From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Peace is important... and did you know you can give that same peace which surpasses all understanding to others? You'll read about it in this latest word by John Belt.
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John Belt:
Yielding Our Souls to the Desires of the Spirit
One of the things that is constant in our lives is the need to yield ourselves to the desires of the Holy Spirit. Everyone has desires. Everyone has preferences. But all of these things have to yield to the desires of the Spirit. It goes back to the saying, "He is God and we are not." On one hand, God has delegated great authority to us in regards to His Kingdom. Our faith can move His hand, actually causing Him to act, because He is so pleased with faith. On the other hand, God ultimately has our best interest in mind. He knows when we cross over into thinking we know what is best – when it is more purely us rather than Him. In this, He will basically put in plan His "safe-guard." What I'm referring to is He knows more than we know, knows what is on the other end of things, and protects us when we think we know what is best for us, but we really don't. In this, we simply yield to His desires, because Father knows best.
Sure enough, if we get caught up in anxiousness and fear, then we have lost connection. Jesus assured us that these would not help us at all, but will actually make things worse. It really goes back to our reality check. What world is more real to us? Is it this present world or the eternal? When we are more aware of the ultimate eternal life with God, when the temporal world no longer makes much difference, there is a freedom that comes in our spirit – because this place is not our home. We are journeying through this life knowing that our home is that which is not made by hands but by God in the Heavens.
The truth is that we can now live out of the place of eternity. Eternal life has been communicated evangelically as a transaction that occurs when someone gets saved into the Kingdom of God. This is only half true. Eternal life is also a way of life. We live from this quality of life that Jesus opened the way for us to experience. Paul tells us to focus on the eternal, not the temporal. In this, we free our minds from the cares of this life. I guess you could call it escapism, but that is not quite the case. When we live from the temporal realm, it is inferior to the eternal. It is the difference between a Ford Pinto and a Rolls Royce, between eating a burger from McDonald's or having filet mignon, processed food versus an apple. "You are what you eat." You will reap the benefits of whatever you choose to ingest. The eternal realm is comprised of the life we are called to live in. Heaven is our home. The eternal realm is in God. But, make it more personal: He is our Father, the Everlasting Father.
Let the Peace of Christ Rule Your Heart
In Colossians 3:15, we are told to "let the peace of Christ rule [our] hearts." It all begins with a choice. We say in our hearts, then speak with our mouths. The tongue is the rudder of our being. It guides our ship. What comes out of our mouths is where we are going. Whatever our meditation is, that is what we will end up talking about the most. We talk about what is most valuable to us or what we've chosen to make our meditation. In all these things we need to yield our hearts and thoughts to God, ask Him to fill us with His thoughts, meditate on His words and fix our eyes upon the Lord. His peace is greater than we can imagine.
Not long ago, I was in a situation where a man who had only a little experience with God stayed in the same house with us overnight. I had a dream that night that I was pushing the devil underneath my feet. I was literally pushing down on his head with my feet. The next morning this person came to me saying he had a dream where he actually saw "peace." I asked him, "You saw it?" He said, "Yes!" He went on to say that he had never in his life experienced anything like this before. I saw him again later in the day and he repeated it to me. He could not get over it! What I believe happened was, as I was sleeping, my spirit was pushing out the devil's realm in his life where it actually opened a door for him to experience the peace of God.
The point is that God's peace is beyond our understanding. Our natural minds cannot begin to comprehend how great His love is for us, His peace is to us and His joy is within us. God causes our cup to run over. He doesn't just fill it up. It is an overflow! It is worth it to yield ourselves to God. He knows what is best for us. He does not disappoint.
John Belt
Live In His Presence Ministries
Email: admin@liveinhispresence.com
John Belt and his wife Brandi have been in pastoral ministry for close to two years. In this time he has found the "main thing" is to find your identity in Christ alone. Over the past decade John has engaged in both writing and music. From the early age of 12 he has learned various instruments, including guitar and keyboard. John finally was able to create a fully packaged instrumental CD called The Soaking Presence, giving way to the Soaking Presence Series of instrumentals that are non-stop flowing music for the purpose of prayer and devotion to God.
