Peace on Earth (Part 2)

Last week I shared about peace with God and peace within. Click HERE to catch up.

Third is peace with others. Peace with others can only come after we have done the first two. It comes when we shift our focus from others - in comparison and judgement - to God.

Imagine looking straight up to the ceiling. How much can you see around you? Not much. Your focus is on the ceiling and not on anything else. If we want to know what's going on around us we need to ask questions of the One Who can see clearly. 

When we look at others we interpret their actions and motives through our own filter. But when we look to God we can ask Him about their actions and motives. He can tell us what we need to know and how we can help. I'm not saying don't see people, I am saying don't filter what you see through your own eyes. Filter it through His. It's a beautiful, peaceful difference.

In all of this the inevitable result of the Prince of Peace's coming is conflict. Jesus said in Matthew 10:6,

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."

It seems to contradict but it doesn't. He didn't come to bring peace as the world expects. He's bringing Shalom - the fullness of life enjoyed in complete security. 

And the enemy hates it. The Prince of Peace interrupts the enemy's plan and he will not give up easily. Therefore there is conflict between Christ and Satan, light and darkness...

Satan comes to destroy peace with God, peace within and peace with others. In the garden he said to Eve "Did God really say?" (peace with God), "Surely you won't die" (peace within), and when God asked Adam and Eve what happened they responded with "She gave it to me" "The serpent said..." (peace with others). He presents us with a false peace, one without struggle or strife, one where we can have things our way. It's a lie.

Jesus came to disrupt the false peace and bring real, authentic peace. He says in John 16:33,

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

He knew that real peace didn't come from the world but in relationship with Him - the One Who overcame it.

It's a peace that says I am secure even in the midst of _________ (fear, disappointment, confusion...).

Jesus faced the cross for us, not with fear and doubt, but with peaceful courage. He surrendered His will in the garden of Gethsemane and showed us that it can be done. He walked the hill of Calvary while being mocked and spat upon and some of His final words were forgive them. He is the example and embodiment of the Peace of God that surpasses all understanding. 

Peace on Earth can be experienced with the Prince of Peace. Won't you let Him show you how?

No More

By Kim Beach

No More

 

How long do we sit in mourning?  

Lamenting the grief of our loss,

The pain of our transgressions 

The shame of our failures? 

How long do we hang our head,

Ash covered and naked?

How long do we weep tears of

Anger and hide in fear?

How long is acceptable?

How long do we wait?

How long must we wail

And beat ourselves with sticks?

Enough. It is done.  

No more. It is over.  

Look up. I am here. 

Emmanuel has come. 

Peace on Earth (Part 1)

"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Peace seems like a fairy tale. Especially when you turn on the news and read about the violence against all of humanity, all over the world. 

But then I turn on Christmas music and quickly I hear "peace on earth, goodwill to men." 

What is it about Christmas that makes us think of peace? I believe it's because the Prince of Peace came to earth and because of that, peace is truly possible.

In America the term peace is clearly connected with the absence of war. But the Bible describes peace (Shalom) as more than the absence of conflict  - it is the fullness of life enjoyed in complete security.

I want that! Is that even possible? Peace on earth? How can we experience the peace of God while living in this world full of war?

First off, it's impossible to have the Peace of God without first having peace with God. At the beginning of the world, peace with God was broken in the Garden of Eden. BUT with the coming of the Messiah, Immanuel (God with us), his life, death and resurrection paid the way for us to be reconciled with God again. We can have peace with God because of Jesus.


The world's peace - what it is trying to sell us - depends on other's behavior. I can say from experience that when my peace depends on how others behave I am always disappointed. We are all selfish creatures and can often have the attitude of "when others agree with me or do what I want, things will be better". Yeah. That's not gonna work.

God's peace depends on Him. He is faithful. So if we are reconciled to Him  - have peace with Him, we are one huge step closer to the peace of God invading our lives.

Second is peace within. This is possible when we stop fighting for control of our lives and circumstances and surrender to God. When we trust His plans for us. When we lay ourselves down so that He may be glorified in us. When we put aside our plans for His (something Mary and Joseph did!). 

