PRAYER FOR HIS PEACE

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
2 Thess 3:16 (ESV)


"In Paul's writing, he refers to God the Father with six different titles:
1. God of patience and consolation
2. God of hope
3. God of all comfort
4. God of our Lord Jesus Christ
5. God of love
6. God of peace
Of these, he refers to only one more than once- "the God of Peace," which he uses five times. Here in 2 Thessalonians 3:16, Paul attributes this same quality to our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul must have realized the role "peace" plays in our understanding of the nature of God and Christ's victory on the Cross.

Today we often think of peace as being the absence of conflict between individuals or nations, or the feeling of serenity we might have in a quiet moment. Yet in Hebrew, the word peace - shalom- has a much deeper and richer meaning. The word shalom means literally "completeness, soundness, welfare, peace...safety, soundness (in body)...health, prosperity... quiet, tranquility, contentment... friendship of human relationships and with God especially in covenant relationship. Shalom is one of the key words that describes our new covenant relationship to God through Christ's blood and sacrifice, and it is the term through which, when we enter back into covenant with God through Christ, we become His friend."
- David Bordon

16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace (the peace of His kingdom) at all times and in all ways [under all circumstances and conditions, whatever comes]. The Lord [be] with you all.
2 Thess 3:16 (AMP)


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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Love Lustres at Calvary

My Father,

Enlarge my heart, warm my affections,

      open my lips,

   supply words that proclaim ‘Love lustres

     at Calvary.’

There grace removes my burdens and heaps them

     on thy Son,

   made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me;

There the sword of thy justice smote the man,

     thy fellow;

There thy infinite attributes were magnified,

   and infinite atonement was made;

There infinite punishment was due,

   and infinite punishment was endured.

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,

   cast off that I might be brought in,

   trodden down as an enemy

     that I might be welcomed as a friend,

   surrendered to hell’s worst

     that I might attain heaven’s best,

   stripped that I might be clothed,

   wounded that I might be healed,

   athirst that I might drink,

   tormented that I might be comforted,

   made a shame that I might inherit glory,

   entered darkness that I might have eternal light.

My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped

     from my eyes,

   groaned that I might have endless song,

   endured all pain that I might have unfading health,

   bore a thorny crown that I might have

     a glory-diadem,

   bowed his head that I might uplift mine,

   experienced reproach that I might receive

     welcome,

   closed his eyes in death that I might gaze

     on unclouded brightness,

   expired that I might for ever live.

O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou

     mightest spare me,

All this transfer thy love designed and

     accomplished;

Help me to adore thee by lips and life.

O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise,

   my every step buoyant with delight, as I see my

     enemies crushed,

   Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed,

   sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood,

   hell’s gates closed, heaven’s portal open.

Go forth, O conquering God, and show me

   the cross, mighty to subdue, comfort and save.

from The Valley of Vision

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah

2 PRINCIPLES, 1 PARADOX (3 Great Books From Randy Alcorn)

LIFECHANGE BOOKS by Multnomah

small books BIG CHANGE

These books live up to the their billing.  LIFECHANGE BOOKS & small books BIG CHANGE!

These small books from Randy Alcorn address three key areas: Money or Finances, Purity and Christlikeness (Grace & Truth). Each book is packed full of biblical truth. Money, Purity and Christlikeness, who doesn't need to be challenged and encouraged from God's word in these areas. If you invest a small amount of time and read these books, you will find that your investment will pay great dividends in your life and in the life of your family.  I highly recommend you make the investment. _ ah

The Treasure Principle

Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving

DISCOVER A JOY MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD!

The Purity Principle

God's Safeguards for Life's Dangerous Roads

A Higher Pleasure Is Within Reach!

The Grace and Truth Paradox

Responding with Christlike Balance

 

GRACE OR TRUTH... OR BOTH?

______________________________________________

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries and the author of many award-winning and bestselling books. He and his wife, Nanci, live in Gresham, Oregon, and have two grown daughters, Karina and Angela. 

The Family

23 Then the man said,"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." 24  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Gen 2:23-24 (ESV)

4  Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Heb 13:4 (ESV)

The Baptist Faith & Message

XVIII. The Family


God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7. 
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The modern secular concept of the family is largely driven by sociological theories and assumes that marriage and the traditional family structure are merely the products of human social evolution. Thus, proponents of the secular view believe that because the family is simply a sociological development, it can be renegotiated and restructured to meet modern expectations.

Christians must insist otherwise. We believe marriage, which was instituted by God before the fall, was a central part of God's design for humanity from the beginning (see Genesis 2:23-24). Furthermore, we believe the family, consisting of a mother, a father, and their children, reflects God's glory in the right ordering of civilization and society.

In our confused times many people celebrate what is described as a diversity of family forms. Although Christians recognize that families can experience brokenness, we must also assert that God's purpose and intention are that we build, nurture and respect  ties of marriage, blood and adoption. The family is not a laboratory for social experimentation but an arena in which God's glory is shown to the world in the right ordering of human relationships. ...

The primary responsibilities of nurturing the family and raising children are assigned to the husband and wife. Children are also assigned responsibility to honor and obey their parents, for this is pleasing to the God and is a testimony to God's loving purpose for the family.
We live in a time when the definition of family is a matter of political and social controversy and when the culture is confused about the definition of marriage. Christians bear the unique responsibility to tell the truth, to live the truth, and to bear witness to God's loving intention in establishing marriage and the family for our good. God gave us marriage and family for our happiness and our health, but he also created them as structures of accountability so that we can live holy lives, demonstrating His character, love and wisdom as we fulfill all the responsibilities and roles assigned to marriage and the family.

Pray that God will strengthen homes and help Christian families be all He wants them to be.

from The Baptist Faith & Message Study

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Soli Deo Gloria

ah

Prayer for the Patience of Christ

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
2 Thess 3:5 (ESV)

The prayer of the apostle was, that they might have the love of God in their hearts, and "the patience of Christ;" that is, the same patience which Christ evinced in his trials. They were then suffering affliction and persecution. They needed patience, that they might endure their trials in a proper manner. It was natural for the apostle to refer them to the Saviour, the great example of patience, and to pray that they might have the same which he had.—Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

"...the Christian life is more than a 100-meter dash; it was now time to set in for the marathon.

To this end, Paul prayed for them: May your active pursuit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:

(a) Lead you more and more into the fullness of God's love.

(b) Lead you into patience, endurance, long-suffering, and steadfastness of Christ himself as you await His return.

2 Thessalonians 3: 5, Paraphrased"

- David Bordon

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah