Dear Readers of Dewey’s Daily Cup,
My name is Karen Rowe … Dewey asked me to write for DDC a few years back which was an amazing experience! Every morning I would wake up with words on my heart to share. Funny, but I would laugh and speak the truth, “If we are going to ask God for His help, then we better be willing to accept his help when he gives it.” Two, Three or sometimes Four or Five O’clock in the morning was about the only quiet undisturbed time that I could find to just write from my heart listening to God. Yet the experience of writing with God was well worth a little missed sleep. I was so blessed by the experience! Gratefully, it is not the wee hours of the morning for me this time. J
If I may first say, what an honor it is to write for you today! The Lord is speaking to my heart as I write. Writing to me is a way that God can speak to my soul. In my quiet thoughts I trust that quiet voice that I hear enough to write the inspiration that whispers to my soul; and then I learn; as I also search the Bible for clarification and deeper understanding. With this being said, I encourage you to write as well!
Always, God teaches me as I write and I am the one who ends up getting a message. However, I also share as I write because I trust that God’s message is for us all. I hope that this Cup will be a blessing to you; and I hope that I have served you well in Dewey’s Daily Cup today.
~ A Single mind of God ~
In the world, we usually have our mind set on our self. We think of how things or situations affect us in the past, present and future. We can even busy ourselves up trying to align good things on our own and end up taking control –instead of trusting God. Following in faith requires courage and the reward of faith is peace. However, God never said to us do it alone; He has said “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).”
Along our way, we have opportunities to share Jesus in a way that does not scream his name, but rather illuminates His Peace. Peace is a mark of Unity in Christ to strive for among each other –because for one reason, Peace is God’s Signature on our heart that He is with us and we are with him; according to His Wisdom. A single mind of God is our mind set on remaining in step with God’s ways [in step with the Holy Spirit and according to God’s Holy Word]. With a mind set on remaining faithful to God, our mind is set on HIS will and not our mind that is made up. This is where we find peace that transcends all understanding.
Know that God loves you dearly. I prayed about the message to share today, and the word “peace” came to me with peace J … so I trust God in his wisdom. Before we begin, let us pray:
God you have so many names, but all I can think of in this moment to call you is amazing. God you are amazing to me! You love us so delicately, but also with a firm hand; you truly are our Father who lives in Heaven and you know the better way ~ Hallowed be thy name! Your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven ~ Thank you Jesus for making us a citizen of heaven; thank you Father for your Son and thank you Jesus for who you are and what you have done for us; and for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Father, we acknowledge your Son’s name Jesus, who is the Christ and you are our living God!
Give us this day our daily bread ~ anoint us with the power and strength of the Holy Spirit and feed us with your understanding and Wisdom that is according to Your Holy Word. You work all things out for the good for those who love you and we are pausing in our day to say we notice how much you love us and to say that we love you too.
Father, forgive us of our debts ~ as we listen to you to hear your voice whisper to our heart to understand that our attitudes may not be pleasing in your eyes …
As we also have forgiven our debtors ~ as we listen to you reveal any hidden bitterness in our heart …even if it seems so small. Father how can we refuse you now when you have loved us so? We bow down to honor you in all that we do. In everything we do, help us to learn how to bring glory to your name.
Because of what you’ve done, we are blessed and we pause in admiration of you. Thank you for giving us HOPE that cannot and will not fail. Jesus, you are our exalted King. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For you are the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forevermore! Amen.
The Kingdom of God is perfect PEACE; a place of rest and certainty that God is with us and we are with Him –today and forevermore! Years ago, I associated the word peace with “Rest in Peace” at funerals and “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all men” at Christmas time. A few years ago, a forgotten Christmas banner really got my attention; and sense that time, I have learned that peace is “in experience” with God. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).”
I have learned from experience that peace is a guiding tool of certainty that we are with God and in His will in prayer and in all things. Just as we can know from experience where we are –from the East Coast to the West Coast, we can also know when we are entering and leaving the Kingdom’s Peace according to following our will or “God’s will be done”.
· Peace can be found, but not without a change of heart
· Peace is experiencing Life with God
· Peace is where we in Christ understand that we are blessed … not because of whom we are, but because of whom Jesus is and what He has done. We are being trained to be blessed by the blessed ONE –learning to be obedient to the Word trusting God and following Jesus.
And Christ will turn no one away who comes to him with a pure heart seeking the truth.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27).
If I needed proof that the Bible is God’s authentic written Word, this Scripture would be all the proof that I need, because Peace is experiencing on earth as it is in Heaven through Jesus Christ. God knows that we will be faced with many obstacles and opportunities for our hearts to be troubled and worried, but he pointy and purposely reminds us to remain in peace and to pursue peace (see Hebrews 12:14, Psalm 34:14 and Romans 14:19).
In addition to God’s offer of peace, he begs us to remain in peace … “Do not Let” … Reread the Scripture found in John Chapter fourteen verse twenty-seven several times until God whispers peace with understanding through your soul.
