Peace!

“Peace, Man”

“Peace out.”

“Peace to ya.”

It's coming back. The phrase that “my generation” made ubiquitous, is now being repeated by my grandchildren. “Peace.”

It's being said at a time in history, “when the third angel was given power to remove peace from the earth.” John's Revelation

Where is peace? How does one attain it? My generation thought, believed even, that drug induced feelings of peace and love were the real thing. Certainly they were more real than anything we'd found without chemicals.

Tragic but true.

And then, for some of us, we met The Prince of Peace. The One whose mission on planet earth entailed bringing Shalom. 

"Peace on earth to all those who please God." That line from Dr. Luke's biography of Jesus is oft repeated at Christmas. 'Peace on earth to all men . . .' Interesting how people almost always leave off the last and most critical part of the sentence - ' all men who please God.' And then they accuse Jesus of not bringing peace as promised.

By the grace of my Saviour I know shalom. I have shalom, but personally, I don't understand it.

Jesus said, “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.” John 16:33

Jesus has done that for me and maybe that's why I don't understand it. Finding peace, possessing shalom had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with me. There was no effort on my part. It's a gift from Jesus to us.

"Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said." John 20:19

At one point I didn't have Jesus and I didn't have peace. And then, Jesus had me and I had peace. It just happens. It just happens.

“I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27

O, and what a gift it is. There is none better.

Don't miss Jesus' offer.

It's for you!

Jesus died for you!

What's He Trying to Prove?

Jesus was forever telling people, “The Kingdom of God is near.” Okay, but what did He mean? What exactly was He trying to prove when He said that?

Well, He actually didn't stop there. What He really meant was, The Kingdom of God is near AND here is what it will be like.

The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

Matthew 11:5-6

While the miracles that Jesus presented proved that He is who He said He is, they also showed in part, what the Kingdom of God will entail, in full, when He returns to judge the living and the dead.

In the Kingdom of God, there will not be any sickness, no more death, no more injustice, no more tears, no more suffering, grief and unbearable loss. In God's Kingdom peace will reign. There will be no more storms or dangerous waters. There will be more than enough food for everyone. In the Kingdom of God, people will know how to love one another.

When Jesus told people, “The Kingdom of God is near,” He was showing in striking detail the difference between life as we have chosen it to be on earth, and life as God will give to us if we will only humble ourselves before Him and admit that we cannot fix ourselves.

For people like atheists, that is simply too much to ask.

“All You Need Is Love!”

So sang the heroin addicted, wife abusing John Lennon. That's the member of the music group, The Beatles who actually thought that he could bring peace to the world by staying in bed.

On the other hand, all we do need is love; not Lennon's kind of love, but love nevertheless. That's because unlike the world's love (which actually means attracted to), the love that Jesus brings to His followers is patient and kind. It doesn't envy or boast and it's not proud. Jesus' love does not get angry easily and it doesn't keep a record of the wrong that other people do. It isn't rude or self-seeking. It doesn't delight in evil (either doing evil or watching evil), rather it rejoices in Truth of all kinds. Jesus' kind of love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and it always perseveres. Unlike worldly attraction, Jesus' love never fails.

We can show God's love in dozens of practical ways: feeding the hungry, adopting the homeless, visiting the elderly, fighting against the killing of the most vulnerable, sharing our wealth. That's what is meant when we read, “Let your light shine among others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Those are all good, but how is it of any benefit to anyone if they gain the whole world but lose their soul? To not tell people of the greatest love in the universe, to not let people know that there is forgiveness for real guilt, to not let people know that freedom from the power of sin is available is to not love others at all. As Jesus tells us, “You can give away everything you have, but if you don't have love you are just a useless noise that the world can do without.” 1^st Corinthians 13:3.

“God loved the people of the world so much, that He sent Jesus, God the Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not be separated from God for eternity but have eternal life in paradise.” John 3:16. 

I'm a Coward

I had this person ask me once to see his sister who was in the hospital because of a drug overdose. No one seemed to know if the overdose was intentional or not. Anyhow, this guy was certain that she was near death because of her life-style and he was hoping that a counsellor could “change her” so that she could know what it was to experience peace and kindness in the days before she died.

I was torn. My counsellor burn-out, my cynicism, my gloomy, overwhelmed, drowning-in-the-pain-of-the-world wanted to tell him to forget it. Violent, angry, bitter, broken, hopeless and helpless people tend to die exactly the way they lived. As a teenager, her attitude will have been one where, if a school counsellor had told her, "Drugs and alcohol are slowly killing you," she would have responded, "That's okay. I'm in no hurry."  And now, here she was, at the end of her journey. And instead of telling him the truth, I let both of us believe the lie that change was possible and said, “Sure. What room is she in.”

It's no wonder Jesus wept. This sinful world is so very far from what we could have had.

Yes, I'm a coward. 

