Southside's Blog

Peace is a state of tranquility or quiet, serene or calm – the absence of war. The Hebrew word is shalom (both adjective and substantive), meaning primarily "soundness" "health," but also coming to signify "prosperity," well-being in general, all good in relation to both man and God.

What brings you peace in your life? You might say everything is right in my world! We are all healthy, jobs are going fine, the kids are doing well, and we have no appreciable debt.

You should be at peace in this case, but how long will this last? I’m not a pessimist, but we all realize that life can take a turn quickly.

Over a year, you learn that your 18-year-old daughter, who just graduated from high school, is pregnant. Your brother-in-law has committed suicide. The company you manage is running out of money. The Board votes not to raise more capital and to cease operations. After the company’s dissolution is settled, a friend invites you to join his company as a partner. Within days, you field calls from the business’s creditors who want their money.  Investigation shows that his daughter has been embezzling money to blow at the casinos. This company goes under within four months of joining it. During all this, you, your wife, and son are negotiating to buy a retail business for them to manage.

There is not much peace!!!  Where do we go from here? Satan loves these opportunities. He’ll tell you God doesn’t care about you, so why should you be loyal to Him? He will help you wallow in your self-pity. Well, you don’t blame God and turn away from Him. You run to His arms and ask for a comforting hug.

The following are quotes from Allen Jackson:

Thankfully, there is no fear that cannot be overcome with the peace that Jesus gives us. His life was filled with situations that would cause real fear in the bravest of us, but He was never afraid. His life was marked by criticism and rejection, but He demonstrated a calm assurance that God was always with Him. If Jesus said we don’t have to be afraid, we don’t have to be. If Jesus gives me His peace, that’s good enough for me.

Allen’s prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that in this troubled world You provide peace, security, and abundant life through the cross of Jesus Christ. May your Holy Spirit counsel me daily in Your peace. When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen

From Chris Lawrence:

Here are seven things to know about the peace of God:

This peace is a gift. You must look outside yourself for this peace. You will not find this peace by looking deep inside your own heart, but by looking outside of yourself, to another power and a person. And this person is God.

As God has said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. John 14:27  He offers this gift with no strings attached. It is a blessing for us to enjoy. But it is something you must ask for in order to receive. Psalm 29:11

The peace that God offers is not something we can fully understand. We are relying upon God after all. As the Bible says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding…  Philippians 4:6-7 The great thing is that we don’t have to fully understand it to experience it!

This peace will give you strength. The feeling of calm and confidence, even while the wind blows and thunder rolls, is a powerful weapon against the storms of cancer, coronavirus or whatever challenges you face. Those that experience it will find a new kind of strength. God has promised to increase the power of the weak, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.” Isaiah 40:29-31

This peace will guard your heart. Especially in the face of suffering and threats, your heart is a fragile thing. This peace builds a fortress around your heart and protects you from the surrounding dangers and fears.

This peace will help you sleep. So often, our anxiety rears its head the most when we try to sleep. If we begin experiencing a calm and tranquility about our future, better sleep is a natural outcome. God promises it to us. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

You must ask for this peace. We can’t assume that this peace will automatically arrive on our doorstep. We have to ask God for it. He is relational and does not intrude on people. You must invite him into your life, and into your journey. As God says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20

There is a gift of peace you can experience, no matter where you are at on your journey.  Are you ready to ask for it?

God knows what we need, even better than we know it ourselves. Is that settled in your heart? Does your life reflect that?

We are all in need of peace. This article was spurred primarily by the weather in Middle Tennessee this past weekend.  Six tornadoes, as of this writing, six deaths, and one of those was a child. Many injured. An unknown number of homes were destroyed. Christmas presents are scattered for miles around the countryside.

But then, Evelyn needs additional neurological surgery. A significant amount of peace is required when your child faces any surgery but brain surgery.

I’m sure that Allen’s writings come from many years in ministry to those who need and are in search of peace. Chris’s article comes from his ministry to help cancer patients find peace.

In addition to your search for peace, do you help others in the search?

God is waiting for you to come for a hug. His arms are open wide. Go ahead ! They feel good!

God Bless!