Dewey wrote on FB:
“One of the rewards of faith is peace.”
This is where the Lord is leading me to share [as he is also teaching me] –encouraging others to experience Peace by pursuing peace until we find peace breathing in our soul. If peace is missing, it is time to pause and renew our mind with God’s Word and through prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit. Peace transcends all understanding, but we can understand that peace is from God! “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place (Ephesians 6:14); and pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 6:10-18). Finding peace is God doing a miracle in my soul that overpowers what I would chose to do, such as remaining in my pride with my mind made up –blind to opposing God. However, Jesus is the truth, the way and the life and peace is our assurance we are listening to the right Wisdom that comes to us from heaven (James 3:17) and are heading in the right direction. “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you (Isaiah 26:3).”
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your Word. I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119:9, 11).”
There is one, Satan that will try to steal your peace, but pursue peace, even if you feel like you are hanging on by your fingernails, because God has a plan for you! And our purpose is given: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19).”
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).”
Peace is in position with God, powerfully enabling us in his love –to love unconditionally and pray for another that our emotions alone could not forgive. Jesus transforms our heart to simply LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY and in JESUS, peace will live, breathe and flow in you fully!
Submit your will to God’s AND resist the devil; and he –who gives no peace will flee from you, because of the power that is in blood of Jesus. Cast your cares in the lap of Jesus –the one who Can and Does make a difference – but first, we need to allow God to change our heart and find peace –where our mind settles into be agreement with the Spirit of God alive in us. There is no peace in fighting the will of God that will be done. Our job is to submit to God’s will and experience His powerful peace and shine the light of Jesus for others to see.
The next time you feel confused, easily angered, frustrated or worried, pause and breathe in the Spirit of God into your very soul and find his Peace. Pride, selfish ambition and envy are not easy words to admit, BUT they are sneaky little words that steal your peace in an instant. Eliminate Pride and examine your heart with God to remove any hindrance to your peace [Roadblocks to peace that God already knows exist …He just needs us to see, admit and change]. We need of Jesus every day. God’s Word implores us not to boast or deny the truth; but to seek the truth directly from God. Seek first His Kingdom, Confess and Repent for LIFE with peace. Admitting pride is hard and in my life impossible without the love of Jesus and the transforming power of God in me. We have a Lord and Savior who makes us to be MORE and enables us of MORE ~ Jesus makes us who God created us to be; and our reward of following Jesus is Peace.
A Quote from the Daily Bread (June 16, 2008):
“It is our willingness to be humbled (or held down) that God uses to lift us up (James 4:10).” – Julie Ackerman Link.
Peace and Joy go hand in hand, because they are both attributes of experiencing the nearness of God to the fullest that we can in this life. I once prayed for God to change my situation so that my joy would return. However, the quiet voice inside of my heart –from a God who cares enough to help us, reminded me that “I am to remain joyful always!” AND I changed my mind and heart off of me and this inconvenient situation. Convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit –my peace with joy returned full of strength with a willing heart –full of love to show unconditional love unconditionally alive in me.
Peace and JOY is found in the LORD:
· Follow Jesus 1st … Love the Lord your God
· Love Others as God has 1st loved you
· Love yourself
Applying Love (1 Corinthians 13) is a beautiful truth that equals peace and joy! In no circumstance is it okay to ignore that sometimes –what we really are saying to God in our bad attitude and emotions is ‘God pick me.’ God’s Word warns us, “Do not deny the truth” –because we are capable of emotions that God describes as envy and selfish ambition …
Yet, according to the Word of God, we are enabled to overcome all things “through Christ who gives us strength!” This is beautiful to me and the reward of our faith is peace! Right here in our faithfulness to God we find complete Peace with Him –in a single mind with God through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit guiding. And the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16)! [Search the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit will lead you to find the answers] Peace is this important to pursue because peace is knowledge of alignment to God’s will –his righteousness.
Jesus is the righteous one and He honors our faith! Where you have peace, there you will find the power of God overcoming all things that come against us. In all things, God has good purpose (His Goodwill toward all men) and He works all things out for the good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). I may not be sharing a lot of details, but I am not just writing words to fill a page, I am speaking from experience.
We don’t need to understand all the time (see Proverbs 3:5), because we can’t when we are going through tough times when life is in a fog of uncertainty. However, we need to pursue peace and remain in Jesus as WE TRUST God, who knows all things. Peace is Certainty! God loves us and so does Jesus! In the Good Lord’s Time many times all we have is TRUST in God, but his grace is sufficient. We trust in God and trust also in Jesus while many times, in times like these; we persevere to remain in peace with God.
“Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind. … If you want to find out how proud you are, the easiest way is to ask yourself, “How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, … or patronize me, or show off?” -C.S. Lewis in the Joyful Christian. The point is that each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride.” – Dennis Fisher
Peace is only from God and Satan cannot imitate Peace, because peace coexists with love and God is Love…Peace transcends all understanding, because the world doesn’t understand selflessness. Persevere with patience and pursue Peace by remaining in Jesus. Do not allow anyone or anything (temptation) to convince you to give away your peace.
