Peace, July 11, 2008

Peace, July 11, 2008

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles--
...ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
...who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever...

Eph 3:1, 13-21 www.solascriptura.com

Father, Paul, a Jew, tried, as we know, to preach to the Jews about Jesus. They, for the most part, would not listen. It was no surprise to You that the Jews would not listen. You then sent him to preach to the Gentiles. Paul did so under great pressure and distress but here he tells us that his tribulations bring glory to us; salvation to us.

If and when we suffer for declaring You, Jesus, among men, we know that our tribulations bring glory to You. We never can out give You. What You did to redeem us exceeds anything we could have hoped for. Our manifest love for You is our response to Your love for us.

May we, this day, be strengthened in the inner man, be filled afresh with the Holy Spirit and willingly love and obey You. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

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Peace, June 16, 2008

Peace, June 16, 2008

And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Phil 4:3-13 www.solascriptura.com

Father, Paul was a wonderful messenger and his word rings as true today as it did then. Help us to join with Paul in serving You. Strengthen us, every day, to cope with whatever comes and help us trust in Your promised compassion and direction for every circumstance we face.

Jesus, help us this day to focus on what is good, noble, pure, lovely and virtuous. We know that is Your will for us. Remove all temptation and sin from our lives, minds and hearts, we pray, in Your Holy name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Forward to a friend:

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Peace, May 28, 2008

Peace, May 28, 2008

... we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

2 Pet 3:13-14 www.solascriptura.com

Father, all of our experiences are here and our points of reference are here, yet, Peter tells us that we are to look for new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells. We know that righteousness, for most people, does not dwell here. Sin abounds.

Help us, today, not to believe that life here is anything like life eternal. We know that perfect peace awaits us if we can but be diligent in our pursuit of a relationship with You. We say "pursuit" because we have learned that perfection awaits, it can not be fully grasped here.

We can only be without spot and blameless, Jesus, because of Your cleansing. We are able to approach the Father as a Friend because we are cloaked in Your righteousness. You, Jesus, are the pivot point upon which all of eternity turns. Without You and the ultimate sacrifice You made for us, our sins would still be with us.

Thank You God for providing such a perfect solution to our dilemma in this place. We pray in Jesus' Holy name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

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Peace, May 6, 2008

Peace, May 6, 2008

Flee... youthful lusts... pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

2 Timothy 2:22, Hebrews 12:14, www.solascriptura.com

Father, some of us are far too old to still be pursuing youthful lusts. Will Satan ever stop tempting us? We know the answer. Not only will he persist and we also know that You permit the temptations to come. But, at the same time You promise to get us through the temptations of life, if we will but turn to You and trust You (Go to I Corinthians 10:13 and memorize it!).

There will come a day when Satan is restrained and Your joy will reign in the hearts of men (The Millennium) and there will be an even better day when Satan and his allies are destroyed forever. Then, in heaven, we will find out what is like to enjoy Your peace, happiness and joy eternal.

We seek Your Holiness here, today, knowing that if we are unholy, we will never stand in Your presence. Lord, bestow upon us Your gifts today that we may be like You, now and forever. We pray in Jesus' Holy name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Forward to a friend:

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Peace, April 13, 2008

Peace, April 13, 2008

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Romans 15:4-5, Hebrews 13:8 www.solascriptura.com

Father, this says that whatever was written in the Scriptures was written for our learning. Oh how we need to read Your word as persons dying of thirst for more knowledge of You. Your prophets tell us that the day will come when the Word is no longer available. Here it is at our fingertips Lord. Help us, today, to commit to a plan of reading Your word daily.

You tell us that it is the Scriptures that give us hope. Would it be true Father that if we do not have Your word stored in our heart that, in times of need for Your instruction, we would be without hope? We all have some knowledge of the Scriptures, Father, but we know You would not have us remain as babes in that regard.

Strengthen our resolve to "listen to You" and to speak with You many times a day. You are the same, yesterday, today and forever. You are our Light, You are the Word in our hearts. Bless us we pray, in Jesus' name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Peace, March 21, 2008

Peace, March 21, 2008

...where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 3:16-18, www.solascriptura.com

Father, James, the half brother of Jesus, taught us some wonderful things and we are so grateful for his words. Here he reminds us that envy and self-seeking lead us into evil and confusion. We know, Father, that all people naturally seek to have more and better stuff. That instinct leads us into very immature behavior, at times.

We do seek Your blessing but help us to know why You have blessed us and why You will yet bless us. You have taught us that to whom much is given, much is required. Your blessings to us should cause us to want to be a blessing to others. That seems so right and so natural compared to being envious or self-seeking.

It is Your wisdom we seek, Your gentle and peaceful nature rendered to us without partiality. Help us to be helpful to others today, to deliver peace where there is strife and to trust You in all things. We pray in Jesus' Holy name, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Peace #28

...You are my strength.
Into Your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies' sake. Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!
You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; you shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Psalms 31:4-5, 16, 19-20, www.solascriptura.com

Father, without You, we often feel impotent, unable to cope with the challenges. But when our hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit, we acquire Your strength. We have not only committed our spirit but we have gained redemption at the same time.

Your face continually shines upon us, Your mercies are ever-present. The fact that heaven awaits, a place of perfection beyond our present understanding, motivates us to seek more of Your presence now.

Then You tell us that You hide us from the plots of man, You protect us from the strife that would overtake us without Your care. Help us today to look inward and to consider what it means to be in a secret place with You. We are never alone and never in only our strength. We thank You Jesus. Amen.
Bruce Caldwell