that make for your peace”. The question is, what are the “things that make for our peace”? How can we take the “path to peace” instead of the path to fear, worry, anxiety, and stress? Selah (pause and think about).