House Church Talk - fatal house church attraction

[Phillip Cohen]

Jim, this is beautiful.

> I first met the Lord and began to follow Him when I was 17.

I was 26

  Coming 
> right out 
> of a life of crime and drugs, etc.,  I was accustomed to fighting, 
> quarreling, 
> hating, revenge -- all that sort of thing.

Same with me.

  And one of the first 
> things I 
> noticed about the Christian life, from within, is the amazing new 
> peace that I 
> had.  

Yeah.
 
> I had never experienced such peace in my heart and mind.  And so 
> when I first 
> began telling my old buddies, my family, and others about the Lord 
> Jesus, I 
> talked a lot about having this wonderful peace, and a joy that did 
> not require 
> alcohol, drugs, or crude jokes.  

Right on!

> And I realized for the first time that it's impossible to have peace 
> with 
> other people, other nations, other races, etc. when there is no 
> peace within 
> our own hearts.  Any real and lasting peace with others starts 
> inside our own 
> hearts.

It's still that way today.  :-)

> We humans often blame our rage and wars on the differences that we 
> have, such 
> as skin color, blood lines, religious convictions, previous acts of 
> violence, 
> political views, cultural peculiarities, and so on.  But the real 
> reason for 
> our desire to fight others is the turmoil inside of us.

Yes. Get the brain chatter to stop on the inside.

> Jesus is the answer for us now, just as He was when we first fled to 
> Him in a 
> desperate hope for salvation.  Living and remaining in His good 
> Presence each 
> day is the key to any peace we may have with others -- even if 
> they're 
> Democrats.

Yeah, or Baptists.

Phillip
spiritfilledhome at juno.com
In quietness and confidence is my strength. Isaiah 30:15