Real Genuine Peace

John 14:27

There are lots of reasons in everyone's life to be stressed or afraid. The reasons for stress and anxiety or fear can vary, but are usually pretty universal. Job stress, lack of a job, money, children, the inability to have children, weather events such as tornadoes, earthquakes, mud slides, floods, hurricanes, violent crime, identity theft, the threat of war, civil unrest, medical issues...the list goes on.

Even followers of Jesus get stressed and fearful. Life is not easy for anyone. Every last person on this planet has something they are dealing with. Rich, poor, middle class, fill in the blank race, it doesn't matter. When it rains, everybody gets wet (Matthew 5:43-45 and John 16:32-33).

If we, as believers in and followers of Christ Jesus, could just take a step back, take a breath and open our bibles, we will see that there is no reason to be afraid. Jesus tells us many times that we should not be afraid. He has our lives hidden with Himself in God (Colossians 3:3).

I would challenge everyone who is a believer to read through the bible and try to count how many times we are told not to be afraid. The references are too many to list here.

Jesus promises us a peace that is beyond understanding (Philippians 4:4-7). In The Revelation, John gives the most encouraging news of all when he reports all that he has witnessed. In Revelation 1:1-6, emphasis on verses 4 and 5, we are told that grace and peace are imparted to us by our Triune God.

We are the children of the Most High. We are heirs of God (Romans 8:16-17 - I recommend starting from verse 1 for context). We have no reason to be afraid of anything. We have been given life eternal in Christ Jesus. We have been given the right to be called children of God(John 1:1-13) and have even been invited to call our God 'Abba' (Daddy)(Romans 8:15).

Praise to our great God in Christ Jesus that we can go through anything with peace and joy in our hearts because an eternity with Him is the inheritance we are coming into.

God is AWESOME!

Treasure

Proverbs 31:10-12

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with a progressive kidney disease called Chronic Kidney Disease. One of those illnesses that gets progressively worse no matter what you do. The Nephrologist said that dialysis was an inevitablility.

Around Thanksgiving of 2020, my wife and I got COVID. I ended up with COVID pneumonia and spent two weeks in the hospital, 4 days of which I was in ICU. The COVID did further damage to my kidneys.

In late 2021, fluid began to build up in my ankles. It quickly went up my legs and to my chest. It got around my lungs and was crushing them. I could not breathe. The Pulmonoligist sent me to the ER and admitted me to the hospital where they were able to drain fifty pounds of fluid off of me. I ended up on peritoneal dialysis.

A few months after starting dialysis, I went blind in my right eye. My eye doctor sent me to a retinal specialist, who in turn sent me for a biopsy of my temporal artery to test for Giant Cell Arteritis. After the biopsy, I threw a blood clot and had a TIA (basically a stroke).

Then, my dialysis wasn't working like it was supposed to work and I began to lose the use of my legs. I ended up using a walker, nearly in need of a wheelchair. My Nephroligist started me on hemodialysis

I ended up in the hospital almost every week for a while with fluid in my lungs because my kidneys did't work anymore. My Nephrologist adjusted my dialysis prescription and the fluid build up stopped. I started getting stronger and no longer needed a walker or cane and could stand up by myself.

I am still very weak and my poor wife has to do literally everything.

My point in all this is to say that I hit the jackpot when I married my wife. She is what I call a Proverbs wife.

She does everything and never complains or gets short with me for not being able to help. Words are too clumsy to say how thankful I am to her and how much I love her.

Through all of what we have been through, we both determined to trust God no matter what (1 Peter 1:6-7). Cheryl's sense of humor has remained intact. She promised that she would not be like Job's wife (Job 2:8-9).

God sent her to me because He saw all of this coming and decided to bless me with Cheryl (Proverbs 12:4, Proverbs 18:22 and Proverbs 31:10-12). She is all those things and more.

God is AWESOME!

Yoked

Matthew 11:27-30

Jesus taught that the Christian life is not easy. He used a path as a metaphore for the life of His followers. He said that the path to destruction was easy because it is wide, but the path to life is hard because it is narrow (Matthew 7:13-14)

Some may look down that narrow path and think to themselves that the path is too hard, the terrain is too rough and seemingly up hill most of the way. But for those who are in Christ, this is not so. True, it is not easy, but we have a lot of help (John 16:33).

