The Biblical Path To Peace

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9 NIV).

Americans are more stressed than ever. A 2017 American Psychological Association “Stress in America Survey” showed that those polled were more stressed about the country’s future than at any time in the survey’s 10-year history. We are stressed about more than our country’s future. We worry about our families, jobs, and retirement. Others worry if their car will start in the morning or if they will have enough money to pay for their medications. Stress is deadly. As of June 2018, suicide rates in the US are up 30 percent since 1999. Stress is a silent killer that leads to heart attacks, stroke, and other serious health problems.

The Bible tells us over and over not to worry about tomorrow, food, or even what clothes to wear. In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus exhorts us not to worry because God knows what we need and there is no value to worry. It won’t add a single hour to our life. In fact, it will likely reduce hours from our lives!

Chapter 4 of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is another great reminder to not worry. In fact, it provides the solution to worry – peace. Imagine the joy if we were not “anxious about anything.” Paul is suggesting in verse 6 to take each worry captive and turn it into a prayer with thanksgiving for what we currently have and a petition for what we think we need. Verse 7 is our reward for obedience to verse 6. The peace of God, which human words cannot even begin to describe, will be ours and it will guard our hearts and minds because we are in Christ Jesus. If we are in Christ, then worry cannot be in us. Verse 8 is telling us the importance of our thoughts which is reinforced in 2 Cor. 10:5. We should feed our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. This is health food for our brain. In verse 9 Paul is telling us that the “God of peace” can be with us. Obedience to the Word will lead to God’s peace. This means obedience to Holy Scripture and God. It is nice to know Holy Scripture, but the key is to obey it and live it.

Prayer: Dear God, We are stressed out, but we take comfort knowing that when we are weak, we are strong if we abide in you. Help us to not be anxious but to find joy in all situations. We thank you for the blessing of presenting our requests to you with thanksgiving. Dear God help us find the peace that transcends all understanding and keep our hearts and our minds focused on you and your righteousness. Amen.

Meet the Author

Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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Attention Fathers! Little Eyes Are Watching

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18 ESV).

Theodore and Nancy Faust Sizer authored the book The Students are Watching. The Sizers wrote about classrooms and schools, explaining that students learn from what their teachers do and say, and also from the things their teachers do not do or say. One significant finding from the book was “They watch us all the time. The students, that is. They listen to us sometimes. They learn from all that watching and listening.” Children are also learning at home. They are watching both parents. Daughters look to their father to understand what is a Godly man. Sons learn from their father how to treat women. Much of what our children learn at home is learned by watching.

The most important thing with children is what you do, not what you say. How effective is it for a father to tell his son not to use tobacco while the father is smoking a cigarette? As a young

boy, I was always watching my father. I understood that his words were true because they were supported by his actions. I was blessed because he brought me up in accordance with Ephesians 6:4. “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” My father not only made sure I attended church to hear the Word proclaimed, but he did his best to model authentic manhood for me by showing kindness to strangers, those in need, and loving my mother.

Our prisons are filled with young men that grew up without a father present in the house. Sadly, many times when the father was present he was not engaged in raising the child. Proverbs 22:6 teaches us, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

It has been said that the best sermons are lived and not preached. This is not meant to diminish the importance of the spoken Word. The Word is powerful and is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It is meant to emphasize the importance of what we do because little eyes are watching to see if our actions correspond to our words.

Prayer: Thank you for the blessing of children. May be always be mindful of our joyful responsibility to properly raise them. Keep us mindful of our words and actions so that they will help us to raise up children that seek you first. Amen.

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Thanksgiving Is Not Just For November

“Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 GW).

I love Thanksgiving! It is a fun time of year to get together with family, eat some great home cooked meals, and watch football. Thanksgiving is a time for us to reflect on the past year and identify things which we are thankful. In some families, they go around the table and each person states one or two things for which they are thankful.

God has blessed us with many emotions with which we can express ourselves. Perhaps the healthiest of which is gratitude. Studies have shown that people that live a life of gratitude are at increased immunity to sickness and are generally happier. We all know an ungrateful person. They are never satisfied, and never seem to have enough power, money, houses, etc. I think many ungrateful people are not consciously ungrateful but are simply caught up in the “when and then” game. They are extremely focused on solving a problem and “when” it is resolved “then” they will relax and be happy. I have fallen into this trap before. The problem of course is that some problems can never be resolved and while we are working on one problem, another one or two will always occur. So, our happiness becomes postponed indefinitely.

Each day is a day made by our Lord and we should rejoice and be glad in it. Live and enjoy today! Tomorrow is not even promised so there is no need to worry about it. Yes, we need to prepare for retirement and do other things for our future benefit but there is nothing to gain by worrying about today or tomorrow. Matthew 6:34 teaches us, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

If we can learn to be thankful in all situations, then we truly cast all of our anxiety on Him and not be tempted to take it back. First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this.”