Mike    Mikeclement5772@gmail,com

Standing Firm – Allen Jackson – 2018 – Intend Publishing

Hope Has Arrived - The Gift of Peace - From the Internet – Chris Lawrence

What about you? You have a choice: to obey or disobey. Because Joseph obeyed, God used him to change the world. Can he do the same with you? Will you be that kind of person? Will you serve…even when you don’t understand?

And when you find yourself in another house, do what my daughter’s friend did – just call home. He won’t mind, he’ll be waiting.

From Mike: Very comforting!!

I learned the lesson God had used my daughter to teach me. All of us are here by grace and, at some point, all of us have to share some grace. So the next time you find yourself next to a questionable character, don’t give him a hard time—give him a pretzel!

You harvested food you didn’t make from an earth you didn’t create. Let me see if I have this straight. Had God not done his part, you would have no food. Hmmm…perhaps we best return to the word beggar. We are all beggars, in need of bread.

From Mike: This is for all of us and especially for those that don't believe they need to say "Thank you" to God!

Isn’t that what we all need? An abba who will hear when we call? An abba who will swing us up into his arms and carry us home? Don’t we all need an Abba Father?

From Mike: As we observe this special day, let's give special thanks to Abba!

"You see, resentment is a prison. Jesus doesn’t question the reality of your wounds, he just doubts whether resentment is going to heal them. What are you going to do? Are you going to spend your life guarding the jail cell, or are you going to trust your wounds to Jesus?"

From Mike: Max you don't understand. Jesus may not exact all the vengeance that I believe is necessary! Folks, if that's your attitude then you will continue your prison sentence of dealing with resentment. Just remember that you sentenced yourself!

If you’re talking about your financial debt, that’s not likely to happen. But if you’re talking about your spiritual debt, it already has. Your heavenly Father has covered your shortfall. In God’s house you’re covered by the roof of his grace!

So the next time your plate has a portion you find hard to swallow, talk to God about it. Jesus did. In the garden of Gethsemane his Father handed him a cup of suffering so sour, so vile, that Jesus handed it back to heaven. “My Father,” he prayed, “if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

From Mike: In addition to the fact that I really enjoyed Max's devotional this morning, I had to share some humor. When I was a kid, my Mother and I had a constant battle over green beans.  Every time she made them, I had to try them again.  I strongly objected.

When I was in rehab in 2015 for a major stroke, I could only swallow liquid and had to be careful with that. For the first ten days I lived on soup and Ensure. The day finally came when they switched me to pureed food. Breakfast was a scrambled egg and pureed biscuit. That might have been the best biscuit I've ever eaten. I looked forward to lunch with anticipation. The offering was some kind of brown meat pureed, mashed potatoes, and a giant scoop of evil-looking green mass. Yep, they pureed green beans. I could see the giant smile on Mother's face up in heaven. Pureeing them does not make them better!

Mike

So the next time your plate has more broccoli than apple pie, just remember who prepared the meal. Even Jesus was given a portion he found hard to swallow. But with God’s help, he did. And with God’s help, you can too.

From Mike: There is always a request for prayers for those going through adversity in the Southside bulletin. The vast majority of the requests are because of health. Wonder how many people are struggling with something other than illness? Marriage problems, children problems, work problems, or other problems with living life. Most of us don't open up about the different struggles in life. The next time you pray for the members at Southside, ask for God's help swallowing the broccoli, whatever it may be.!

We are commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to "go and make disciples". As we can see from the Book of Acts, the early disciples took this direction seriously and taught people about Jesus, how to get forgiveness through Him, and how to live for Him daily to change other people's lives. Yet, throughout the last 2000 years of the Church's existence, we have often watered down what true discipleship is and made it simply to show up for worship occasionally. That is not healthy and it is not Biblical. There is more to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul writes these words to Titus, as recorded in Titus 2:11-14:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock, in their excellent book, Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon, discuss 5 key characteristics of resilient disciples in the 18-28 age range. I will just list them here and come back and write about each one in separate blog posts.

1. They have an intimate relationship with Jesus.
2. They have developed the muscles of cultural discernment.
3. They have forged meaningful, intergenerational relationships (in the Church).
4. They have trained (and they practice) vocational discipleship.
5. They have curbed self-centered tendencies and engage in countercultural mission.