Jesus promised that if we come to Him, He will give us rest. He will put His yoke on us and gently guide us on our way(Matthew 11:27-30). Some of us make it hard on ourselves, though. We sometimes pull that yoke off and try to do it ourselves rather than trusting in Christ Jesus to guide our lives. Then, because He loves us, He uses the oxgoad to get us back on the path and, being stubborn, we kick against it (Acts 26:12-14) thinking we know better (Proverbs 14:12-16).

Our wise Father will not let us stray from the path for very long. He will bring us back again and again (Hosea 1-2).

When we repent and put our focus on Christ, we find that the narrow way becomes a little easier because we are abiding in Christ, He is carrying us (John 16:33 Colossians 3:1-3). The path has disappeared. Christ Jesus has taken it's place, He is the Way (John 14:1-7).

God is AWESOME!

Heart Condition

Proverbs 27:19

We don't know what lurks deep in the heart of a man. All we know is that whatever is in there is not good (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

When someone talks, when they are with their closest friends or family and feel free to speak honestly, what is in their heart will sooner or later come out of their mouth (Luke 6:45). And since we are a fallen people with a sin nature, we can't help ourselves. We will gossip and viciously put someone's character in a blender.

We love to think of ourselves as good people. We are wrong (Mark 10:17-18 and Romans 3:1-12). We try to be good on our own and will fail miserably.

But, for His Name's sake, our Great God made a way. He gave us His Son and we have been given to His Son (John 6:37-40). He gave us a new heart and renewed our minds and gave us His Spirit (Ezekiel 36:22-27). It is only in Christ Jesus that we find goodness.

God is AWESOME!

The Gospel

Luke 24:13-35

Jesus had been killed on a Roman cross three days ago. Cleopas and his friend, both followers of Jesus, were dejected. They were walking the seven mile road to Emmaus and discussing the events that had just taken place. Jesus Himself came along side them and joined the conversation. He asked about what they had been saying. Cleopas and his friend, who had been prevented from recognising Jesus, were surprised that there was anyone who hadn't heard about what happened in Jerusalem three days ago. It was quite the spectacle.

Jesus said they were foolish. Then He proceeded to school them on what had really happened there in Jerusalem. He started with Moses and worked His way through all the prophets.

He likely started in Genesis 3:14-15 in the Garden, then to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3. Then to Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and Job 9:1-35 with emphasis on v. 33-35, and Job 19:25-27. Psalm 22 where He is actually quoted thousands of years before His birth. Isaiah 7:1-14 and Isaiah 9:6-7. Hosea 11:1 and Micah 5:2 and so many more prophecies by so many prophets in so many other books.

When the three men got where they were going, Cleopas and his friend invited the wise stranger, urged Him, really, to stay with them. The stranger agreed to stay with them. They sat down to share a meal and Jesus broke bread and opened their eyes, then He vanished (Luke 24:13-35).

They hurried back to Jerusalem and found the other disciples and confirmed to them that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.

This is the gospel. Jesus was born of a virgin. He was killed on a cross. He rose on the third day. From the very beginning (Micah 5:2), the law and the prophets and the Psalms pointed to Christ Jesus (Luke 24:44).

God is AWESOME!

The Guilt Offering

Isaiah 53:1-10

It is early in the morning. There is a bit of a chill in the air. The priest is adding wood to the fire at the alter when a man walks up to the tent and calls out in desperation to the priest. He has lead his ram all the way to the tent. He humbly hands the lead over to the priest, his hands trembling in fear.

His offering, after realizing his guilt. The priest takes the guilt offering and performs his prescribed duty (Leviticus 6:1-7; Leviticus 7:1-7)

The priests had to perform these sacrificial offerings multiple times, until the Sacrifice of the final High Priest, who offered Himself (Isaiah 53:10; Romans 6:10; Hebrews 10:8-18)

Jesus was the sacrifical lamb, lead to slaughter by the guilty men. He was betrayed by a close friend, suffered many things (Luke 22:31-71) and then was killed upon a cross (Luke 23:1-46). God fully accepted this guilt offering. We know He did because Jesus was raised from the dead (Luke 24:1-51; Colossians 1:13-20).

