Shalom!

SHALOM! PEACE! JESUS OFFERS US THE GIFT OF HIS PEACE. IT IS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST AND OUR OBEDIENCE TO HIM, THAT WE CAN EXPERIENCE A PEACE AS STATED IN PHILIPPIANS 4:7 THAT WILL NOT ONLY SURPASS ALL UNDERSTANDING, BUT WILL KEEP OUR HEARTS AND OUR MINDS SECURLY GUARDED AGAINST THE ENEMY.

THE REASON CHRIST CAME TO EARTH WAS TO BRING PEACE TO ALL WHO BELIEVE IN HIM—PEACE OF MIND, PEACE OF HEART, PEACE WITH EACH OTHER AND, MOST OF ALL, PEACE WITH GOD.

THE ROOT WORD OF PEACE LITERALLY MEANS, "TO BIND TOGETHER." GOD’S DEEP AND LASTING PEACE CAN PUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM BACK TOGETHER IN PERFECT HARMONY.

WE CAN HAVE CONFIDENT ASSURANCE IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE BECAUSE OF CHRIST’S PEACE, WE CAN NOT ONLY LET GO OF THE PAST, BUT WE’LL HAVE NO NEED TO FEAR THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE.

IT IS TRUE! WE CAN KEEP OUR HEARTS FROM BEING TROUBLED AND AFRAID BECAUSE TRUE PEACE IS THE ABIDING PRESENCE OF GOD’S CALMING ASSURANCE. JOHN 16:33, “I HAVE TOLD YOU ALL THIS SO THAT YOU MAY HAVE PEACE IN ME. HERE ON EARTH YOU WILL HAVE MANY TRIALS AND SORROWS. BUT TAKE HEART, BECAUSE I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”

OUR FAITH STANDS FIRM ON THE FOUNDATION BUILT FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST. OUR FAITH REMAINS SECURE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE NO POWER TO DESTROY OR TAKE AWAY GOD’S PEACE FROM US. ROMANS 8:6, SAYS“FOR TO SET THE MIND ON THE FLESH IS DEATH, BUT TO SET THE MIND ON THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE.”

BECAUSE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, WE CAN FIND PEACE THAT REASSURES OUR HEARTS AND STABILIZES OUR MINDS BECAUSE WE KNOW ANSWERS WILL COME AND AS ROMANS 8:28, REMIND US THAT, “ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS.”

I WANT TO ENCOURAGE US TODAY TO BE INTENTIONAL WITH PURSUING AND DEEPENING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. IF YOU DESIRE TO HAVE AN UNSHAKEABLE PEACE THAT JESUS OFFERS, THEN YOU MUST SURRENDER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ALLOW HIM TO DIRECT AND GUIDE YOU THROUGH OBEDIENCE, CORRECTION, GUIDANCE AS WELL AS KNOWLEDGE OF SCRIPTURE AND LEARNING TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS AS OURSELVES.

WE MUST DRAW NEAR TO CHRIST AND NURTURE AND DEVELOP OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM TO HAVE TRUE PEACE. TWO WAYS WE CAN START TO DO THIS THROUGH PRAYER AND OBDEDIENCE.

PRAYER: THIS SHOULD BECOME AS NATURAL TO US AS BREATHING. PRAYER BECOMES MORE THAN JUST A TIME TO “ASK FOR STUFF.” I LIKE TO THINK OF PRAYER AS “BASKING AS MUCH AS ASKING.”WE DEVELOP OUR PRAYERS BY TAKING MORE TIME BASKING IN GOD’S PRESENCE THROUGH WORSHIP AND PRAISE.

PSALM 29:1-2, “HONOR THE LORD, YOU HEAVENLY BEINGS; HONOR THE LORD FOR HIS GLORY AND STRENGTH. HONOR THE LORD FOR THE GLORY OF HIS NAME. WORSHIP THE LORD IN THE SPLENDOR OF HIS HOLINESS." SPEND TIME IN THANKFUL PRAISE AND GRATITUDE.

ALONG WITH PRAISE AND WORSHIP, ONE SHOULD DISCIPLINE THEMSELVES TO PRAY ON BEHALF OF OTHERS. THIS IS KNOWN AS “INTERCESSORY” PRAYER. 1 TIMOTHY 2:1,“I URGE YOU, FIRST OF ALL, TO PRAY FOR ALL PEOPLE. ASK GOD TO HELP THEM; INTERCEDE ON THEIR BEHALF, AND GIVE THANKS FOR THEM.

OUR TIME OF PRAYER IS NOT ONLY PRAISE AND WORSHIP, BUT OFFERING PRAYERS ON BEHALF OF OTHERS. THAT MEANS, WE PRAY FOR ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, OUR LEADERS, OUR NATION, OUR CHURCH, MISSIONARIES, OUR ENEMIES, AS WELL AS ALL OUR FAMILY AND OURSELVES. WE PRAY!

THE SECOND WAY TO DEVELOP AND DEEPEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS THROUGH OBEDIENCE. THE LEVEL OF OUR OBEDIENCE IS A DIRECT REFLECTION OF OUR LOVE FOR JESUS. OBEDIENCE IS ONE WAY WE SHOW OUR LOVE AND TRUST IN CHRIST.

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A FAITH, BASED ON WHAT IS CONVENIENT, NOR IS IT A RELIGION ESTABLISHED BY RULES THAT ARE NEGOTIABLE. 1 PETER 1:14-16, “AS OBEDIENT CHILDREN, DO NOT CONFORM TO THE EVIL DESIRES YOU HAD WHEN YOU LIVED IN IGNORANCE. BUT JUST AS HE WHO CALLED YOU IS HOLY, SO BE HOLY IN ALL YOU DO; FOR IT IS WRITTEN: “BE HOLY, BECAUSE I AM HOLY.”WE MUST CONFORM TO GOD’S HOLINESS AND LIVE IN OBEDIENCE TO HIM.

TITUS 3:1, 8 “REMIND THE PEOPLE … TO BE OBEDIENT… SO THAT THOSE WHO HAVE TRUSTED IN GOD MAY BE CAREFUL TO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO DOING WHAT IS GOOD. THESE THINGS ARE EXCELLENT AND PROFITABLE FOR EVERYONE.”

OUR LIFE IS TO BE FILLED WITH SACRIFICE, SURRENDER SERVICE, AND SELFLESSNESS. WE MUST YEILD OUR WILL TO GOD AND LET HIM HAVE HIS WAY AND WE LET HIM LEAD. ALL THINGS ARE FOR GOD’S GLORY AS WE DIE TO SELF AND LIVE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. THE SECOND WAY TO DEVELOP AND NURTURE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS THROUGH OBEDIENCE.

PRAYER AND OBEDIENCE ARE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS TO HELP US WITH BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION OF PEACE IN OUR LIVES. THE REASON CHRIST CAME TO EARTH WAS TO BRING PEACE TO ALL WHO BELIEVE IN HIM—PEACE OF MIND, PEACE OF HEART, PEACE WITH EACH OTHER AND, MOST OF ALL, PEACE WITH GOD.