Gratitude can change everything. I had a friend tell me once that if you are feeling depressed, sit down and make a list of all the things you are grateful for. I am 48 years old and can quickly produce a list of at least 100 things. That would have been a challenge years ago. Here is a eye opener- some day you will be able to write down a few “bad” things on the list. For example, you may have been laid off from a job years ago but were later able to find a much better job. God turned the negative into a positive and for that you have something to add to your grateful list!

Prayer: Dear God, Create in us a grateful heart that is truly thankful for all of the blessings that you have given us. Thank you for turning negative life experiences into blessings. Help us to great each day with prayers of thanksgiving. We love, need, and trust you. Amen.

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Make Today Count

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV).

Time is a precious commodity. It is a gift from God, and we should be good stewards of our time as with any other gift. Certainly, the devil is interested in misuse of your time. If he can cheat you of your time, he can cheat you of your heavenly treasure. Perhaps the last thing that he is loath to let go is time. His game is to cheat you of today and the next day by whatever means necessary. For some it is procrastination – let’s do that tomorrow. For others, it may be to conjure up past mistakes and keep your focus on past problems and rob you of the joy of today and the forgiveness and grace that comes from Jesus.

Our focus must be on the present if we are to be good stewards of our time. This was the message of Paul in Hebrews 3:13, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,”

so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” We should be intentional in using our time to honor God. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

Each day we decide whom we will serve as we are taught in Joshua 24:15. “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

To make the most of your time, you must discern what’s most important. Yes, it is impossible for one person to “do it all.” God does not expect you to do everything. He does expect you to use your gifts and talents to make wise decisions that will have a meaningful impact on His kingdom. The greatest gift that God has given you is salvation by Jesus Christ. The second greatest gift you were given in life is the freedom to choose.

When you haven’t clarified what you want out of life, you’re indecisive all the time because you can’t do what’s good until you decide what’s good. You can’t do what’s important until you decide what’s important. Pray and talk to your pastor about how you can use your time to honor God. Maybe your pastor has been praying for somebody with a heart for evangelism to join the evangelism committee, and you have such a heart. When you use your time wisely, you are honoring God, and He will certainly bless your efforts.

Prayer: Dear God, We live in a world with so many distractions that take our focus away from you. Help us to honor you with all that we do. Amen.

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Wrestling With God

“Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’” (Genesis 32:26 NLT).

I love the visual image of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32:22-32. This is a powerful story, and it raises many questions. Obviously, God could have overpowered Jacob and ended things instantly. Why did God let the struggle go on?

Here’s the lesson: When God allows, note-He does not create the crisis, a crisis into your life, He doesn’t solve it immediately. He uses the crisis as an opportunity to see if you’re really serious about seeking Him. If God answered every prayer immediately, you’d begin to think God was a big vending machine: Put in a prayer, pull out whatever you need.

If God just instantly bailed you out of a crisis rooted in your poor choices, then tomorrow you would likely do the same thing again. You wouldn’t learn discipline, or money management, or wisdom, or persistence. God is not just going to bail you out of the debt you got yourself into; He will help you get out of debt, but He wants to build your character in the process. We have many struggles in life, but perhaps our biggest struggle is with God because we want control of things. In short, we want to play God.

Jacob tried to control his life to such an extent that he even wanted to change the order of his birth. Jacob was a twin, and the Bible teaches that when he came out of his mother’s womb, he was clinging to his older brother’s ankle, grappling to be the first one out. He spent a lifetime in conflict with his brother, Esau, but his biggest battle was with God. One night he even tried to go one-on-one with God. Some people want to debate whether Jacob actually wrestled with God, but the Bible tells us in Hosea: “Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God” (Hosea 12:3).

One thing that is certain from the beginning of time to the end of time – humans have problems. Our problems provide with opportunities for great spiritual growth. However, for that growth to happen it requires a response on our part. We must choose if will we obey God in this situation and follow Him regardless of our desires. Also, we must choose if we truly trust God and will turn the problem over to Him to resolve in His time and His manner.

No matter what our problem is—financial, physical, relational, social, or vocational—we tend not to focus on the real problem. The real problem is not obeying and trusting God, and that makes the problem bigger.

Prayer: Dear God, please draw us close to you as we struggle with our problems. Give us the confidence that you walk with us in the darkest of valleys. Amen.

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Faith is the Cure for Stress

“Since He did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t He also surely give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32 TLB).

The major cause of stress in your life is worry. Worry is a sign that we do not have faith in God to meet our needs.

Worry can come from three sources:

1) Ourselves- We worry about our ability to survive tomorrow and neglect the blessing of today. Matthew 6:26-27 teaches us, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

2) Society- We worry about our ability to keep up with the neighbors. “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2).

