Integrity- People of God

Philippians 4:5-7        Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God tells us how to guard our minds from the attacks of the enemy and how to have peace. We are to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. The Truth is the Word of God. God’s Word is the actual true state of the matter, not what the world says, the doctor says or the devil. They may give information but we know situations change when new information is given and more insight is known.

The truths of God’s word never change and are greater than anything we may be facing. Satan wants us to focus on our bank account, the doctor’s diagnoses or being out of work, but God said do not concentrate on these things. He tells us to think on and give attention to the things that are noble, pure and lovely, things that we can admire and give God praise concerning.

God created us with the ability to concentrate, meditate on only one thing at a time. People say they are multi-tasking but what they are doing is one thing at a time, they are just doing it at a fast pace. We cannot be fearful when we are full of faith praising God. We cannot be stressed and overwhelmed when we are thinking on the goodness of God and all He has done.

Philippians 4: 8-9       Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

There is an Old Cherokee Legend of life. There is a terrible fight going on inside of man between two wolves. One is evil- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This fight is inside every person. The wolf one feeds, is the one that will win. We should feed our faith not our fears.

Philippians 1:28                     without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.

God says not to be frightened or intimidated in any way by anyone but to stand firm in our faith in Him. Our confidence is a sure sign to the enemy that they will be destroyed and that we will soon be saved and delivered from our situation by God.  We should just stand and keep our mind on Jesus and see the salvation of the Lord.

We are told to rejoice in the Lord always and let your calm, gentle spirit be a witness to everyone, and show that we are not intimidated by our enemy.  In every situation we are to pray to God, and lay our petitions before Him with thanksgiving. We are to thank Him for being our God, our King, and our Saviour.  When we are thankful to God, even in our hard times, God will give us peace in our minds and hearts. We can demonstrate peace in hard times and difficult circumstances. Our peace will be a witness to God’s power and glory.