And So This Was Christmas

Jesus was the only human who ever was or ever will be totally and unequivocally committed to peace. The rest of us love violence. We watch it for entertainment. We enjoy the thrill that it gives us. Watching violence allows us to vicariously view ourselves as powerful and dangerous.

If you ever doubt the evil that resides within human nature, just consider the vile and disgusting war that rages within the human heart. Our movies, not to mention the atrocities that take place during real violence stagger the imagination.

So corrupt is our nature that we took The Prince of Peace and killed Him.

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. These will be His royal titles:

“Wonderful,”

“Counsellor,”

“Mighty God,”

“Everlasting Father,”

“Prince of Peace,”

His ever-expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule with perfect fairness and justice. He will bring true justice and peace to all the nations of the world.” Isaiah 9:6-9

Isaiah was given the prophecy of Jesus' coming to earth. To us was given the person Who fulfilled that prophecy. Isaiah enjoyed the expectation of Jesus' coming to earth. We get to enjoy the experience of Jesus' Spirit living within us, guiding, counselling, comforting, saving, and giving to us His peace.

Who wouldn't want that?

Blessed Is Not The Same As Happy

I think there is a very poor translation error when the Sermon on the Mount says, “Happy are those who . . .” instead of “Blessed are those who . . .” or more accurately, “God blesses those who . . .”

Those who Jesus is calling blessed are not those who obey the apparent rules that we see in the Sermon. Rather, blessed are those who have taken on the character of those who will be, and in fact are part of the coming Kingdom, the Kingdom that has now begun with the arrival of Jesus.

Happy is when you accomplish something by your own effort. Blessed, in this case refers to the inherent, almost second nature or new nature that becomes ours when we accept the invitation to become Kingdom people. This is a new way of being human; a new way of looking at life, a new way of living. 

In my own case, this new way of being is recognized only in hindsight, for it is something that happens to me. I ask for God to change me and then I watch for ways in which He is doing it. And then, months or years down the road, I look back to see that I am no longer the man I once was. I am now becoming the kind of man that God wants me to be.

The more time that I spend with Jesus, in His Word or through prayer, the more time that I spend following Jesus, the more this new character transformation takes place. Being fully alive, as God promises to bring to those who step into His Kingdom even here on earth, is truly a blessed way to live.

This is not the kind of striving that atheists brag about, “I don’t need God in order to be good,” or “Just be good for goodness sake.” That only leads to pride.

This is a change that is brought about by God’s grace and mercy and power and it leads to gratefulness, peace and as sense of being blessed.

Shalom

Jesus often said, “The Kingdom of God is near.” That kingdom is what He came to bring – to us – so it shouldn't surprise that it was a favourite topic. 

And what did Jesus mean by God's kingdom?

Well, certainly peace was central to what He was talking about. 

Shalom. 

An all encompassing, overall state of well-being. Peace is at the core of what Jesus brings with His forgiveness and salvation. 

Peace with God. An intimate, healed and forgiven relationship with one's Creator.

God's kingdom means justice and love – on earth as it is in heaven – regardless of how other people choose to live. As the angel promised when Jesus was born:

"Shalom on earth to all who obey Him."

  

You know how atheists rarely venture outside of the Old Testament lest they run into teachings of Jesus that convict them of a deep need for forgiveness? And you know how atheists accuse Christians of cherry-picking verses to make our case? Do you think atheists ever do the same thing? Like, have you ever seen them ranting about this?

“Do not defraud or rob your neighbour.

“Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay. “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as your neighbours treat their slaves. Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly

Leviticus 19:13,25,43

Immense riches are seldom possessed by leaders of countries or corporations without the oppression of their citizens, employees or investors. Immense riches are seldom gained without the willingness to rape and plunder the earth. Unlike their neighbours, and unlike our modern industrial societies, people in ancient Israel (those who atheists call dim-witted bronze-age goat herders) were to make sure they did nothing to take advantage of each other.

Peace, Mercy and Justice were then and are today to be the hallmark of God's people.

You know how atheists rarely venture outside of the Old Testament lest they run into teachings of Jesus that convict them of a deep need for forgiveness? And you know how atheists accuse Christians of cherry-picking verses to make our case? Do you think atheists ever do the same thing? Like, have you ever seen them ranting about this?

“If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.”

Deuteronomy 24:5

Not only was the family shown to be a high priority in regard to those serving in the armed forces. Exemptions also applied to those who had just built a new house or started a new business.

Immense riches are seldom possessed by leaders of countries or corporations without the oppression of their citizens, employees or investors. Immense riches are seldom gained without the willingness to rape and plunder the earth. Unlike their neighbours, and unlike our modern industrial societies, people in ancient Israel (those who atheists call dim-witted bronze-age goat herders) were to make sure they did nothing to take advantage of each other.