3) The enemy – The devil plants worry and doubt in our minds through any means necessary (television, music, dreams, etc.). “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

We all have stress and anxiety. I think what is important is how we deal with that stress. A little bit is natural and no problem. It can be helpful and protect us from dangerous situations. But when chronic stress is experienced, the body makes more of a drug known as cortisol than it has a chance to release. And that is a bad thing. Because stress can kill brain cells and even reduce the size of the brain. Chronic stress has a shrinking effect on the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning. And yes, sadly, stress can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and death. I have seen people consumed by stress and you probably have too.

If you want a cure for stress, learn to look to God to meet your needs. We should never put your security in anything that can be taken away. We can lose a job, health, spouse, but you cannot lose your relationship with Christ. These are all fine but can all be destroyed. God certainly wants us to have a good job, health, and family. However, if our identity is based on these things then that is bad because of the fragile nature of anything earthly. The Word teaches us in Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Every time you start to get stressed out, pause and say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). God has promised in the Scriptures that he will meet your needs. We honor that promise when we walk with Him in faith.

Prayer: Dear good and gracious God, we are your children. We know you love us. Help us to walk with you in faith. As the anxiety leaves our souls, we ask you to fill the void with your grace and love. We long for a peace that transcends all understanding. Amen.

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Finding Peace

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:25 NIV).

One of my greatest desires is peace. However, it also can be one of the most elusive. I “postpone” peace until some task is completed. The problem is that some tasks can often go on for years, if not for a lifetime. As I hurriedly try to check items off my “to do” list, more items are added.

A friend recently told me that I should focus on discerning what it is that God wants me to learn, see, or do while waiting for Him to act rather than trying to prayerfully “nudge” Him to move faster. This was God-breathed advice because he was providing me a roadmap to both honor God and find peace. I later read my favorite chapter of the Bible, Romans 8, and was particularly struck by the 25^th verse. “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:25).

I shared a recent devotional on patience with a close friend and asked for his comments. I shared with Him how I was seeking peace but lacking in patience. He told me that we cannot dwell in peace without some semblance of patience. Perhaps when I am waiting on God, He is waiting on me. Isaiah 30:18 tells us “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” I don’t think any of us want to get into a “waiting game” with God. Time is meaningless to God as indicated in 2 Peter 3:8-9. So even though we may be impatient with Him, He remains patient with us.

James 5:7 encourages us to be patient and know that there will be a great harvest. “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.”

A lack of patience is a mental, physical, and spiritual drain. This is a fruit of the enemy. This is not what Jesus intended based on John 10:10. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” An abundant life is one in which we wait upon the Lord and renew our strength. We mount up with wings as eagles and run and will not be weary. We walk and will not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

Prayer: Dear God we confess that all too often we seek to do things our way and do not prayerfully consider your will for us. Help us to seek your will in all that we do and to have the courage, confidence, and strength to knowingly wait for you to act at the perfect time and in the perfect manner. We love you, need you, and trust in you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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Understanding Our Emotions

¹⁶“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:16-21 ESV).

As Christians, we all want to follow Jesus but often struggle to actually put it into practice. The day to day grind can lead us astray and put our focus on earthly desires. For example, Peter loved Jesus, but his focus was temporarily on himself and not God. Peter did not want Jesus to die and was rebuked by Jesus. ”Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns (Matthew 16:23).” Peter, a disciple of Jesus, was living in the flesh in this moment.

Paul identifies the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19 and they are often evident in our life when we are distant from God. In these circumstances, we are prone to anger, jealousy, and engage in divisions. In short, we tear each other down rather than build each other up. However, no

matter how much you tear somebody else down, it will never bring you up. Sexual immorality and alcohol will feed the flesh but ultimately leave us empty. In the flesh, we are jealous of our neighbor’s accomplishments and we seek out divisions based on race, religion, gender, etc. as means to attempt to comfort ourselves, but such actions will always fail us.

Our emotions are a gift from good and can provide us with many benefits. However, our emotions also have the potential to generate actions and words that divide us rather than unite us. When we feel hurt, angry, betrayed, or jealous, we should ask ourselves a few questions to better understand the situation.

“What’s the real reason I’m feeling this?” Maybe the answer is an unresolved past event. Maybe it relates to something a family member or friend member said or did to you years ago. When someone else says something similar, and even though it’s been decades, that person becomes the target of all your pent-up anger.

“Is it true?” Is what you’re feeling at that moment true? Anger by itself is not always bad. Jesus was angry at the money changers at the temple for cheating the people with unfair currency exchange to enter the temple. It was true that His Father’s house had become a den of thieves. However, often our anger is based on false assumptions. The Bible tells about a time when the world was in anarchy because of our reliance on our personal feelings: “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25 ).

