Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Experiencing The Peace of God” – Thursday, 25 September 2014 - Scripture: Judges 6:12-24

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Experiencing The Peace of God” – Thursday, 25 September 2014 - Scripture: Judges 6:11-12 One day the angel of God came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, whose son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, out of sight of the Midianites. The angel of God appeared to him and said, “God is with you, O mighty warrior!”
13 Gideon replied, “With me, my master? If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about, telling us, ‘Didn’t God deliver us from Egypt?’ The fact is, God has nothing to do with us—he has turned us over to Midian.”
14 But God faced him directly: “Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven’t I just sent you?”
15 Gideon said to him, “Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”
16 God said to him, “I’ll be with you. Believe me, you’ll defeat Midian as one man.”
17-18 Gideon said, “If you’re serious about this, do me a favor: Give me a sign to back up what you’re telling me. Don’t leave until I come back and bring you my gift.”
He said, “I’ll wait till you get back.”
19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat and a huge amount of unraised bread (he used over half a bushel of flour!). He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and took them back under the shade of the oak tree for a sacred meal.
20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and unraised bread, place them on that rock, and pour the broth on them.” Gideon did it.
21-22 The angel of God stretched out the tip of the stick he was holding and touched the meat and the bread. Fire broke out of the rock and burned up the meat and bread while the angel of God slipped away out of sight. And Gideon knew it was the angel of God!
Gideon said, “Oh no! Master, God! I have seen the angel of God face-to-face!”
23 But God reassured him, “Easy now. Don’t panic. You won’t die.”
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to God and named it “God’s Peace.” It’s still called that at Ophrah of Abiezer.
"Experiencing The Peace of God" by David Graves
The sudden appearance of the fire and disappearance of his Visitor convinced Gideon that he had seen and spoken to an angel. The fact that he had been in the presence an angel of God filled him with fear. Though Gideon was sure he would die, God dismissed his fears and assured Gideon that he would live.
It is interesting that God gave Gideon a message of peace to prepare him to fight a war. Like Gideon, unless we are at peace with God, we cannot face the enemy with confidence or fight the Lord’s battles. As a testimony to that fact, Gideon built an altar and called it “The LORD is peace” (v. 24).
S.D. Gordon wrote about God’s peace, “It acts as an armed guard drawn up around the heart and thoughts to keep unrest out. It is too subtle for intellectual analysis but it steals into and steadies the heart. You cannot understand it but you can feel it. You cannot get hold of it with your head, but you can with your heart.”

May we experience both the peace of God and the God of peace as we daily come into His presence.

Hymn for Today:

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace" by Floyd W. Hawkins
1. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on Thee.”
When the shadows come and darkness falls,
He giveth inward peace.
Refrain
O He is the only perfect Resting Place!
He giveth perfect peace.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on Thee.”
2. In the shadow of the mighty Rock
I lay me down to sleep;
He who watches over Israel
So faithfully will keep.
Refrain
O He is the only perfect Resting Place!
He giveth perfect peace.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on Thee.”
3. ‘Tis the promise of the Holy One:
“My peace I give to thee.”
Tho’ the storms of life in fury rage,
Thy Refuge sure is He.
Refrain
O He is the only perfect Resting Place!
He giveth perfect peace.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on Thee.”
Thought for Today:

“ After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ assistant:
'Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I’m giving to the People of Israel. I’m giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It’s all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.'"(Joshua 1:1-9)
Prayer Needs:
The many people in Guadeloupe will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the the fullness of the Holy Spirit..
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