What better way to start closing out this year than by spending some time reflecting on recent services and the goodness of God?

Are you tired?  Worn out?  Fighting, but not seeing real victory?  Burned out on religion?  Come to Christ—to His Truth—and recover your soul by seeing what you’re fighting.  Once you do, come storm or battle, his peace will meet you there.

If you’re reading this and feeling it, don’t worry, you’re in good company.

Share this with a friend who’s taking a deep breath and looking in the laver.

The laver is the part of the tabernacle in the outer court.  It is there to let us see ourselves.  Look in it—see what is holding you back.

Whatever we think, we are.  Our emotions are generated by our thoughts.  Fear, anger, distress, hate, hopelessness, unhappiness, downcast, insecure, full of self-doubt—each one started with a thought.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.  -Proverbs 23:7

We have to find the source of fear, anger, distress, etc.—before we can fix it.

A River Runs Through It

At the laver, you can cleanse yourself from unrighteousness.  God has a crystal river flowing in which we can wash ourselves.

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  -Revelation 22:1

What People are Remembering

The bitter enemy.

The “bitter enemy of your soul” is a quantum leap from “ornery rascal”.

Looking in the laver and seeing yourself helps you identify things you’re fighting, like covetousness.  It slips in or rears its head when we’re busy complaining and being unthankful.

When you covet, you feel like God has short-changed you and hasn’t treated you right.  You feel that you should have been blessed, but weren’t.  Covetousness is close to idolatry with God, so take heed.  We are not owed anything by life or by God, but rather are working to receive His promises He made to us.

You can NEVER be at peace with the spirit of covetousness in you.

It Tries and It Tries But Can’t Get Satisfaction

The carnal nature can never be satisfied.  Ever.  It always wants something more, new, different.  It’s satisfied for only a fleeting moment–then it wants something else, something more.  Give it a million dollars; it wants two million.

Where Are We As a Church? 

As Brother Patrick said, “We’re in the laver now.”  We are seeing ourselves and what we need to overcome.  We’ve come this far and have been battle-tested and are still standing.  Thank God for that!

Don’t Walk Through Life Cast Down When You Can Have Peace Now.

Don’t wait until the end for peace.  (Besides, you won’t make it.)

Brother Nobles has spent a lot of time showing us how losing our thankfulness unravels everything else causing us to have no peace or joy anymore.  He remembers way back one night when he stood at the altar in a small church in Potter’s Hill.  On the left side close to the piano where Sister Jean was playing, he cried out to God and was filled with the Spirit.

He recounts all the hundreds of hours Elder spent with him working to plant these things in him and other men so they could carry this truth and church on toward the finish line.  He told us how important it is to go back frequently in our own lives to times like those and remember them to keep thankfulness in our hearts.  It will bring us peace and joy.

A Peace That Remains and Joy Unshakeable

Peace is not the absence of conflict.  We will always have conflict in this life.  It’s God’s peace, and it comes from thankfulness and passes all understanding.  Peace leads to joy, and no one can take away this joy that God gave us.

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.  -John 16:22

We don’t lose this joy.  We let it go.  We give it up.

Peace and joy start with a thankful spirit.

Being thankful is the game changer.