Peace and Joy are a Spiritual State of Mind 
 
Peace and joy are a spiritual state of mind produced only in believers that are walking in the Spirit.
   
It is interesting to note in Rom. 15:13 that unless we are filled with joy and peace in our believing, we cannot abound in hope through the powerful enabling of the Holy Ghost. The foundation of hope is faith. Faith is the very substance or essence  and assurance of our confidence underlying hope. (Heb. 11:1) Remember that hope is an eager anticipation and an absolute expectation based upon the Word.
    So what does this have to do with peace? Could it be that at times we base our hope on whether or not we feel the peace of God rather than basing our hope and eager anticipations on the written Word?  This method of determining our Lord's good pleasure or will could be detrimental in making proper judgment calls on which we base even vital decisions at times.  Let us keep in mind that "peace" is a part of the ninefold fruit of the Spirit according to Gal. 5:22. Also, let us be fully assured that we are walking in the Spirit if we are counting on the peace of God to guide us. Simply put, no walk in the Spirit, no true spiritual peace to guide us.
   
Isa.32:17-18 says, "And the work of righteousness SHALL BE PEACE; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. (As long as we remain righteous in the Spirit)
And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;"
   
We find in this passage an inseparable connection between peace and righteousness. The WORK of righteousness, a key element birthed through righteousness, is peace. Why so?
   
Let us consider for a moment our carnal state of unrighteousness when we exalt our will over God's will and Word. In this state, we find ourselves no longer at PEACE WITH GOD, but with a spirit of rebellion against his authority. Rom. 8:7 tells us that the carnal mind is enmity against God. This means there is no peace with God, because we are at war with God!
   
We will remain God's enemy until we surrender and send up the white flag of Spirit humbled confession of our offense. At this point, all unrighteousness is forgiven, leaving us in a Spirit produced state of righteousness, AND PEACE (with God) and joy in the Holy Ghost.
   
Do we understand that unless we maintain this spiritual state of righteousness, the grand virtue of peace will always be out of our reach. Let us be very careful when we make choices based upon what we call the peace of God. There can be no peace if there is no Spirit produced righteousness!
   
Remember that the EFFECT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS is quietness and assurance  for ever. The rewards of true peace are many, to include peaceable habitations, sure dwellings, and quiet resting places.
 
Perhaps an appropriate mental image of a peaceful state of mind would be a pond or lake that is as smooth as glass. This is a picture of true tranquility.
 
In our minds, discomfort, physical afflictions, and adversities or troubles immediately creates ripples in our lake of peace. Tragedy turns our lake of tranquility into storm tossed waves.
 
Jesus can still say "peace be still" if we walk under the control of his Spirit, allowing him to continually produce an ample supply of fruit of the Spirit PEACE. The lake of the inner or new man can remain unrippled if we will learn to listen to God and his word where he directs us in our cares to "Be careful for NOTHING ; but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your request be made known unto God.
And THE PEACE OF GOD, which PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, shall KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS through Christ Jesus."
 
The power of true peace can do exceeding abundantly, above all that we can ask or think! It can calm our fears and vanquish our anxieties. Amazingly enough, it can still our storms and remove even the ripples from our lakes or hearts and minds.
 
 
    Youth's Exodus
This is a setting forth of a heavily burdened heart over the spiritual mortality rate among children in Christian homes. I so desire to encourage folk to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3) in their marriages and relationships with their children. This is noble endeavor is only possible as each member of the family walks in the Spirit under the control of the Spirit of Christ.
 
Wisdom would tell us to ponder the basic spiritual needs and spiritual deficiencies in our children and determine how to address them before they become ingrained character flaws. Even children are known by their works, as well as their character and personal integrity. Our churches and especially spiritual leaders in the home MUST come to the REALIZATION that our children are perfectly capable of learning how to walk in the Spirit and live under the control of the Spirit of Christ , IF someone will teach them! It is not rocket science. We talk or teach often about the simple faith of a child, however we must remember that GENUINE FAITH not only comes by the hearing (which includes receiving) of the Word of God, but is only produced in believers that are in the Spirit, as we see in Gal. 5:22.
 
It would seem that this would apply to believers at any age. There comes a time when saved children, by their own choices, are no longer in the Spirit, just as adults. If they are no longer in the Spirit, then they are no longer walking in the light and fellowshipping with the Father and the Son. (I Jn. 1:7) If they are walking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit, and they are walking in darkness rather than light, and they are no longer in fellowship with the Father and the Son, but with the world and worldlings, how can they have the boldness to enter into the holiest through the blood of Jesus Christ?! (Heb. 10:19)
 
How can they make the throne room their living room and provide the Father and the Son with their desired pleasure and glory?
 
May I say something bluntly but as graciously as I can? WHO CARES?! May I answer that question in the same but also broken hearted manner? Almost nobody does!! How many churches teach children from the youngest classes up the basic 101 principles of walking in the Spirit under the control of the Spirit of Christ. We teach them about sin and how to confess their sin and have them forgiven, but do we teach them that upon Spirit prompted confession they are NOW walking in the light and in the Spirit.
 
Do we teach them that they are NOW in a position and condition to have personal fellowship with their Father and his Son in the holiest, the throne room of God?
 
Do we teach them that when they confess their sin following Holy Ghost conviction and drawing, they NOW put off the Old Man and put on the New Man?
 
Do we teach them that the New Man within them is created after God's own image in righteousness and true holiness?
 
Do we teach them that this is who they are in Jesus Christ THE MOMENT their sins are truly confessed, and that they have the same righteousness and true holiness as God himself? (Eph. 4:24)
 
Do they understand that this is why they can walk in the light as he is in the light, and why they can come boldly into the holiest dwelling place of the Father and the Son?
 
