ADVENT SERIES: JOY EVEN IN HARD TIMES

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

James 1:2-3

“...the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Joy.

It’s the main theme of this third week in the Advent season, a time when Christians excitedly anticipate the celebration of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

When we think about joy, we always get a vision of extreme happiness and bliss. We think of good times, past and present, that could involve family, friends, or accomplishments and blessings experienced.

Wouldn’t it be great if life was always this way?

Unfortunately, we know all too well it isn’t. Things aren’t always rainbows and unicorns all the time, as they say. Rather, we can face a multitude of hardship, difficulty, and affliction that sometimes comes suddenly, at times we least expect.

These events have a tendency to turn our content and peace upside down, often throwing us into uncertainty and turmoil. The sunshine that brought light to life all of a sudden gets covered over by the clouds of stress, depression, anxiety, and worry. Optimism gives way to gloom.

Maybe you’ve been there before and can relate to what I’m saying. Maybe you’re there right now on the cusp of Christmas and there doesn’t seem to be any joy in your world.

Indeed, it seems completely counterintuitive for us while in the flesh to even grasp the concept of being blessed with joy even in the midst of trials and tough circumstances but that’s exactly what we find the scriptures conveying to us in today’s two excerpts.

James, the half brother of Jesus, writes this:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3

Here we find that believers are to consider the trials of life to be “pure joy”.

"Huh? How could anyone possibly do that?” we might ask.

We see the answer is found in looking past the hardship and to the One who holds the power to handle it, delivering us in the process. You see, it’s easy to have faith in the Lord when everything is going great. The real testing of our faith is when ordeals happen in life that bring distress and even chaos into our solitude for it’s during this episodes that God seeks to refine our faith.

Consider how fine metals like gold and silver are purified. This is impossible in their solid, stable state. In order to start the purification process, the metal needs to be superheated to where it reaches a liquid state. Once there, the heavier impurities in the metal float to the surface and can be skimmed off. Then, the metal is poured back into forms where it cools and hardens, a better version of itself because of the purification it went through.

This is a perfect illustration of what the Lord wants to do when we are under the fires of tribulation in life. The times of misfortune superheat us and in that place, the Lord skims away any impurities that are within our faith, impurities that rise to the surface of our souls. Once He has brought us to the other side of our adversity and things cool down back towards stability, we are better and stronger as Christians because our faith has been tested and purified.

I don’t know what you might be going through today as you read this and I certainly don’t know what the future holds for you or me but I do know that things aren’t always going to be easy. During those times, let’s remember that we serve a Lord who transcends all worldly issues and sorrows, a Lord who we can find joy in, even in misfortune, because there’s nothing that is impossible for Him, nothing He isn’t capable of doing...and this includes helping us in our times of deepest needs.

When times get rough and troubles come, let’s embrace this reminder given to us by the Lord as He speaks through His servant leader, Nehemiah:

“...the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10b

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: JOY STIRS UP SONGS OF PRAISE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Psalm 33:1-3

I will praise you with the harp for Your faithfulness, my God; I will sing praise to You with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You—I whom You have delivered.

Psalm 71:22-23

Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:44

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.

Psalm 95:1-2

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Psalm 98:4-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Where would we be without music in the world?

Have you ever stopped to consider it?

I don’t know about you but it would really subtract from life, especially as Christian believers as it is such an important element of every worship service.

As we see in our scripture passages today, this was also true back in biblical times and it should be of no surprise that we find so many wonderful references to song in the Book of Psalms. After all, psalms by definition are either songs or poems that are used to worship the one true God. What a blessing it is to have a whole book of these at our disposal in the Holy Bible!

Looking at five excerpts from the Psalms, look at how joy is a common theme, just as it is for this third week in the season of Advent as we excitedly anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Indeed, it is out of this happiness within our hearts in response to all the Lord has faithfully done, is doing, and is yet to do that we find a wellspring of thanksgiving, gratitude, and praise welling up from our hearts and souls, a wellspring needing expression through jubilant shouts and songs of joy...and we have the best outlet possible for both when we enter into worship. It was true in the Old and New Testaments and it remains true today.

As we see in the scriptures, these songs of joy can be brought to the Lord either instrumentally, through singing, or via a combination of the two. We read where joy-filled praise could be produced by skillfully playing the harp, the ten-stringed lyre, trumpets, and even a ram’s horn. It could also come from the lips of the righteous through declaration of joy and songs of gladness to the God who loves, provides, protects, delivers, and ultimately saves His people.