After His resurrection, He went to Simon Peter (Cephus) and had a conversation that took away Peter's guilt (Luke 22:54-62; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5).

We have been set free from our sin in the risen Christ. We can stand before the All Mighty Living and Holy God, blameless in Christ Jesus (Jude 1:24).

God is AWESOME!

Hidden

Genesis 1:1-11

In God's beautiful creation, in His infinite wisdom, He hid things. He hid them, knowing they would be found by the ones He gifted with higher minds. God created some with intelligence that runs circles around our average minds. These are the ones who found the hidden things in God's creation. They found penicillin, vaccines for all manner of diseases, clean nuclear power, x-rays, electricity, super computers that fit in the palm of our hands. They found ways to peer deep into the heavens (Isaiah 40:26), then ways to explore the heavens with manned and unmanned spacecraft (Psalm 19:1).

It's amazing that God gave some people higher functioning minds to benefit all of us. God's creation has built in solutions to most of our problems (Genesis 1:1-11 and Genesis 1:20-25).

From the ones who studied nature very closely. They observed birds flying and discovered concepts like lift and air/wind displacement and velocity. They discovered in their observations of pressure and the explosive nature of certain gasses and liquids, we now have internal combustion engines.

God has shown those with understanding of what they have been observing more of Himself and the wonders of His creation (Romans 1:18-20).

The things I have seen in God's creation are mind blowing. Dragon flies. Humming birds. Creatures in the oceans with the ability to change colors at will and can feel the presence of other creatures just by changes of pressure in the water. Creatures on land and sea with bioluminescence (they can make light). Microscopic creatures that can make water appear to be glowing, fireflies, all manner of creatures in the oceans (Genesis 1:20-25).

The more that these higher functioning minds discover, the more we stand in awe of our Great God and of His absolute genius. The Earth's greatest minds who have discovered all the laws of physics, still have not figured out how gravity works. God Most High designed and created gravity. His understanding of physics and motion is absolute. And in His creation, we find more evidence of His love for us, in the medicines and in the fruits and vegetables that His Earth brings forth from a tiny seed. We see His love in what comes out of the oceans and rivers and lakes.

God is AWESOME!

As Far As the East Is From the West

Psalm 103

We have all done something in our lifetime of which we are ashamed. Shame can be a heavy burden to bear. The bible gives us several examples of this. Scripture also gives us examples of how merciful God is in relieving us of that burden.

I would like to look at three of these examples. King David, the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul.

King David

2 Samuel 11-12:15 King David did something that I'm not sure he was ever able to move past. Something for which God pronounced a pretty severe judgement against David (2 Samuel 12:9-15). But in doing so, He forgave David of this grievous act (2 Samuel 12:13 and 1 John 1:9).

The king was so grieved by his own sin that he wrote out his guilt in a beautiful Psalm (Psalm 51). Sometimes, beauty can come from the ash heap of our guilt and shame, when we have a truly contrite heart (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Simon Peter

In John 13, Jesus is talking rather cryptically about his trial and subsequent crucifixion and Peter boldy proclaims that he would lay down his life for Jesus (John 13:36-38). But when the time came, Peter promptly denied that he even knew Jesus (Mark 14:66-71). And after hearing the rooster crow for the second time, Peter, wracked with guilt, broke down (Mark 14:72).

I'm not sure that would be something that most men could move past. But Christ Jesus in His wisdom and mercy, removed the guilt from Peter (Mark 16:1-7 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-5). We don't know what was said in the conversation between Jesus and Peter, but it lifted the weight of the world from Peter. Jesus once again appeared to His disciples by the sea (John 21:1-19) and once again, spoke only to Simon Peter.

Peter was able to move past the guilt and shame to become one of greatest preachers of the gospel in history.

The Apostle Paul

We are introduced to a man named Saul in the book of Acts, at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-58). Saul of Tarsus was bent on stamping out this movement The Way (Acts 8:1-3 and Acts 9:1-2). But, again, in His wisdom Christ Jesus turned a staunch enemy into a staunch ally. He converted Saul on the spot (Acts 9:3-9). Saul had been struck blind by his encounter with Christ on the road. Jesus arranged for a disciple to go to Saul and heal him (Acts 9:10-19). After gathering his strength Saul immediatlely began to preach the gospel of Christ Jesus.