I should ask myself if I have these characteristics. Am I a resilient disciple of Jesus?

"You and I live in a loud world. To get someone’s attention is no easy task. But when someone’s willing to silence everything else so he can hear us clearly, it’s a privilege. A rare privilege indeed!"

The clocks turn back this weekend and we will get an extra hour of sleep. It is a chance to start something new that will impact your life forever for the good. I am talking about coming to a Sunday School class and then staying for worship at the Southside Church of Christ in Shelbyville, TN. 

We have new classes starting for all ages this Sunday, including a new Young Adult class for those who are 18-25 years old. We have Sunday School at 9 AM and Worship at 10 AM. We would love to see you and get to know you!

Please come!

Sincerely,

Tim Gunnells, Minister

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Some of us view prayer as a chore. We don’t enjoy doing it, but we do it anyway to keep the air clear. We assume that God will be satisfied if we go through an occasional prayer ritual. However, prayer should be the combination that unlocks the door to all the riches of the kingdom of God. Lack of understanding about the purpose of prayer and failure to pray are barriers that keep that door shut. On the other hand, the consistent practice of prayer will open wide the door of God’s work in our lives.

I want to share some things that might help us:  1) The Purpose of Prayer, 2) The Motivation for Prayer, 3) God’s Answers to Prayer, 4) The Promises of Prayer, and 5) Different Aspects of Prayer.

THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER

• Through prayer, we learn to converse with God.
• As we talk with Him, we get to know Him more personally.
• Soon we will discover that we have the power we need to do whatever God asks of us.
• What kind of power results from prayer? John 14:12-14
• What is a major reason for not receiving answers to prayer? John 16:24
• Sometimes we don’t even bother to ask God for the things we want, and then we complain when we don’t get them. In an average week, how much time do you spend in personal prayer?
• Do you feel like you are spending enough time in prayer, or would you like to spend more?

 THE MOTIVATION FOR PRAYER

• Why should we pray? For what should we ask? Are there conditions that you must meet to obtain an answer?  What are the results of prayer? 
• Until we answer some of these basic questions, we may not be motivated to pray. Here are some Scriptures that help answer these questions:

John 15:7-11

James 5:13-16

2 Chronicles 7:14

Matthew 6:5-13

Matthew 26:41

GOD’S ANSWERS TO PRAYER

• God wants to give us the things we need as we pray for them. But prayer is not like a quarter spent in a vending machine to automatically get what we want. God wants us to have what will be best for us. 
• Prayer involves: 1) Putting ourselves in the position to know God, 2) receiving what God has to give us, and 3) doing what He wants us to do.
• When we ask God for something, He will respond to our request in one of three ways:
  1. He might say Yes.
     1. When we pray for something according to God’s will He promises an affirmative answer. He loves us and wants to answer yes to our requests.
     2. 1 John 5:14-15
  2. He might say Wait.
     1. God always has a good reason for not giving us what we ask for right away. We may not always understand why He chooses to let us wait, but we can be sure that He is doing what is best for us.
     2. James 1:2-4 gives one reason God might have us to wait.
     3. Psalm 27:13-14 tells us what our attitude should be while we wait.
  3. He might say No.
     • Just as good parents must sometimes say no to their children’s requests, God must also refuse our prayer requests from time to time.
     • God told David no when He asked to build the temple because David had shed too much blood in his lifetime (2 Chronicles 22:7-10).
     • 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 -- God said no to Paul.
     • James 1:6-8 gives one reason that God sometimes says no.

 THE PROMISES OF PRAYER

• God’s Word provides hundreds of promises about prayer. But they won’t mean much to us if we don’t apply them to specific areas of our life. As we look quickly at 4 scriptures, think about how they apply to you.

Matthew 7:7-8

James 1:5

Philippians 4:19

Philippians 4:6-7

 DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF PRAYER

5 basic types of prayer:

1. Praise—Hebrews 13:15
2. Thanksgiving—Psalm 118:1
3. Confession—Proverbs 28:13
4. Petition—John 16:23-24
5. Intercession—1 Timothy 2:1-2

I would be happy to talk more with you about any of these things. You can contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

These are two of Max Lucado’s recent devotionals. Some valuable thoughts1

DON’T STOP IN SHECHEM -

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV).