Having a desire to go on with many such choice truths, but knowing there is a critical and crucial point to be made for Christ's sake, and for our children's sake, and for the sake of the future churches of Jesus Christ, let it be sadly said that so many of these foundational truths of TRULY VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING are rarely taught to our children. Paul said in Rom. 8:24, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" He said in verse 15, "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that I do not; but what I hate, that do I." Is Paul not crying out in exasperation, " where is the victory over the body of this death"?
 
Where is the victory over the Old Man? We see his frustration again in verse 19 in these words, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." Is it not our goal to see our children saved as early as possible? Well of course! It would be foolish not to teach them the gospel as early as possible. Yet once they are saved, we as parents teach them very little about the battle that is every believer's cross to bear. We teach them the milk of the Word and how to be a good moral Independent Baptist by drawing principles from a multitude of bible stories, and such we should do, but do we explain in detail the battles that are coming their way, and how to truly be conquerors? Paul said in 7:22-23, that he delighted in the law of God after the inward or New Man but makes it clear that the law of sin still warred in his members bringing him into captivity. Our children also will delight in God's word through bible stories and proper teaching, but if Paul was brought into captivity how will our children avoid doing so? Paul explains in verse 23 the source of our spiritual bondage as being the law of sin in the old man, or body of the sins of the flesh, bringing us into captivity and thus depriving us of spiritual victory. Are we keenly spiritually aware that our children WILL BE SET UPON by THIS BATTLE and MUST BE TAUGHT from the EARLIEST AGE POSSIBLE how to win the victory? If they are not taught this before their teen years, which would be an INEXCUSABLE CRIME against them, it is unlikely that they will exit their teen years as victorious Spirit filled believers. Could we not say that statistics tell the rest of the story? So where is the victory? We sing "Victory in Jesus" and that is the conclusion Paul came to in verse 25 where he said in essence, "I thank God there is deliverance from sins spiritual bondage and being a slave to the Old Man through Jesus Christ our Lord". He concludes chapter seven by making it clear that we can choose to serve the law or Word of God with the inner New Man or serve the law of sin through the sinful flesh of the Old Man. There are MANY stories in scripture that illustrate these truths explicitly. How many stories do we teach to convey these non-optional principles of spiritual liberty and victory for our children's sake, yea for the cause of Christ and for our Father's glorification. Remembering that chapter divisions were added by man, and needfully so, let us follow the biblical momentum of the Spirit into 8:1-2. Probably most of us have heard 8:1 taught a number of times and as often as not, out of context. Many preachers and teachers read the words, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus", and that is where they stop! It must be assumed that they are seeking to teach that God is saying that there is no eternal condemnation for God's children. The fact of the matter is that God is saying that THERE IS CONDEMNATION or God's judgment on those believers that walk after the flesh, rather than after the Spirit. Rom. 8:2 says, For the LAW of the Spirit of LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS hath made me FREE from the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH. So then we find that if we allow ourselves to be brought into captivity to the law of sin and death by choosing to walk after the flesh, condemnation or God's chastening judgment awaits us. On the other hand, if we will choose by a Spirit produced desire in the New Man to walk after the Spirit, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, and its accompanying power, will make us FREE from the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH. No wonder God said in Gal. 5:16, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye SHALL NOT FULFILL THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH." The law of the Spirit of LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS is without doubt one of the greatest laws in the scriptures, if not the greatest! We are talking about true liberation from the sin nature that cursed man's existence from the Garden of Eden until now. That sin nature caused Paul to cry out, "O wretched man that I am! The word "wretched" means miserable and describes a multitude of believers that are slaves to the Old Man and the law of sin and death. I have gone to great lengths to describe what our children's lives are going to look and be like unless parents and churches wake up and realize that the doctrine of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is not being taught as the primary foundational principle of TRUE CHRISTIANITY, which is Christ living his resurrection life through each born again believer. Only when we or our children are walking in the light as he is in the light, and thus in the Spirit of Christ, can we and our children confidently say with Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I LIVE; (New Man) yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I NOW LIVE (resurrection life of Christ) in the flesh I live by the FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, who LOVED ME, and GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME." Who will rise up and teach our children these principles that will free them from Sin, Self, and Satan? Satan stole the doctrine of Walking in the Spirit and the subsequent Crucified-Resurrected Life many years ago leaving the church with a form of godliness but little to no power thereof. God said in Eph. 5:8-10, "For ye were sometimes darkness, but NOW are ye LIGHT IN THE LORD: WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT: (In the Spirit) (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD." Let us close with this admonition from Eph. 5:14, "Wherefore he saith, AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST, and ARISE FROM THE DEAD, and CHRIST SHALL GIVE THEE LIGHT." 
 
 Good Works and the Believer
 
 Bro. David Padgett in his book "Walking in the Spirit," emphasized some important truths regarding good works in chapter 3, of his book entitled Walking is Working. In this section he drives home the point that it's imperative that the believer be about the Father's business in this world showing forth good works. Is this not what Jesus said, in Matthew 5:16? Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. The truth is walking is working, but working in a whole new way. Bro. Padgett shares with us some reasons as why we must be about good works.
 
There are 7 solid good reasons as to why we must be believers that walk in good works.
 
1.) For, God ordained it before the foundation of the world.
 
2.) We were designed  and created for this purpose.
 
3.) It is our calling and spiritual vocation.
 
4.) They show others that God and His Christ are praise worthy.
 
5.) They are proof that we have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light.
 
6.) They enable us to display the glory of God and of Christ with glory of His resurrection life and power being lived through us.
 
7.) Good works cause God to be glorified among the Gentiles or those that do not know Jesus Christ.
 
Here are some other passages to encourage and exhort you to walk in good works.
 
Philippians 2:12-13,  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
 
Titus 3:8,  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.