We ARE in control of our own peace … we cannot change another, and we cannot change difficult situations, but we can change our self, which begins with our MIND –and experience PEACE with God. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).”
After we find the truth from God, we CAN align our will to “God’s will be Done”. Then, we can pray and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God can CHANGE all things! Everything GOOD is done by God according to our FAITH; and PEACE is our certainty that we are in step with the Spirit of God.
Opposing LOVE (study 1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 5; and James 3) are the things (in our thoughts, behaviors and mind-set) that can steal our peace if we will let them, but we can remember that God is faithful to help us. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but rather to save all who will come unto Him and believe … Jesus will shine a light on our darkest hour, if we will just humble our self to our knees and talk with him to hear what he has to say … with a willing heart to soften and bend to allow change in our mind set and heart. God is not out to break us, but to promote us.
Peace is more than a five letter word; Peace is the existence of our living Lord Jesus alive and radiating heaven through our eyes. Peace enables us with the power of God to simply love and forgive the unlovable and unforgiveable … The next time you are faced with a challenging situation, Pause and Draw in the Sand as you wait on the words from the Wisdom that comes down to us from Heaven with PEACE and watch God’s glory shine through you. Living he loves you and dying he saved you, rising he justified you …
Follow Jesus; and we have purpose in our life that makes us whole. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19). God is preparing us: He is changing the saved first, so that we can exemplify the teaching of Jesus through the grace in our life that is evident through the peace that HE lives in us.
God first calls us to believe and then he calls us to:
· Change our heart ~ Love (1st Corinthians 13:4-8).
· Change our behavior ~ Fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
· Recognize that God’s Wisdom will not leave us double-minded about wanting God’s help to change (James 3:16).
However, see also James 3:13-16, because there are Two Kinds of Wisdom: [Of course, The Wisdom that comes down from Heaven]; but the Word of God warns us to avoid the other “wisdom” … “Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice (James 15-16).”
Let us strive to be Peacemakers…
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness (James 3:17-18).
What is the major thing you are going through?
Stay encouraged and build yourself up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20) …and keep yourselves in God’s love (Jude 1:21).
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). Jesus is our HOPE…and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Romans 5:5).
Thank you, each and every one of you who stopped by Dewey’s Daily Cup today. Personally, I thank God first and also I thank Dewey for his faith in allowing me this privilege to write for you. I lift up every prayer need, both spoken and unspoken to our God that his grace may abound on each and every one of you and also on those who do not know God’s love; or even how to pray. If you are not sure that you are living your life right with God, pray in the name of Jesus for the power of the Holy Spirit to show you what God wants you to know. If you have never known God’s love before, pray with me this simple prayer:
Dear Father God, I have never called you Father before, but somehow I just know it is okay because I am asking your Son Jesus to come and live in my heart today and forevermore. Thank you Jesus for dying on that cross for me; for shedding your blood so that I may have new life with You and eternal life with God by the forgiveness and total atonement for my sins. I accept your love and ask you to come in my heart and teach me and hold me as I learn to follow you. I know it is hard to change, but dear Lord, I want to for you. Amen.
Whether you prayed that prayer for the first time or have known Jesus for your whole life, read the Bible. Pride only steps up when we think we know it all; but the truth is God is not through teaching any of us until the day that we die. God loves us too much to let us stay the way we are ~ He wants us to experience peace as much as He wants us to live with Him. God loves us this much.
May we join in prayer for Dewey and Time to Revive in their travel to Ashville, NC … Lord, protect them and anoint the ministry that many may see God’s glory and come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you for such as Pastor Leonard Navarre and Pastor Paul Holt who serve at the Radio Ranch and we hold in our prayers Sharon and the kids and their doggies as Dewey is away. Thank you Father for Buffy we give you all the honor and glory in all good things that you do!
I pray that this Cup was a blessing to you; as it was to me …know that you are loved by God ~ and in this way of love, we in Christ strive to love and pray for others as God has first loved us ~ “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2).
There is unity in the body of Christ! Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope where you were called – one Lord, one faith one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:3-6)
I hope you are encouraged and challenged to follow Jesus and walk with God daily by pursing Peace and Wisdom that comes to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Love in Christ,
Karen Rowe
Hope in Today | The Train Whistle; Sounding the Call of God’s Love (Available SOON) J
I hope you will be blessed by this book and share a copy with someone who needs to know God’s pure and perfect love.
If you would like to contact me personally, www.hopeintoday.com www.thetrainwhistle.com or twitter Hope in Today, with Karen Rowe
I don’t have it all figured out, BUT God does … follow Jesus
And remember; Faith works best when we remember God knows MORE
God Bless you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and by the power and strength of the Holy Spirit!
In Jesus,
WE ARE BLESSED!
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