mrtonyfrench

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

John 14:27

A great need in our day is the need for peace. The world which God’s people inhabit is filled with chaos, conflict, and even violence. In other words, our society is anything but peaceful.

Nevertheless, Christians can have peace. Believers are promised serenity that Jesus gives. Peace is available to those who believe in Christ. And it’s a peace that is unlike anything this world can offer.

The Lord’s people have peace in Christ because He has saved us, sanctified us, and secured us for all of eternity. Jesus is our provider, our sustainer, and our friend. He knows all that we face and He is kind and compassionate toward us at all times.

Do you have relationship with God through Christ Jesus? Have you believed in Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins and received the gift of eternal life? Lasting, life-changing peace is only available to those who have been adopted into God’s family by trusting in Christ alone. Trust in the Savior for your salvation. Trust in Him today!

Tony French

Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Luke 22:46

Just before Jesus’ destiny at the cross He withdraws to pray in Gethsemane. Christ asks His disciples to pray with Him, yet, they cannot stay awake. Jesus finds them sleeping and implores them to rise and pray to avoid temptation. Let’s look these two words for a moment.

“Rise”—The disciples needed to awake from their slumber. There were vulnerable to temptation and they didn’t even realize it.

God’s people in our day also must arise and awake from our spiritual stupor. We are being bombarded every day with deceptive messages that come against us in every area of life. Let us arise and be awake to the schemes of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

“Pray”—Christ’s followers are also commanded to pray in this verse. Praying keeps temptation away. It’s difficult to pray and commune with God and be drawn away in deceit at the same time. Pray, child of God.

I don’t mean to imply that Christians who pray never sin. That certainly is not the truth. I do mean to say that Christians who have healthy prayer lives are less apt to give in to sinful practices. The work of sanctification the Holy Spirit performs on heart of the Believer serves as protection from the schemes of the evil one.

If we desire to avoid temptation, then we must seek God. Our hearts will either be moving closer to God away from the Lord. Prayer does many things for Believers. And praying keeps the Christians heart and mind focused on God and not the things of the world. Let me end by saying it this way. To keep temptation away, rise and pray.

Tony French

Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Luke 22:46

Just before Jesus’ destiny at the cross He withdraws to pray in Gethsemane. Christ asks His disciples to pray with Him, yet, they cannot stay awake. Jesus finds them sleeping and implores them to rise and pray to avoid temptation. Let’s look these two words for a moment.

“Rise”—The disciples needed to awake from their slumber. There were vulnerable to temptation and they didn’t even realize it.

God’s people in our day also must arise and awake from our spiritual stupor. We are being bombarded every day with deceptive messages that come against us in every area of life. Let us arise and be awake to the schemes of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

“Pray”—Christ’s followers are also commanded to pray in this verse. Praying keeps temptation away. It’s difficult to pray and commune with God and be drawn away in deceit at the same time. Pray, child of God.

I don’t mean to imply that Christians who pray never sin. That certainly is not the truth. I do mean to say that Christians who have healthy prayer lives are less apt to give in to sinful practices. The work of sanctification the Holy Spirit performs on heart of the Believer serves as protection from the schemes of the evil one.

If we desire to avoid temptation, then we must seek God. Our hearts will either be moving closer to God away from the Lord. Prayer does many things for Believers. And praying keeps the Christians heart and mind focused on God and not the things of the world. Let me end by saying it this way. To keep temptation away, rise and pray.

Tony French

“Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or forsake them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God.

Nehemiah 9:13

God is gracious. He is gracious to His people. God extends mercy to those who do deserve it the least and extends pity and empathy to those who are far from Him. The Lord withholds what we truly deserve (punishment, separation, judgment) and gives us what we cannot merit (relationship with God).

God is gracious in the good times. His love and compassion are abundant when His blessings flow. Seeing the grace of God when the sun shines is an easy task indeed.

God is gracious in the difficult times. His mercy is great and new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23) The faithfulness of the Lord is unmatched. He is gracious when the storm clouds gather and when the rains fall.

The God of the universe is gracious at all times. We cannot earn His grace and we don’t ever come to a state of deserving God’s Love. Through Christ Jesus, the Lord is gracious and forgives, saves, restores, and secures those who trust in Him for evermore.

God, is, gracious!

Tony French

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1

The debt is paid. The debt of sin that every Believer owed to God has been paid in full. Jesus Christ has brought us peace with God. The debt is paid.