Today, we can see joy conveyed through songs played on keyboards, guitars, and drums in worship environments, usually accompanying worship leaders who lead the congregation in singing to the Lord who is the King and the Rock of salvation, the One through which eternal hope is found that makes any Christian believers glad for all their days, in this life and the heavenly one yet to come.

Thanks be to God for the gift of music we use to joyfully worship and adore Him, carrying on the traditions of His people well over 2,000 years ago. Let us always seek to lift up our voices and/or play our instruments to Him with thanksgiving and praise, not just on Sunday but every day that He blesses us to live and serve Him and others.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: OUR JOY IS THE LORD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Psalm 43:4

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we enter the third week of the Advent season, a time when all Christian believers are to prepare their hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

As we learned at the start of the season, there are four weeks to Advent, each with their own theme. Week one was centered on hope and last week was fixed on the matter of peace with a seven message series associated with each. Today, we begin week three with a series on its theme: joy.

So where does the biblical discussion of joy begin?

It’s the same place that we started with hope and peace prior, the Lord Almighty, the One who is the source of all things.

Indeed, the joy of all believers is grounded in and anchored to the Lord. We see this evident in the words of the psalmist found in the forty-third Psalm, verse 4:

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Here we read wonderful words of devotion that are concentrated on worship so to extol God. The psalmist expresses a commitment to go to the altar of God so to praise Him because He, the Lord, was his (the psalmist’s) joy and delight.

Before I move on here, it’s important to visit the definition for joy, for then we can use that meaning to expound on the qualities of God that bring it (joy) to us. At its core, joy is simply a feeling of great happiness or pleasure and so in order to see how the Lord is our joy, we only need to understand what it is about Him that brings these things to us.

Now, I don’t know about you but I only need to go as far as giving thanks for waking up every morning to find reason to be happy and pleasured. For each time I awake from slumber, I am experiencing God’s grace and provision in its purest, simplest sense through recognizing and being grateful for the gift of life.

This present life is only happening because my heart beats and I am able to breathe in and exhale over and over and over again. This brings me joy in knowing that the very One who created me is the same One who sustains me so my body can function to carry out His purposes.

Friends, I could go on and on and on about things that make me happy, things that bring joy in my life like my mother, wife, daughters, grandchildren, my church and the extended family in Christ, the gifts God has given me to serve Him and others which include me composing this right now, my health, etc., etc, etc. Maybe you could make your own list but even though we might have difference things that bring joy the source of those things remains the same, the Lord Almighty.

Given this, my prayer over this third week of Advent is that you will fully experience the happiness and pleasure found in the One who made the way for Jesus, the real reason for the season. I could write my own wish of blessing on you but the Apostle Paul already wrote something better than I could do on my own so I’ll close with his words found in the fifteenth chapter of his letter to the Romans:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. v.13

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: GOD DEMANDS PEACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Matthew 9:50

“God has called us to live in peace.”

1 Corinthians 7:15b

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”

2 Corinthians 13:11

“Live in peace with each other.”

1 Thessalonians 5:13b

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”

Colossians 3:15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Throughout this past week, we have been exploring the matter of peace, the main theme of the second week of the Advent season. We have discovered our sources of peace (God and His Son Jesus, the Prince of Peace), the amazing nature of peace that the Lord brings (peace beyond human comprehension), how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit produces a harvest of peace within, how peace brings gifts to the believer in and of itself, and how the Lord grants peace to us so we can bless others with it.

This all leads to today and the final message, one of critical importance because we need to know that when it comes to serving our Lord, sowing peace as believers isn’t optional for our God commands us to be a people of peace. We see this in five separate verses that form the foundational text for this truth:

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” Matthew 9:50

“God has called us to live in peace.” 1 Corinthians 7:15b

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11

“Live in peace with each other.” 1 Thessalonians 5:13b

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” Colossians 3:15

Note that there are two key peace callings we find from the Lord.

First, God demands that all Christian believers are to be at peace with one another. It’s a common thread we find through all these passages and yet, we find conflict and derision, and division happening all the time.

Can we see where this is happening in direct disobedience to the orders of the One who is the Head of the church?

Disagreements will happen. There’s no question on that but it’s how we handle the disagreements that makes all the difference in this matter. For when we do differ from one another on matters, we are to not resort to sinfulness but rather righteousness, working things out in love and gentleness and peace, all fruits produced that will be produced by the Holy Spirit if we only submit to His leading.  

