Church and what I got out of it

Last night was church time for me.  I usually attend the Saturday 5 o'clock or Sunday 6 o'clock both at night.  Last night was the Sunday one.  Our church is doing a series called Soul Train, and it's all about Peace, Love and Soul.    Just like those old 70's shows with the crazy clothes, even crazier dancing and all those....funky?....People.  Anyway, last night was all about Peace, and finding Peace in your Soul.

Peace:
You need to find your inner peace, because NOTHING in life will ever be absolutely 100% perfect.  Things will always break down, relationships, people, jobs, school, things won't always work out perfect.  That's because we live in a broken world, or as my church pastor said, a problem planet.

John 16:33 says,  "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart, for I have overcome the world."

Peace is not found in the "externals" in life, such as jobs, school, friends, relationships, money or anything else.  The only way to actual peace is through Jesus Christ.

Like if someone gets into a fight or something, they hope that an adult or authority figure will come and solve the problem.  Someone will stop the fight.  Jesus is that figure, he is the one who will stop the fight.  You want proactive peace, as my pastor said, not passive peace.  That means get up and DO something. You won't find peace by doing nothing to help yourself.  'God helps those who help themselves' remember?

There are a few ways to find Peace in your life.  I took notes at Church and I'll write them here.

The first way, and probably the most important way, to Peace is Peace With God.

Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"

Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour gives you peace with God, and because of that he'll give you peace.

The second thing that will help you find Peace is to make sure you're life is free of sin.  Staying with the Soul Train theme at church, Have you jumped the God track?  God has a plan for your life, but the road is straight and narrow.  It is easy to get sidetracked and to move off road of God's track.  Check for sin, and remember that Sin does not make you lose your Salvation, but it does forfeit your Peace.

Another way to help you find Peace is to look back.  Look at all the blessings and miracles God has performed in your past.  It will give you strength when things aren't going so great.  Look for miracles and praise God for the good times.  Even when things are tough, God is still there with you, even in a stormy patch of your life.

Another way to help you find Spiritual Peace is to spend Daily Time with God.  I personally need to get better at this.  I pray all the time, but I need to get better at sitting down and reading my Bible.  I have been doing better lately, and I'm glad for that.
Spend 10-20 minutes a day with God, just talking, reading the Bible, and praying.  It's good for your Spiritual Soul, so to speak.  Your body decays, but your soul is what goes to Heaven.  God is a Dad.  He wants to spend time with his kids.  He likes it when you crawl on his lap and pray to him.  :D

Take care of YOU!
Your Body is a temple of God, keep it in good working order!

Get Organized!  (I need to do this!)
Whether it's with Finances, school, work, or your bedroom, get organized!

1 Corinthians 14:33 says, "For God is not a God of disorder, but of Peace"

Eliminate unnecessary stress and pressures in your life.  God loves order, and peace.

Another way to find Peace is when you have pressures or are struggling, help others.  Not only does it make you feel good, but it makes God feel good also.  Show God's love by meeting the needs of others, even when their needs are probably greater than yours.  Especially then.  Sacrifice your own needs to help someone else meet theirs.

Isaiah 58:10-11 says, "And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the day.  The Lord with guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden like a spring whose waters never fail."

Where God Guides, He Provides.  If you do all of those things, you will find that you are not stressed, you are blessed.  In the words of my P.E. coach, God is a Father who LOVES to bless his children.  He will bless you with a Peace so crazy that it makes no sense.

To get that, you as a Christian need to settle the fight with your old, unsaved self.  They want to suck you back into sin, but the Christian, born again you says no.  You get a soul change the second you become saved.  The Old You is dead and buried, and the brand new you was born to walk in the ways of Jesus Christ.

Stop trying to save the old you, the old you is what is stopping you from getting your Christian Peace.

James 4:1 says, "What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?"
In other words, You are at war with yourself.  I've read this sort of thing happen a lot in Fanfiction and SW books.  In a lot of books, the main villain is the Main Character's own self doubt.

To end the fight with yourself, commit FULLY to Jesus, say from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, you are 100% God's.  Jesus will end the fight, let him win.  Stop trying to fight, let Jesus settle the deal, and end the fight.

That was my first "serious" post.  Expect more of that.  I think that I will do a summary of the Church sermon every week, if anything for my own self to reinforce what I learned.  I hope that this post was Okay....remember I am still new at this!!  ;)

God Bless, and Please Comment, ;)
Jedi~Chick <3

I still just LOVE this picture!!!!  It went with this post so.....I'm re-posting it! :D