YEAR 2, WEEK 22, Day 5, Friday, 2 June 2023

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 2 June 2023:

Isaiah 26:3, 12 — You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you…. O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.

• Proverbs 14:27 — The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
• Hebrews 3:7, 8, 11, 18, 19 — Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness…. “They shall not enter my rest” …. And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Are you experiencing a life of peace and rest, despite circumstances around you? Is your peaceful, restful spirit evident to those around you, a visible testimony to your faith and hope in Jesus? Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Today, Isaiah tells us that the secret to peace, perfect peace, is trusting God and keeping our minds “stayed” on Him with the knowledge that He has “ordained” peace for us and does “for us all our works” – His power, not ours. In Matthew 14, Peter, with his eyes affixed on Jesus, trusted Jesus enough to walk on water, ever closer to Jesus. Only when Peter took His eyes off Jesus and shifted his focused on the storm around him did he become afraid and begin to sink – “Lord save me.” (Matthew 14:30) Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)

Today in Hebrews, Paul tells us that rest is found in belief that listens to the Lord and obeys the Lord. Proverbs adds that the fountain of life is honoring and obeying God. As the old hymn goes, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

• Romans 15:13 — May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
• 1 Corinthians 14:33 — For God is not a God of confusion but of peace
• Ephesians 2:14 — For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
• Colossians 3:15 — And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
• 2 Thessalonians 3:16 — Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
• 2 Peter 1:2 — May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
  2 Corinthians 6:3-10 — We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

How do you rejoice while enduring hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger, slander, dishonor, poverty, and sorrow? How do you endure such things with patience, kindness, genuine love, and even joy? Only by being overwhelmed by the grace of God, by being crucified with Christ and raised to new life in Him, by trusting God’s perfect providence through all circumstances, and by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. This sort living isn’t natural, it is supernatural. A positive mental attitude, positive self-talk, and resolute willpower are valuable but not enough. Moses wasn’t humble enough, Solomon wasn’t wise enough, and Peter wasn’t courageous enough; nor are you sufficient in your own virtues to live the life that can only be lived in Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

To prove the point, just consider how well on a daily basis you live out 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 — “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” This seems impossible — “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)

With Bible commands such as, “Fear not…. Resist…. Endure….” etc., we are tempted to attempt to muscle our way through it, relying on our own strength, rather than the power of God, relying on our natural abilities rather than the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Where we appear successful, we tend to glorify ourselves rather than God, and we become vulnerable to hubris and sin. On the contrary, when we rely on the power of God and demonstrate virtues beyond our natural abilities, He is glorified, and we remain rightfully humble, which also produces grace in us (forgiveness, generosity, and genuine love towards others) as well as increased faith and hope in God who continues to demonstrate His love and faithfulness in our lives. Walk in the Spirit.

• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
• Romans 5:5 — And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
• 2 Timothy 1:7 — For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
• Galatians 5:16 — But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
• Galatians 5:22-26 — But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
• Romans 8:9 — You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
• Romans 8:14 — For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
• Romans 8:13 — For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
• John 14:26 — But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 2 June 2023: Today, trust and obey, and remain peaceful and restful by keeping your mind stayed on the Lord rather than the worries of the world. Seek to walk in the Spirit today rather than solely in your own abilities. Abide in Christ, and practice the presence of God throughout the day. Journal your experience.