Peace
Have you ever noted that when God wants to bring home a point to you that every time you pick up anything to read, it is usually on the subject that God wants you to hear for your particular need? It has been that way for me this week about God's peace. One verse in particular kept coming to me all week:
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."
I have been studying the book of Colossians with a friend and find it most interesting that God has led us to study the subject of His peace at a time when probably I need it the most. Isn't God amazing when He brings to you just what you need just when you need it the most????
My first encounter with the subject of peace this week was a small article called "Peace is a Person". Ephesians 2:14 starts out "For he himself is our peace." The ancient Jewish prophets called Him "the Prince of Peace." When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His imminent resurrection, He told them, "Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give unto you, not as the world gives you, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) He is the Only Person that can guarantee us true peace, because He is Peace. Peace is a Person.
When we went to church this morning, lo and behold, our message was entitled "The Path to Personal Peace." The gist of the message was that we need to 1) acccept what cannot be changed; 2) Trust in God's loving care; and 3) Surrender to God's loving control. For the things that enter our lives that we have no control over, we need to accept what God wants to teach us through it. Acceptance is a choice on our part, but peace is only possible by Christ's supernatural power working in and through us. The pastor quoted the Serenity Prayer that we see on plaques all the time, but did you know there's more to the prayer than the first line? It goes like this:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day a time. Enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that you, God, will make all things right if I surrender to Your will. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen.
There are several aspects of obtaining the peace that only Christ can give and I thought Colossians 3:12-17 said it better than anything I heard or read this week.
We need to make a conscious choice to let the peace of God rule in our hearts, to love one another, bear one another's burdens, forgive each other, be thankful in all things, and allow the word of God dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs together as one body, and to do all that we do in the name of Jesus, always giving thanks to God through Christ. (Synoposis of Col. 3:12-17) As verse 14 states so clearly, we are called to peace. The only way we can have that supernatural peace is through a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Peace.
If something is overwhelming you right now, and you can't seem to claim victory over it, I suggest you pray and ask Christ for that supernatural peace that only He can give you. This world will bring troubles, sorrows, and pain, but Christ offers something so much greater that the world could never give us---His peace as we trust Him to be the Sovereign Ruler of our heart. He will never disappoint you!
Jehovah Shalom (I am the God of Peace)!
Grace and peace be to you!
Sandy
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."
I have been studying the book of Colossians with a friend and find it most interesting that God has led us to study the subject of His peace at a time when probably I need it the most. Isn't God amazing when He brings to you just what you need just when you need it the most????
My first encounter with the subject of peace this week was a small article called "Peace is a Person". Ephesians 2:14 starts out "For he himself is our peace." The ancient Jewish prophets called Him "the Prince of Peace." When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His imminent resurrection, He told them, "Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give unto you, not as the world gives you, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) He is the Only Person that can guarantee us true peace, because He is Peace. Peace is a Person.
When we went to church this morning, lo and behold, our message was entitled "The Path to Personal Peace." The gist of the message was that we need to 1) acccept what cannot be changed; 2) Trust in God's loving care; and 3) Surrender to God's loving control. For the things that enter our lives that we have no control over, we need to accept what God wants to teach us through it. Acceptance is a choice on our part, but peace is only possible by Christ's supernatural power working in and through us. The pastor quoted the Serenity Prayer that we see on plaques all the time, but did you know there's more to the prayer than the first line? It goes like this:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day a time. Enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that you, God, will make all things right if I surrender to Your will. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen.
There are several aspects of obtaining the peace that only Christ can give and I thought Colossians 3:12-17 said it better than anything I heard or read this week.
We need to make a conscious choice to let the peace of God rule in our hearts, to love one another, bear one another's burdens, forgive each other, be thankful in all things, and allow the word of God dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs together as one body, and to do all that we do in the name of Jesus, always giving thanks to God through Christ. (Synoposis of Col. 3:12-17) As verse 14 states so clearly, we are called to peace. The only way we can have that supernatural peace is through a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Peace.
If something is overwhelming you right now, and you can't seem to claim victory over it, I suggest you pray and ask Christ for that supernatural peace that only He can give you. This world will bring troubles, sorrows, and pain, but Christ offers something so much greater that the world could never give us---His peace as we trust Him to be the Sovereign Ruler of our heart. He will never disappoint you!
Jehovah Shalom (I am the God of Peace)!
Grace and peace be to you!
Sandy
posted by Sandy Fewell at 2:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home