King Jesus would eventually change Saul's name to Paul. Paul continued to preach and would occasionally recount his experience on the road to Damascus and his persecution of the church (Acts 22:6-21, Acts 26:12-18, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and Philippians 3:1-11).

Paul spoke of a "thorn in his flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Some say it may be referring to the guilt he has over persecuting the church. We can only guess what it may have been. In any case, Paul moved past that guilt in the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and preached the gospel to the world.

God is AWESOME!

Wrath and Mercy

Romans 9:1-15

I love reading about what God did all through the bible. When I take a step back and look at the big picture, I see a pattern emerge. God's wrath and His mercy again and again.

In Genesis, God has decided to judge Sodom and Gamorrah. Abraham tried to negotiate with God to spare the cities (Genesis 18:20-33). It did not work. The negotiations failed because not even 10 men could be found who were not absolutely corrupt. God poured out His judgement against the two cities and they were completely destroyed. But God remembered Abraham and had mercy on Lot, Abraham's nephew, and his family (Genesis 19:27-29).

In Exodus, the people of Isreal got Aaron to make them an idol to worship. God knew what they were doing and was going to pour His wrath out on them (Genesis 32:7-10), but Moses interceded for them and God showed mercy (Genesis 32:11-14).

Once again, the people of Israel did not trust God and used their own judgement in their own understanding. And once again, God was going to judge them for it. And yet again, Moses interceded for them (Numbers 14:6-12).

Then in Numbers 16, a guy named Korah tried to turn Israel against Moses and God. I kind of thought it was funny how God told Moses, "Tell everyone to move away from Korah." As far as I'm concerned Korah was the king of bad ideas. It did not end well for him.

Fast forward to the birth of Christ Jesus. The most significant event in human history. The salvation of God prepared for us all (Luke 2:25-32). The pattern continued. In Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).

In Christ, we have the ultimate mercy, forgiveness and eternal life, eternally secure (Colossians 3:1-3).

Also holding to the pattern, there are those who will refuse to believe and continue in their sin, and God will, in the end, pour out His wrath. It will be like nothing anyone has ever seen.

Those of us who have been redeemed, the elect, will be spared from that wrath (Romans 9:1-18).

So, in conclusion, all of the times God was going to judge, there was someone there to intercede on behalf of the people. All of this pointed directly to Christ Jesus, the final High Priest, the final sacrifice. Our intercessor forever.

God is AWESOME!

Trust

Job 13:15

Trust can be a hard thing to come by in our modern world. I've heard from a young age the old saying, "trust is earned, not given." I believe God has more than earned our trust, not that He has to earn anything. He is the Most High, the creator of everything, the Source of all life.

Concerning the matter of trust, I can really only speak for myself. I have been through a lot these past few years, and I have stubbornly dug my heels in and put my full trust in Christ Jesus and my wise and loving Father God. I have recently experienced some anxiety with some of the things that have been happening. I do not see the anxiety as evidence of a lack of trust, rather, evidence that I am human. God knows we are weak and we all have our breaking points (Psalm 103:13-14).

My wife and I have gone through so much in the past few years that we have started asking "what next?". When I think of all we have been through, looking through the eyes of a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, I see three possibilities for why we have been experiencing these trials:

1. It has nothing to do with me at all. It may be for someone else to learn something (John 9:1-3).

2. It may be for a purification or strengthening of our faith (1 Peter 1:3-7).

3. (And this is my favorite possibility) To take us deeper into our relationship with Him in revealing Himself more fully to us (Job 42:5).

I have come to be thankful for things I don't understand, because when we come out on the other side, we see a little more clearly and have a little more understanding in who our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, wise and loving Father is and a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. There are not words sufficient to say how wonderful God is. I guess if I could choose the words, they would be "Thank you."

God is AWESOME!

Dad

Romans 8:12-17

In the old testament, forgiveness depended on the sacrifices the priests would offer for themselves, their families and Isreal (Leviticus 16).