This is aided exponentially by the other key calling we find in the scriptures from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. For it’s there that we find the command for Christians to allow the “peace of Christ rule” to “rule in (their) hearts”. Again, the Word of God isn’t recommending this. Rather, it’s a strict directive, one that believers are absolutely required to adhere to and obey without exception.

And why wouldn’t we want this? What true Christian wouldn’t want the peace of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to rule over their hearts?  

Friends, if we as believers would always seek to live our lives in a way that is Christ-like in every way, peace will come naturally and it won’t be any worldly manufactured peace we share with one another and those we seek to save. Rather, it will be the perfect peace found through the only perfect person who has walked this earth.

As we finish up this second week of Advent, moving ever closer to the birth of the Savior of the world, let us gladly receive His peace into our hearts and minds and souls, so much so that there is an overflow for us to extend to others.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: GOSPEL AND PEACE PROCLAIMING PEOPLE BLESS OTHERS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.

Isaiah 52:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we come to the next to the last message on the theme of peace, the central focus of the second week of the Advent season. The text for today comes from the words of the prophet Isaiah, one of God’s greatest messengers of Old Testament times. In this verse from the fifty-second chapter, we find these opening words:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news...”

The original foundation for these words came from when messengers would run from where a battle was taking place to convey the outcome to the king and his people but in this verse, they referred to the coming deliverance of the Israelite people from their Babylonian captivity, a deliverance orchestrated by the Lord that allowed them to return to their homeland in order to rebuild their cities, their homes, and their relationship with God.

This was truly good news for the people of God who had paid a heavy penalty for their covenant-breaking disobedience and blatant disrespect for the God who had brought them out of Egyptian slavery, leading them to a promised land that would be their own.

This verse also has further meaning in that it foreshadows the coming of Jesus, the Lamb of God who would serve as a substitutionary sacrifice so to purchase the pardon of sinners. Of course, this group includes all people (Romans 3:23) and so there has been, and still are a multitude of people who have received and hopefully will receive the beauty of someone willing to bring the ultimate good news to them, the good news of Jesus and the eternal life that is only found through Him.

Indeed, God has wrapped up the greatest good tidings one could hope for in His Son and everyone who believes in Him are called to tell others all about it with the goal of making disciples of all nations while helping them be baptized and obey all that Jesus has commanded. The Great Commission of Christ appoints every single person to be an evangelist (Matthew 28:18-20).

What happens when a believer embraces their calling to evangelize and bring good news and tidings to others about the salvation available to anyone if they would place their belief in Jesus as Savior?

They not only become a Gospel sharer but they proclaim and promote peace through their work.

You see, when a person sees themselves as a sinner destined for the judgment of Hell, a sinner who can’t find saving in themselves or anyone else, then they are in a place where they can easily realize the special gift of grace God extends to them through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, a special gift of grace that costs the sinner nothing except a willing submission and surrender to the ways and will of their Lord. And in gaining God’s sure promise of everlasting life, they also gain another important thing in this life: peace.

This is what the good news of salvation brings to every single believer, a peace that is beyond imagination or comprehension (Philippians 4:6-7), a peace that brings the guarantee that Heaven is ahead, a far better life than the one we endure here on earth.

Through Christ, death has lost its sting and the believer’s future is secure. Hell with its eternal torment, damnation, and suffering is no longer in play.

Friends, every Christian believer that is still alive has yet to live the best life ever, a life that will be free from pain and hardship and heartbreak and sin. Despite our physical and mental condition at the time we draw our last breath, the Lord will make us new and usher us into His Kingdom where we will dwell with Him in a spirit of love, worship, and yes, peace.

Until then, let’s all do everything we can every day to be the beautiful feet of Jesus as we proclaim the good news and tidings of God’s gift of salvation, not just proclaiming the Gospel but the wonderful peace that accompanies it, a message that serves to be a blessing to all we share it with.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: PROMOTING PEACE LEADS TO SPECIAL GIFTS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.

Proverbs 12:20

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Matthew 5:9

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

Proverbs 14:30

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We’re in the second week of the Advent season, a week centered on the theme of peace as we continue to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

To date, this series has consisted of four messages where we have learned the following:

1. The Lord is the source of peace just as He is the source of every good and perfect thing.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-lord-is-peace.html

2. Jesus, the Son of the Lord who is peace, is then in turn the Prince of Peace.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-jesus-is-prince-of-peace.html

3. Through God and His Son Jesus, a peace beyond human comprehension is attainable.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-peace-beyond-human.html

and

4. The Holy Spirit, God’s gift to every person who places their belief in Jesus, works to produce a harvest of spiritual fruit within every Christian, one of which is peace.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-holy-spirit-produces-peace.html

And this brings us to the fifth message today, one that shows us three important things we gain when we allow the Lord of peace, the Prince of Peace, and the Holy Spirit to produce peace within us.