Peace, Mercy and Justice were then and are today to be the hallmark of God's people.

Shalom

What a wonderful word. What a wonderful concept. Perfect peace. Perfect rest. 

Peace with God.

The rest that our Creator offers is available through Jesus. It's ours for the taking. It can begin right now and never end.

Those who have placed their faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross and through His resurrection can cease from trying to earn their salvation through “good works.” They no longer have to “perform” in order to receive God's acceptance. They can enjoy how good it is to have an intimate, healed and forgiven relationship with Creator God right now. These people can look forward to a life of eternal rest.

What kind of a person would ignore this offer of peace and rest?

What’s Driving You? (2)

Most have heard the phrase, “He’s so heavenly minded, he’s of no earthly good.” So rare is someone like that, that I haven’t met even one. Not in my whole life. In fact, it’s been my experience that the more heavenly minded a person has been, the more crucial they’ve found it to be focussed on the needs of earth. Let me give you an example.

On the weekend Wendy and I attended a workshop on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. That’s a long term to describe the brain damage that occurs to the pre born child when the woman drinks alcohol while pregnant. Six of our seven adopted children have been affected by this tragedy. Hundreds of parents and grandparents were at this conference. Most were, like us, people who had adopted children with FASD. Some were mothers who too late realised that they had damaged their children by drinking while pregnant. Virtually all were people who loved the Lord; we were a huge room filled with heavenly minded people. All who spoke at some point during the weekend gave God’s love for them as the reason for sharing their love with disabled children. There were three characteristics of these heavenly minded people that stood out at this conference:
Love;
Joy;
Peace.

This post has to do with Joy:
To know love is to know joy. To know joy is to know a deep sense of well-being despite circumstance. The secular, pagan world knows something of pleasure which is tied to pleasure inducing circumstances. Pleasure can be found in a good movie, an intriguing book, an interesting relationship and good mood altering drugs. Pleasure to the pagan world means the absence of pain or illness or loss. Joy and uniquely the joy from the Lord is present in the midst of pain and illness and loss and suffering and tragedy. Joy, the kind that comes to us from Jesus is something that cannot be taken away by life’s events.

The love that comes from God, a self-sacrificing love, comes from a base of joy. This joy is based in the knowledge that all things, even a brain damaged child will most assuredly work together for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to His purpose. Even when explaining His immanent crucifixion to His disciples, Jesus was able to say, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

Since coming to know Jesus my joy has been made complete, in fact, “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” Through years of physical and sexual abuse, the death of a child, almost five decades of crippling arthritis, cancer and major operations, a base of unshakable joy has been mine. “I have learned the secret of contentment in all circumstances” voiced Paul, and all those who have come into an intimate, healed and forgiven relationship with Jesus know what he’s talking about. That is why Paul can entreat us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

The workshop that we attended had become a community of people who were able to experience joy in the fullest sense of the word. This, not of our own ability or will but joy as a gift of Creator God.

The Prince of Peace

Based on God’s “foreknowledge” (Rom. 8:29), Jesus came to earth to bring peace and reconciliation between Creator God and those of His choosing. The inevitable result of that work is all out war with hypocrisy and false teaching.

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Matt. 10:34.

Jesus is talking about the absolute division between a loyalty to good or a loyalty to evil. Jesus creates a division that’s as cleanly separated as if it had been cut in two with a sword. This separation occurs between those who are genuine followers of Jesus and those who pretend to be His followers while rejecting His Lordship in their lives. See http://thesauros-store.blogspot.com/2010/04/loftus-ehrman-and-tares.html

“Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and heal people and cast out demons in your name? And Jesus will say to them, “Get away from Me, for I never knew you.”

No middle ground.

No, “Let’s talk about this so I can hear your point of view.”

Just, “Get away from Me.”

Now, some will see this as hate on Jesus’ part. They’re partly right.

Jesus hates hypocrisy and false worship because it destroys our relationship with God.

Jesus hates it when we put our allegiance to other things besides Him because that makes reconciliation with our Creator impossible.

Jesus warns us to get rid of anything that might come between us and a healed, forgiven relationship with God.

He is brutal in His honesty. Jesus came to earth on a rescue mission. It cost Him His life.

Leaving us in our sin is simply not an option.

According to Jesus, that which is killing us, must itself be destroyed.

The Prince of Peace will bring destruction to that which destroys peace between us and our Creator.

“It’s soooo hard”

That’s what I hear from people as they are struggling in relationships.

Things have been said that can’t be unsaid.

Things have been done that can’t be undone.

What to do.

What to do.

“When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:23

Only a few people have the courage to imitate Jesus but O the blessings that come from giving up the fight, from letting go of the temptation for revenge. The thing that makes life so hard is in trying to make things fair. On the other hand, casting our troubles on God removes that load and brings peace - a Holy Peace.