“Is what I’m feeling helping me or hurting me?” Many of our feelings we have seem natural, but they’re actually self-defeating. This is why Scripture teaches us to “take each thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5) and exam it.

“Who is the author of this feeling?” If you watch an advertisement on television that shows children dying due to lack of food and water and you become angry, then God has placed that emotion into your brain. However, if you watch television and see a beautiful house of a Hollywood actor and feel jealous, then that is clearly the work of the enemy that is seeking to divide and destroy.

Prayer: Dear God: We thank you for the gift of our emotions. Help us to use them wisely so that they will stir us into action that builds up our neighbors. Amen.

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Self-Control Can Vanquish Weakness In Trying Times

“A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back” (Proverbs 29:11 NASB).

The Bible teaches us that self-control is essential to living a Christian life. We must exercise our self-control or we become controlled by our weakness. Whether it is food, alcohol, drugs or pornography, the enemy knows our weakness better than we do and will encourage us to go to it rather than to God in times of need. Our lives can soon be dominated by our weakness and we are living completely in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. Self-control is the very essence of “dying to self” and living in righteousness with God. Our righteousness cannot and will not ever come from ourselves, but only as a means of grace from God as a result of totally surrendering ourselves to His will and becoming His disciple.

If you are struggling with self-control, first begin with prayer and ask God for His help. Then, go into the Bible and study and memorize some particular verses that speak to you and your situation. My “go to” verse when my patience is growing thin is Proverbs 29:11. “A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back.” We must remember that all wisdom comes from God. So how does one obtain wisdom? James 1:5 tells us that “if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

The exercise of self-control will not only keep us away from our temptations, but will allow us to be a powerful witness for God. You may wonder how can I be a good witness for God by exercising self-control? The best witness is one who demonstrates his faith with his actions. St. Francis of Assisi encouraged people to speak the gospel wherever they go and use words when necessary.

Self-control will allow you to remain silent when verbally attacked. It will allow you to respond with love when confronted with hate. Self-control will also keep you pure when you are alone. Self-control will also keep you sane in times of great adversity such as a flooded home, divorce or loss of a family member. We freely and willingly yield control of ourselves to God. Instead of worrying about what will happen, we should stand steadfast in His promise of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Self-control does not mean that we are to go it alone. Life is tough and we need fellow Christians for the journey. We need accountability groups that are small, honest and safe so we can be vulnerable and encouraging to each other. Christ encouraged us to come to Him with our burdens and He will give us rest. Read Matthew 11 and then fasten your yoke to a friend.

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for the Fruit of Spirit of self control. Please help us to display self control in all situations. Amen.

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Leading Life Abundantly

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV).

I have talked to many men that have expressed an inner emptiness. Life is boring and seems to have no real purpose. Many of these men are very successful businessmen and want for no material items. It would be somewhat trite to say all they need is some Jesus. Indeed, Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). I believe that for a person to lead a fulfilled life you must live in God’s power. 1 Cor. 4:20 teaches us, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” So, how do we access this power?

1. First, we must realize that God is God and we are not. His ways are perfect, and He desires nothing but good for us. We tend to trust ourselves and make decisions without prayerful consideration of His will. However, we tend to only trust ourselves or maybe our spouse or a friend. Yes, God can and does speak through others and we should seek counsel from both. However, we eventually must choose who will we follow – ourselves or God. Psalm 118:8 is a favorite scripture of mine. “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” People will let you down. God never will. We may not always understand His ways, but we love and trust Him.

2. In order to tap into the power of the kingdom, we must first seek it. Matthew 6:33 encourages us to, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” So, how do we seek God? “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). We seek with all of our heart when we give our lives to Him. God will not bless self-reliant people. You may be financially successful and self-reliant, but recall the inner emptiness I talked about earlier? God blesses those that are dependent upon him and surrendered to Him. Matthew 5:5-9 tells us exactly who are blessed.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).”

3. The power of the kingdom comes from a direct relationship with God. We can cultivate that relationship by prayer and listening, studying Holy Scripture and discussing it with fellow Christians in small groups to gain a deeper understanding, worship, and talking and praying for and with your pastor. Each day strap on the Armor of God! “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10-11). Note the reference to “His mighty power.” The Apostle Paul describes the full armor in subsequent verses.

Prayer: Dear Father, Thank you for the opportunity to live life abundantly. Thank you for providing the path to do so. Please keep us on the path. We yearn for living water and to see Your face. Help us to seek first Your kingdom and righteousness. Amen.

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The Biblical Path To Peace

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Attention Fathers! Little Eyes Are Watching

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Thanksgiving Is Not Just For November

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Make Today Count

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Wrestling With God

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Faith is the Cure for Stress

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Finding Peace

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Understanding Our Emotions

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Self-Control Can Vanquish Weakness In Trying Times

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Leading Life Abundantly

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