First, we gain joy when we use the peace dwelling and promote it to all we encounter.

Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy. Proverbs 12:20

If Jesus came to bring us peace as well as hope as we saw in the first week of this season, and since all Christians are to live in Christ-like fashion, then we can see where there should be no problem advocating and displaying peace in the way we live out our lives.

And when we do this, when we sow seeds of harmony with others, then we experience joy, joy in knowing that we have played a part in dispelling chaos and discord while endorsing, encouraging, and displaying the very Spirit of Christ, a Spirit that would call all people to be united in Him. Further, there’s a joy in knowing that we are living in obedience to the Word of our Lord which will always ensure that what we do is pleasing in His sight.

The second thing we gain through being believers grounded in peace is blessing. Jesus said this in His Sermon on the Mount within the section we know as the Beatitudes:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

When anyone places their faith and trust in Jesus and commit to being one of His disciples, they not only automatically receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit but also become a child of the God Most High as well as a co-heir with Christ to the Kingdom of Heaven (Romans 8:14-17).

Wow!

There are no greater gifts from God that a person could ever receive, gifts that don’t offer just temporal enjoyment and satisfaction but endure for all eternity.

And since we are all part of God’s family and brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus, then we can’t help but be peacemakers as we live as they would have us live, ever seeking and carrying out their will and way.

Jesus said that peacemakers are blessed which means they are living in the favor of God. That was the intent of His statement here and conversely, we can then see that those who don’t promote peace are cursed, living outside of the leading of the Lord, conducting themselves by way of the flesh and not the Spirit. If this is where you find yourself today, it’s time for you to make a change, accepting Jesus as Savior while becoming a blessed person of peace.

Finally, the scriptures tell us that a believer gains health through peace.  

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30

Did you know that there are approximately 359 million people in the world who are afflicted with anxiety?

That’s a lot of people who are desperate for peace to enter into their lives and what makes this condition all the more dangerous is that it can create physiological responses that over time cause damage to the body, responses like rapid heart rate and shortness of breath. In fact, death rates are 84 percent higher for people with anxiety that is unchecked by care with only one in four anxiety sufferers actually connected to formal mental health care. Further, research has shown that life expectance drops by nearly eight years for people who don’t get help for their condition.

Many people might think the solution to this is some kind of special medication therapy but as we see in the scriptures, the Lord has already written a spiritual prescription for anyone who really wants a cure. We covered this in the third message in this series but the verses bear repeating here:

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. Philippians 4:6-7

Placing your full trust in the Lord will bring anyone a peace that “transcends all understanding” and in turn, that peace will give life to the body, bringing health through releasing the believer from the bondage of their stress, worry, and fear, those things that seek to disquiet the heart, mind, and soul.

Joy. Blessedness. Health.

Three wonderful gifts we receive from simply being people who receive the Lord’s peace and then reflect it onto the world we live in. Thanks be to God for this and for all the abundant goodness He lavishes on us each and every day. To Him be all honor, glory, and praise.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: THE HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCES PEACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The scriptures are clear on one very important gift that’s granted to every believer who places their faith and hope in Jesus as Savior.

“...you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14

Think about this for a moment and consider the power and significance of the Holy Spirit as communicated by Jesus to His disciples before He ascended into the heavens to sit at the right hand of His Father God.

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4-5

And so it was on a special day we know as Pentecost:

When the day of Pentecost came, they (Jesus’ disciples) were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4

It was then, only after all Jesus’ disciples were “filled with the Holy Spirit” that they were ready to go forth and properly carry on Jesus’ Gospel ministry. Immediately after this Holy Spirit anointing, the scriptures tell us that Peter delivered a sermon to a gathered crowd in Jerusalem and the results were staggering as “about three thousand” people “accepted his message” and as a result, were baptized (Acts 2:41).

Friends, this same Spirit is alive and well, dwelling within each and every one of us, ever ready and able to produce the same incredible results that we read about in the Book of Acts as the Christian church began to take root. Through Him, we receive:

- Guidance and direction in regard to living holy just as Jesus lived.

- Discernment and understanding as we read and seek to comprehend God’s Word.

- A multitude of beneficial Christian character traits that will help us in life.

In regard to the latter, what’s included in these beneficial Christian traits?

