I think this is true for other aspects of my life. Often times I use to tell myself that I just wanted to have peace… but the problem was I didn’t really know how to achieve that. And yes I would try things that I instinctively thought would bring peace, (listen to some Bob Marley, take a warm bubble bath, or have a glass of wine) but it was never lasting. It wasn’t until I entered a relationship with God, and used the Bible as my instruction manual, that I was able to get peace. Real quick, I want to share both my MK strategies for domination and my Biblical strategies that will guarantee peace.
#1. Choose the right team- The most important step. Without the right selection, you’re screwed.
- MK: Raiden. Hands down the best character. He is a thunder god who has the most moves, including the ability to surprise the opponent via Teleportation (down, down up).
- Peace: In order to have access to peace, you need to have a relationship with God. (It doesn’t come from positive thinking or repeating affirming mantras). Once you choose team God, He sends his Holy Spirit to dwell inside you that will allow peace to develop within you (John 14:27). We don’t have a guarantee that our circumstances will change or improve, but we can enter his peace because he has already provided a way through Jesus's work done on the cross. (John 16:33)
#2. Master the key moves- Okay, so it isn't enough to just choose a team and then take a back seat to victory. You gotta use the moves and put in some effort.
- MK: In addition to teleportation, Raiden can perform Lightening (Back, Down, Forward, Low Punch) and Torpedo (Back, Back, Forward) on an opponent.
- Peace: PRAYER. We can overcome battles with stress and fear about the future by communicating with God via prayer and telling him everything that’s causing us unrest (Philippians 4:6-7) . Heck, Jesus even promises to carry our burdens for us, and give us rest from the things that are weighing us down ! (Matthew 11:28-30)
#3. Eliminate the enemy – It’s not truly over until this step is taken care of.
- MK: Turn opponent into dust/bones via Raiden's finishing move (Forward, Back, Back, Back, Low Punch)
- Peace: Silence the devil using scripture. Satan is always going to try and plant negative thoughts in our head to cause anxiety. We can successfully train our mind to realize these lies by using scripture to remind us of God’s truth.
So hopefully now you see that peace is possible. We will still be in a battle while on earth that’s for sure, but if we put on the full armor of God daily we can be victorious. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite passages explaining this.
"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. " Ephesians 6:10-18
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Hey GG, enjoyed the piece. I really like how you explained where you once drew peace from, and where it's drawn for you now. I am reminded of the Samarian woman at the well, and Jesus explaining that the water she drinks will only make her thirsty again, but the water that Jesus draws from she will never go thirsty again (John 4:13-14). Thank you as well for bringing it to the Word with what peace is. My only question is with Matt 11:28-30: is about Jesus carrying our burdens, or that we carry His light burden? Maybe I am reading to much into it and the scripture only had to do with the latter part of the statement. Interesting thing about a yoke: a well built yoke actually helps make the oxen's work a lot easier then no yoke or a poorly made one. Some Christians are mislead into thinking that the life of a follower of Jesus is a work-free one, it's the exact opposite, but the wonderful thing is that we have a good yoke to plow through trials. God bless.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI agree, GG consistently writes well. I think your question touches two themes, both of which are worth Mortal Kombat style posts in their own right.
The first is suffering. Suffering is pain which has spiritual significance. It is an opportunity to grow closer to God (though it may not seem like that at the time). Jesus notes that following Him comes with suffering in Matthew 11:28-30. However that suffering is bearable, as GG notes, God will give us strength to overcome our burdens and his own. See Isaiah 40:31.
The second theme is God does pick up some of our burdens. Such as the bondage of sin (2 Corinthians 5:17) which he picks up upon our belief in Him and never relinquishes. I'm open to the interpretation that this is the burden referenced here. The penalty of sin is damnation and Christ's sacrifice has lifted that burden from us.
I'm open to the explanation GG gives: that God picks up many more of our burdens than that. Jesus speaks about how anxiety is unnecessary in Matthew 6:34. By giving over your life in its entirety to Christ, you give the outcomes over to him as well. You do not need to worry of providence because He will provide, and God has then taken your burden of anxiety from you. You correctly call it "a good yoke to plow through trials."
That's easy enough to type on a blog, but that is really hard to live out. There is a human desire to control your destiny and provide for yourself instead of giving it over to God. GG talks about that on her blog all the time, so I won't steal her thunder.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteYou wrote: “change or improve, but we can enter his peace because he has already provided a way through Jesus's work done on the cross. (John 16:33)”
I want to comment that statement and it will be a long comment in order to make it understandable.
[To differentiate,]
First of all, The historical person was named Ribi Yehoshua. His name was later redacted into Jesus by Christians.
Ribi Yehoshua – the Messiah – taught how to follow the Creator.
It is highly relevant for Christians whom want to follow the Messiah to know what was written in his authentic teachings. His authentic teachings were later redacted into the “gospel of Matthew”. In his true teachings one finds that he taught – just what is written in the Jewish Bible (which Christians calls the “GT”) – that humankind are required to do their utmost to keep the directives in Torah [“the books of Moses”] non-selectively. [note 1] His followers were named the Netzarim.
[To differentiate,] Ribi Yehoshua – the Messiah - lived and kept Torah – i.e. kept the directives in the Torah [“books of Moses”] [note 1] - with the sincerest of his heart, died innocently and became a sacrifice. Because of this the Creator can give His forgiveness for the shortcomings in keeping the directives in Torah of everyone doing his/her sincerest to keep His Instructions found in Torah; and to everyone turning away from their Torah-breaches to instead starting to do their sincerest to keep the Creators’ Instructions in Torah. This is perfectly in accordance with Yekhezeqeil [“Hezekiel”] 18 and Yeshayahu [“Isaiah”] 1:17-18 in Hebrew. Living in that way leads oneself into a relationship with the Creator, while not living in that way don’t lead oneself into a relationship with the Creator. Thus, the Christian “gospel” does not lead oneself into a realtionsship with the Creator
You are speaking about choosing the right team and according to the Messiah the correct team is the team observing the directives of Torah.
Relating to the Creator exactly in the same way Ribi Yehoshua did – by observing the Creators directives in the Torah is very meaningful –including having a REAL relation to the Creator , which is highly meaningful!
1.These statements are proved in the website of www.netzarim.co.il
Anders Branderud