Peace is a fruit of the Spirit and this means that we can't manufacture real, authentic peace without Him. We can have the illusion of peace from the outside but on the inside we are tied up in knots trying to make sure that people and circumstances continue to look and behave how we think they should. What a mess! Surrender seems scary but it is freedom and peace.


Part 2 next week

And Yet, I Ponder This

 © Nancy Turley  

'Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”   II Corinthians 4:6

“I would have despaired unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13
       


My heart is rent for those who grieve for a lost spouse, for lost health, for a lost dream.
It aches for those who grasp for healing and find no present cure,
Who hunger for relief in spirit or body while the earth still spins,
Who mourn what cannot be recovered.

And yet, I ponder this:
       Those that have lost know more clearly what really matters.
       Those who cry deeply for their loved ones still celebrate their joy in heaven.
       Those in pain yet hold on to the hope of their calling by the heavenly Artist.

I question why some awaken to deep pain in the night,
How shadows steal rest or joy until they see morning light,
How life is taken unfairly by tongs of the unknown or evil.

And yet, I ponder this: 
     Those who know the Artist know He uses dark and light colors to accentuate truth,
     That melded colors of shadow and light blend together for good,
     That there is still hope for the future and meaning in the present.

I consider how the body ages despite the care one might take.
I ruminate on the “what ifs” of having had more time for a more balanced life.
I contemplate how life is bound to the clock marching forward. 

And yet, I ponder this:     
    That the heart and spirit can be renewed while bones lose density and skin wrinkles.
    That time is both chronos and kairos,
    That we can be lost in moments of joy when time does not beat nor the body decay.

I reflect on unanswered questions, unfilled potential and hearts longing to soar, I contemplate how some still hope while others despair.
I ponder the mystery of faith, those who glimpse that which can’t be seen,
Of those who still seek melody in the midst of a dissonant world.

  And I rejoice as I ponder this:     
      That we can rise as eagles when we rest in the brush strokes of the Artist,
      That there is truth in paradox: we grow in the dark and in dying we live.
      And that those who sing to the celestial Artist harmonize to an eternal beat.

The Administration of Reconciliation

By Tawna Wilkinson

    

The other day, I had a hard and messy conversation with an individual regarding their dissatisfaction with the church, and what they felt was wrong with it. The truth is I was hurt and very frustrated, as this wasn’t the first time I’d been approached with the same thing.

However, after I allowed myself the shabby process of sorting out my raw emotions with God and my husband, the Lord reminded of II Corinthians 5:17-21:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

I realized if things were the way He intended in the beginning, there would be no need for our administrating reconciliation. For when things are reconciled, they are back to the way they were created to be.

When Christ was here He waded through enormous dysfunction with people’s perceptions of what He needed to do to make things right – in the synagogues; with the Pharisees and crowds; with the twelve men He hand-picked to journey with Him; even with his mother and siblings. And though Scripture doesn’t give much detail about His childhood, I can’t help but think there was a lot of muddling He had to endure just being a kid and teenager.

We want things to be neat and tidy; to be okay. And more times than not, I think that means, the way I want them to be. We hate the groaning our spirits, bodies and souls experience when we perceive things are not the way they’re supposed to be. And the last thing we want to do is stick around and engage in the hard work of restoration.

 Several years ago, a wise young man said to me, “Relationships are messy, and no one wants to get involved in them.” He was right. It’s obvious. When things don’t go the way we want, our first reaction is to bail…. don’t stick around and muddle through the mess and confusing in-betweens. It hurts. It’s hard. We have no promise that we’re going to see resolution. And what’s worse, we have no control over the outcome, let alone another’s choice.

I completely understand. I’ve bailed more times than I care to admit. I’ve thrown my hands up in frustration umpteen times, “knowing” for certain things are never going to change. But if that is true, then this passage of Scripture isn’t.

So today, I am actually thankful for the individual approaching me. For although the issue was not resolved, I now see I was presented with another opportunity to use my “ambassador muscles.” God, and this person, trusted me with part of the messy process of bringing a piece of reconciliation to this beautiful, broken and messy world. And I am glad I chose to engage in it.