Christians are now fully justified by faith in the sight of the Lord. The debt of sin was erased through the Savior’s death on the cross. Believers are then given the righteousness of Christ through His resurrection. (Romans 4:25)

Paul tells us further So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. (Romans 5:18) We are saved, sanctified, secured, and justified forevermore through Christ Jesus. Nothing can change that fact!

Rejoice, Christian. Give praise to the Lord, Child of God. You’re past has been forgiven and your future is bright. Why? The debt has been paid!

Tony French

In Philippians 3:12, Paul speaks of “pressing forward” or “pressing on” in his life with Christ. Even though things didn’t always go well with Paul (he probably penned those words from a prison cell), Paul was not content to stay where He was spiritually. He always seemed to be looking for the next opportunity for growth and advancement in the Kingdom life.

It is important to remember God’s past provisions. Doing so enables us to feel secure in the present. At the same time, as long as we are on this earth, let us continue to look to the future as we await the coming of the Lord. Let us not be comfortable and satisfied with our Christian life as it is at this time.

God has much He desires to accomplish through us. There are many who need the Gospel. Many around us need a verbal and practical presentation of the Gospel that saves. Let us commit to serving and working until this life is over.

It’s not always easy to look to the future. At times, the present seems difficult and hard to overcome. Yet, we can always hope for something greater. We should continually be seeking to grow and learn even in the most difficult of times.

Don’t give up dear believer.  God is still on the throne. His Word is still true.  And, the best is yet to come!

Let us consider our Lord today! Let us consider the one we serve. Who is the Lord?

The Lord is good.

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The Lord is loving and kind.

Psalm 107:43 Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate.

Psalm 111:4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.

The Lord is worthy of praise.

Psalm 113:2 Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.

The Lord is our creator.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

May God bless you with a glorious day!

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:19)  Peter’s words seem strangely out of place for us today. In our age and time, we seem to value to comfort and ease above most anything else. It is for this reason that Peter’s teaching (as inspired by the Spirit of God) strikes us so forcefully.

As Christians, we will suffer. Suffering is not limited merely to the realm of the wicked. The righteous also endure pain and agony as we traverse this life.

We want to think that following Christ will somehow exempt us from suffering.  But, the hard truth remains that Believers struggle with physical hurts, material deficiency, relational pain, and emotional injuries. Suffering occurs in everyone’s life at some point.

There will be times that we will even suffer as a result of following God. Peter says that those who “suffer according to God’s will” should continue to follow God and love others. Following Christ may result in particular pains as those in the world reject us, harm us, and smear us.

In those times of heartache, remember that God is with you. (John 14:8)  We should also understand that all who follow a righteous path will suffer. (Matthew 5:12) And we ought to consider that Christ suffered for us. (1 Peter 2:21)

We can make it through difficult times. The pain that we endure is only temporary. We await a day when we will be with Jesus. In Heaven, all suffering, heartache, and pain will cease. (Revelation 21:1-7) Even so, come Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)

Let us consider a few thoughts about the goodness of God from the Scriptures.

**God’s goodness is the displayed in His mercy.

Isaiah 60:10 “The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, And their kings shall minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, But in My favor I have had mercy on you.

**God’s goodness is granted unto those who seek Him in righteousness.

Psalm 5:12 For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

**God’s goodness will lead us to repentance and relationship with God through Christ Jesus.

**Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

God’s goodness calls people to salvation.

Titus 3:4-5 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

God is eternally good!

Holiness is a moral attribute of God. At its core, holiness means to be distinct, set apart. The biblical word “holy” (as it applies to God) carries with it the idea of God being separate and distinct from any other person or anything else in the entirety of the universe. Holiness also imparts the fact that God (being uncreated and eternal) “does not depend on anyone or anything to bring Him into existence or to sustain Him in being.” [1]

 God’s holiness means He is majestic and powerful. The Scriptures declare “There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.  (1 Samuel 2:2) God is above and beyond all His creation. He is sovereign over all creation.

 Isaiah’s vision of God holiness was breathtaking and awesome. Around the throne of God, the angels cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3). Nothing can compare to the God of Scripture.

In Revelation 4, John gives us a companion scene to Isaiah’s vision. The cries of “Holy, Holy, Holy” rise up continually amidst the throne of God. He is awesome, mighty, and powerful. No one can resist His plans.

Dear fellow Believer, the God of the Bible is holy. The God we serve and owe everything to, He is Holy, Holy, Holy. He calls us to be holy and separate as well. “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 6:7) He is holy. Therefore, we should seek holiness every day.

Tony French

[1] Feinberg, John S., No One Like Him, pg. 340