One Accord part 3
Here it is, as simply as I can put it: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3). When I line up with God (Jesus, love), and you line up with God (Jesus, love), we will automatically line up with each other. And the only way to line up with God (Jesus, love) is to keep our mind stayed on Him. To let the mind of Christ, that's already in us, BE in us. To USE that mind that we've been given. And notice--HE will keep us in perfect peace. In this world there IS tribulation, but we can be of good cheer. Because HE has overcome the world. It's not what we do... it's what HE does. In us, and through us, and as us. It's not who we are... it's who HE is. Who we are IN Him. And it comes, as always, from trusting in Him. From faith. Have faith in God. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. We hear that still, small voice of God saying, "I love you" with every beat of His heart in our chests and then we let that love that's inside come out. We receive and release His love. We trust in Him, and that's how we keep our mind stayed on Him. That's how we set our affection on things above, not things on the earth. We let HIM do what He's of a mind to do. God knows the thoughts that He thinks toward us--thoughts of peace and not evil, to bring us to His expected end. And the end... is the never-ending, eternal, abundant, everlasting life of Christ! A life of love. That's why we can trust Him: He has our best interests at heart. He loves us more than anything. We are His favorite. The apple of His eye. We can trust Him, because, over and over, He proves Himself trustworthy. Look at Romans 5:7-8, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus loved us so much that He chose to sacrifice His life for us. And He didn't do it because we were good. He did it to MAKE us good, if I can say it that way. To shine the light on the goodness that was always inside, but was hidden underneath all of the stuff the world tries to bury us with. All the stuff that we get caught up in. Thinking the concerns of the world are so important. And, listen, it IS important to take care of business. I've always maintained that. But the MOST important thing is love. Remember 1 Corinthians 13:13? "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." It's all about love. Even faith and hope are all about love. Peace is all about love. God keeps us in His perfect peace by loving us. He equips and empowers us to trust Him by loving us. He fills us up with His love so that it can overflow out of us. All we have to do is fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. Trust Him. Keep out mind stayed on Him. Let Him love the hell out of us, and then love Him back by loving the hell out of each other. That's what keeps us in perfect peace--receiving and releasing His love! That's what keeps us in one accord--receiving and releasing the love of God!