What voices seduce you? Distract you? Lure you away from your destiny? To be clear, if you have the gift of Christ in your heart, you are set for life. Sin cannot destroy you. But it can trip you, ensnare you, entangle you. It cannot take your salvation, but it can take your joy, peace of mind, and rest.

Jacob learned this lesson. He got out of Shechem. He realized that if they stayed, the Canaanites, who were much larger in number, would retaliate and kill his entire household. He pulled up stakes, loaded his camels, and turned toward Bethel. And to the degree that Shechem was sordid, Bethel was beautiful. But Jacob had to make a change. Do likewise. Don’t stop in Shechem when the blessing is in Bethel.

GOD CAME TO JACOB -

Jacob’s season at Shechem was a toxic wasteland. Jacob forgot who he was and what God had commanded. His disobedience resulted in a devastated family. Rape. Carnage. Sacrilege. Genesis 34 is the darkest chapter in the Jacob story. It’s not that God was not present, it’s that God was not sought. Jacob once again lived life by his own terms and paid a high price for doing so. What a sorry excuse for a patriarch. God will surely abandon him.

But that’s not what happens. “Then God said to Jacob, ‘Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God,…'” (Genesis 35:1 NIV). Instead of giving up on Jacob, God spoke to him. God took the initiative. God came to Jacob. And Jacob came to his senses. God never gave up on him, and he’ll never give up on you.

Psalm 36:1 reads, “Sin lurks deep in the hearts of the wicked, forever urging them on to evil deeds” (TLB).

The human heart is a dark place. When God is not sought, when society submits to no one higher than self, the result is chaos. We become savages. We victimize the vulnerable. We break hearts, homes, covenants, and promises.

We create a poisoned system where people suppress their better selves and rise on the backs of others. It awards power and force and downplays kindness and grace.

To be clear, in the Christian calculus, humanity is treasured, priceless, and destined for glory. We are created in God’s image. But we have squandered our inheritance by seeking to be God. Yet there is hope! And his name is Jesus. He came to rescue us from ourselves.

From Mike: This was Max’s devotional from a couple of weeks ago. I’ve read it several times. It strikes me that he is writing about the USA. Maybe that was his intention.

We have reached an all-time low in the USA. Christians are not in favor with a  large segment of society. I’ve not experienced this directly, however, the internet and news media have labeled Christians as cruel and mean-spirited. Now I have known some Christians who do fit that label.

Homosexuality, living together outside of marriage, having children outside of marriage, and a number of similar situations are acceptable in our society. We dare not to speak against any of these situations as being sinful less we are labeled as mean-spirited.

As Christians what are we to do? Matthew 10:32: "Stand up for me against world opinion and I'll stand up for you before my Father in heaven.” This is what God wants! He never promised us an easy way!

Quote from the internet: “I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world than stand with the world and be judged by God.”

Thanks!

Mike -  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

But there is a treatment! Jesus took on our sin, our COVID-19 of the soul. He, the only virus-free being in human history, allowed himself to be infected with the human condition. In order to treat our sin, our Good Father infused and infuses us with the purest life. “It is no longer I who live,” Paul proclaimed, “but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). Coursing through the vein of the saint is the sinless, disease-blocking, life-giving transfusion of Christ.

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." Titus 2:11-14

The Apostle Paul gives instruction to the Christian disciple here that we must take to heart and apply to our daily living. Grace brings salvation to us, but we must receive it, and in receiving it, we must be different than we were before our salvation. How so?

• We must reject worldly desires.
• We must embrace the righteousness of God.
• We must use our minds to make good choices.
• We must embrace the ways of Jesus.
• We must realize that we belong to Jesus.
• We must decide to do good things (godly things) each and every day.

Jesus saved us to live different lives now to make a difference in the lives of people. He sure has made a difference in mine!

Shechem was only twenty miles from Bethel. Jacob was within eyeshot of his goal. Jacob and his nomadic clan, weary from travel, decided to pitch their tents. They met some Shechemites. They made a few friends. They bought land. Jacob lived to regret each choice. What about you? Make it your aim to obey God. Blessing follows obedience.