Brown's Daily Word 2-13-08

Good morning,
God, in love, has made provision for us to receive his righteousness. This the good news of the Gospel. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself the punishment that we so richly deserve. The good news of God is that we can come into a right relationship with God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. If we will now rely totally on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, God will remove our guilt from us. He will legally declare us, “Not Guilty!” That is called justification by faith. One powerful passage of Scripture is found in Romans 5:I, where we read of several blessings of justification, beginning with peace with God in Romans 5:1.
We read in Romans 5:1-11, paying special attention to verse 1, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
"6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:1-11)
Many years ago, Look magazine ran a personality feature titled “Peace of Mind.” Sixteen prominent Americans were asked how they were able to find peace in our stressful world, and the article consisted of their answers.
James Michener, author of many best-selling books, said that he found peace by taking his two dogs for a “walk along old streams and into fields that have not been plowed for half a century.” Barry Goldwater, the former Senator from Arizona and Republican presidential candidate, said that he found peace in his hobbies—photography, boating, flying, and camping—but above all by “walking in the Grand Canyon.” Former CBS news anchorman Walter Cronkite found peace in solitude, usually by “going to the sea by small boat.” Margaret Mead, the well-known anthropologist and author of Coming of Age in Samoa, sought “a change of pace and scene.” Sammy Davis, Jr., said he found peace by looking for “good in people.” Bill Moyers, former television personality and press secretary to Lyndon B. Johnson, tried to find peace in a family “reunion, usually in some remote and quiet retreat.”
As I read these answers I was struck with how subjective and dependent upon favorable circumstances most of the approaches were. But I noted something else too. Although each of these prominent Americans differed in his or her methods, all were nevertheless seeking peace of mind and recognized that pursuing it was important. No one considered a search for peace to be irrelevant or unimportant.
Perhaps the great North African Christian, Saint Augustine, expressed it best more than 1,500 years ago when he wrote in his famous Confessions, “You made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you.”
In Romans 5 we read about the blessings of justification by faith.
The apostle Paul said in Romans 5:1a, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith. . . .” The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that “justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.”
In this portion of God’s Word, the apostle Paul mentions several of our possessions in Christ. Our first possession in Christ is peace with God. The apostle Paul said in Romans 5:1b, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. . . .” It is very important to note that the Bible speaks of peace with God and also of the peace of God. Peace with God is not the same as peace of God.
The peace of God is described in Philippians 4:6-7, where Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The peace of God is having a calm and satisfied frame of heart and mind in the midst of troubles and pressures. The peace of God is peace with regard to the cares of life. It is subjective.
On the other hand, peace with God means that though there had been a state of hostility between God and us, it is now over. Peace with God is peace with regard to God. It is objective, and it happens whether or not we feel happy and secure.
This means that until we are justified by faith, until salvation, there is a war going on between God and us. In Romans 5:10, we are told that we are “reconciled to God.” The peace we have with God is “through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1c). All of our blessings come through Christ. We do not receive a single blessing that is apart from a relationship with Christ. This peace is characterized by gratitude. A person who has peace with God is constantly thankful to God for his amazing grace. He deserved to pay the penalty for his sin for all eternity, but instead God declared him, “Not Guilty!” He cannot help but living the rest of his life in gratitude for the gift of eternal life that was given to him when he did not deserve it.
This peace is characterized by joy. A person who has peace with God says with the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen [Jesus], you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”
This peace is characterized by holiness. A person who has peace with God agrees with the apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

In Christ,
Brown

"All the exaggerations are right, if they exaggerate the right thing." - " G.K.Chesterton

Thoughts on Exercising. . .
I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month.

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. Now she's 97 years old and we don't know where on earth she is.

The only reason I would take up exercising is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

And last but not least: I don't exercise because it makes the ice jump right out of my glass.

You could run this over to your friends but why not just e-mail it to them!