We find the answer in the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia. Here’s what we find in verses 22 and 23:

“...the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

In yesterday’s passage, we learned that we could gain peace beyond human comprehension by refusing to be anxious about anything as God commanded, instead, bringing all our concerns and burdens to Him through prayer and petition with thanksgiving. For when we unload all of life’s pressures and stresses onto His broad, strong shoulders, acknowledging and trusting that He can handle whatever we’re going through, we can experience the peace that transcends understanding with our hearts guarded by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).

Today, we see where the Holy Spirit is used by God to produce the fruit of peace in our hearts, minds, and souls. The more faith we place in the Lord over ourselves and others, the more abundant the harvest of peace. Ditto for all the other fruits the Spirit provides.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what an amazing force we have within us, a force that is transformative in the most divine ways. This Advent season, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of our Savior, let’s all work harder to turn away from our seemingly incessant desire to be in control of everything, submitting instead to the powerful leading and influence of the Holy Spirit so to be blessed by all the blessings produced by Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: PEACE BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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.

Philippians 4:6-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The run up to Christmas is one of the busiest (and most stressful) times of the year, especially if you have a young family you are raising. No one typically has the whole month of December off and so they are still working full time while trying to make sure everything gets done before the 25th arrives which can include:

Gifts being found and purchased, which sounds easier than it is especially when your children seem to give you a very focused and targeted list of things they desire.

Cards and/or gifts need to be sent to loved ones who live at a distance.

Decorations need to be put up to include the tree, a staple of the worldly Christmas observance.

All this compressed into around four weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday ends and it’s enough to induce anxiety, worry, and stress within even the most relaxed heart and soul. It also serves to remove energy and attention away from the excited period of anticipation of Jesus’ birth, the real and true reason for the season, a period known as Advent.

Well, it’s into this space that I offer you ultimate good news found in two simple verses from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, two verses that can help combat the pressures and tensions of this time of year as well as into the new year to come and beyond, two verses that fit perfectly with the matter of peace which is the theme of this series of messages during the second week of Advent. Look again at verses six and seven of chapter four here:

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.

You’ll remember that in the first message in this series, we were reminded that the Lord God Almighty is peace. He is the starting point for everything we know whether physical or spiritual, seen or unseen. He is also absolutely sovereign over all creation and all created things. All mankind are subordinate to Him and under His ultimate authority.

With this, we need to take note that the first verse in this passage is a command from God. In other words, we aren’t given the liberty to pick and choose when we are anxious about things. God makes this clear when He says through His holy Word:

“Do not be anxious about anything...”

Do not means don’t do it.

Don’t be anxious about anything. Period.

Don’t be anxious about the gift shopping. Don’t be anxious about getting things out in the mail by a certain self imposed deadline. Don’t be anxious about getting all those decorations up.

Instead, seek a peace that seems to beyond comprehension when you consider all the world would have you believe needs to get done.

So, you may ask yourself today, “How in the world can I ever do that, Lord?”

As we read on in verse six, we find Him already providing an answer.

“...but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

There you go. God isn’t putting the solution to eradicating anxiety, stress, worry, or even fear on His believers. Rather, He’s taking all the pressure off them and simply demanding that they place their trust in Him by bringing all their concerns, in every situation, to Him through prayer and petition with thanksgiving.

Friends, we serve a God who is so mighty and powerful that there’s nothing beyond the work of His hands. While we are facing challenges this holiday season or otherwise, He is standing by to handle them. All we need to do is surrender them to Him and then allow Him to do what He does best, work everything out for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).

We have everything to gain by doing this and the Lord tells us as much in verse 7:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The only way to a peace that’s beyond human comprehension is to remove every burden that we’re trying to shoulder and lay them down at the foot of God’s throne, fully believing in steadfast faith that He’s capable enough to handle them.

Brothers and sisters, if we would truly do this, we would experience a liberation and comfort that this world can’t provide, a divine protection and guarding of our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, the Prince of Peace whose birth we ready ourselves for this advent season (Isaiah 9:6).

Let’s all step back from the hectic worldly distractions and find the kind of peace and solace that existed in the little town of Bethlehem as God sent a blessed peace and hope from Heaven to earth through His baby Son Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: JESUS IS THE PRINCE OF PEACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a Son, and the rest of His brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And He will be our peace.

Micah 5:2-5

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The words of Jesus to His disciples found in John 16:33

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. Romans 5:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We are in the second week of the Advent season where the central theme is peace. It’s our focus for a series of seven messages that kicked off yesterday as we saw where the Lord God is peace, the One who brought peace into existence as something attainable just as He did all things.