Only the priest was allowed in the temple while the offereings were being made. No one else could be in the tent(Leviticus 16:17). If God accepted the sacrifices, then priest would live and the people would be forgiven until the next year. But that is not us today. Everything the priest did in the tent pointed directly to Christ Jesus. He is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Jesus became our scapegoat (Leviticus 16:20-22). He has given us the right to be children of God(John 1:9-12). As His adopted children, God invites us to call Him by the familiar name Abba (Romans 8:12-17). Abba is a very familiar name, an intimate name between a father and his chilren: Daddy.

Jesus is our High Priest. We are now able to come boldy to the throne of the Father. We may come to Him with our needs and our worries because He is our wise and loving Father. Boldy, not disrespectfully. Boldy but reverently. He is our Father and our God. He is Holy, the Most High. Not the big guy, not the man upstairs, not your buddy.

So, as His children, we represent Him in this world. We ought to behave in a way that reflects who we are in Christ. Live a life of gratitude to our saviour who has shielded us from the wrath of a Holy God. He has made us clean and gives us the ability to stand in the presence of the glory of God with no wrong in us and He has given us great joy (Jude 24).

God is AWESOME!

It's Personal

One of the most amazing things about God, to me, is how in Christ, He has millions of followers and He has a personal one on one relationship with all of us.

How is this possible?

With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

In I Peter 1:3-7, Peter talks about our inheritance in Christ. Verse 6 he says that some are grieved, if necesary, by various trials. I fixated on if nesessary. How would He know when or if it were necessary unless He knows us on a deeply personal level. And through the trials He brings us, leads us into a deeper understanding of who He is.

We develop a deeply personal relationship with our God in Christ Jesus.

I have, and still am, learning to rejoice in my trials and sufferings. I have learned that instead of saying "What's next", to say "Thank you, please take me deeper in my understanding." The trials and suffering are a gift. In them we grow in our understanding of who God is, we love Him more. We see more clearly how our lives are hidden in Him with Christ, and discern how safe and secure we are in Christ, how we are sealed by His Holy Spirit for all of eternity (Colossians 3:3 and Ephesians 1:13-14).

God is AWESOME!

In Christ We Stand

We all have that one sin that we can't seem to shake. That besetting sin that we try to resist in the ongoing battle between the flesh and the spirit (Galatians 5:16-25). Speaking for myself, I struggle with that one sin. It hinders my walk with Christ Jesus, it is the thing that causes me to stumble over and over again (Proverbs 26:11).

I feel so unworthy that I stop talking to God, I don't ask for forgiveness for a while because it just kind of feels like I don't deserve it, which I really don't. But, God's Holy Spirit gently reminds me that I am forgiven already. I have been covered in the blood of the Lamb of God, He has saved me (Romans 8:1).

I am still learning how to be a follower of Christ Jesus. I must learn to let go of that sin (Hebrews 12:1) and keep my eyes, mind and focus on Christ. I read Psalm 51 recently. A Psalm of King David after he had Uriah the Hittite killed and was confronted by Nathan the prophet (2 Samuel 12:1-15). Psalm 51:1-12 has become my prayer. I read that and then prayed it. I have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, God has removed my sin from me as far as east is from the west (Psalms 103:11-12). We, as followers and students of Christ Jesus and in order to bear the fruits of the spirit, need to make a conscious effort to resist the flesh (2 Peter 1:3-9) because Jesus and the Holy Spirit have given us the tools and the power to live in the spirit (Romans 8:1-11).

Christ Jesus, our High Priest, who intercedes for us is all we have and all we need (Psalm 73:25-26) in Heaven. But here on Earth, He, in His genius and great wisdom, institued the church, where we gather to strengthen one another, encourage one another and bear one another's burdens (Proverbs 27:17; Hebrews 10:23-25; Galatians 6:2).

One of my favorite verses in scripture is from the book of Jude. It is Jude's closing thought in his letter. Jude 1:24. I like to remind myself of it every time I am feeling so unworthy. God is strong and is able to keep you from falling and can bring you into the presence of His Glory with no wrong in you, and give you great joy. As undeserving and unworthy as we all are (Romans 3:21-25) it is in Christ we stand.

God is AWESOME!