Well, since we are in a period of excited anticipation for the day of Christ’s birth, we see one of the key reasons why we do so. Because His coming, which would eventually lead to His death by crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, ushered in the best peace ever, the peace between mankind and the God who made all people.

You see, since the great fall and the introduction of sin in Eden’s garden, everyone born after has been afflicted with the disease of iniquity, incapable of maintaining God’s expected standard of living and therefore living as enemies in separation from Him. This chasm between the Creator and all created people meant that all were destined for Hell but God so loved the world that He didn’t wish for that to happen. And so He sent His one and only Son, a perfect unblemished Lamb of God who would serve as the substitutionary sacrifice so to atone for the sin of all mankind, once and for all. The Apostle Paul summed this up in the fifth chapter of his second letter to the church in Corinth. There, we wrote this:

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. v.21

Through Jesus’ redeeming work on the cross, anyone who believes in Him is justified, appearing before God the Father just as if they had never sinned, their pardon purchased by His Son who washes their sin-stained souls white with His shed blood. Going pack to Paul, we find this truth affirmed in these words to the Hebrews:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. Romans 5:1-2

Jesus resolved the conflict between whoever would believe in Him as Savior and His Father God. He was the Instigator of the greatest peace we could ever gain and this is why the prophet Isaiah properly foretold Him as the One who was coming to be the “Prince of peace”, the Son of the One who breathed peace into existence to begin with.

It was this blessed Savior Jesus who overcame the world so all of His disciples could one day do likewise, gaining total victory over death, the grave, and the torment of Hell while gaining the eternal glory of life in Heaven forever. Indeed, He is our peace.

And so as we continue to step ever closer to Christmas day, let us do so with a sense of calm and comfort within the busyness of the holiday season, knowing that the little baby born in Bethlehem, as foretold by the prophet Micah, is our peace, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: THE LORD IS PEACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.”

And Gideon did so.

Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.

When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. Judges 16:19-24

The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace. Psalm 29:11

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. 1 Corinthians 14:33

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After spending the first week of Advent looking at the theme of hope, we turn to week number two and the matter of peace. And as we will see in the first message of this series, peace begins with the Lord who is peace. The scriptures affirm as much.

For starters, look again at this passage from the Book of Judges as God works to summon Gideon to come into His service:

Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.”

And Gideon did so.

Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.

When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. 16:19-24

You may remember that Gideon was much like the New Testament disciples, Thomas (John 20:24-29). He wanted to believe that Jesus was indeed speaking with him but needed some additional evidence before he would go all in.

And so in the lead in to the verses above, we find this exchange between the Lord and Gideon, who didn’t quite know who he was talking to:

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

“Pardon me, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in Your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.” 6:14-18

Here, we find the Lord patient and in a peaceful state as He helped Gideon process his calling, even honoring the request to stand by until the reluctant servant brought his offering which comprised of a “young goat” and “bread without yeast” that he had made “from an ephah of flour”. After bringing these things and offering them to the Lord “under the oak.

It was there that we read where the “angel of God” told Gideon to place the prepared goat and bread on a rock minus the broth which was to be poured out. As soon as Gideon had complied with the request, the scriptures tell us that the angel “touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand” and when he did, “fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread”.

As soon as this happened, the “angel of the Lord disappeared” and when he did, Gideon suddenly realized who he had been talking to and in distress, cried out to God saying:

“Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

Note what the Lord did in response to Gideon’s cry. He simply sought to put him at ease, saying:

“Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

And with that, Gideon was okay because he had gained peace from the Lord who is peace. In fact, we read where Gideon “built an altar to the Lord” in that spot and “called it”, “The Lord Is Peace”.

Friends, this Lord of peace acknowledged and praised by Gideon is the same Lord of praise we serve today. As David discovered, He is the Lord who “gives strength to His people” and “blesses (them) with peace” (Psalm 29:11). He is “not a God of disorder” but rather a Lord “of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33) who “through the blood of the eternal covenant brought” Jesus, the “great Shepherd” and Savior of the sheep, “back to life”. All this was so all Christ believers could be equipped “with everything good for doing” the will of God the Father, the God of peace (Hebrews 13:20-21).

It was through this Lord that we find the Apostle Paul writing this following benediction to the Thessalonian Christians, a benediction that will serve as the closing for this message as I wish for you, the reader, to experience peace in your life from the One who is peace:

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.