Before You Know Peace...

It's early Saturday morning, and it's peaceful! I'm sitting with my laptop, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, and the news of the day is still lying in the driveway. Nothing has yet disturbed my peace. Undoubtedly, as the day unfolds, some small tweak to what I consider perfect or the way things ought to go will come along and for a moment, or maybe longer, I will potentially know some dis-ease, a disruption to my serenity. Those daily irritations are normal; how I respond to them, if I am to stay content, is up to me. 

God's plan for our lives is that we know his peace and live in accord with his plan. Psalm 119:165 says this: "Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble." All sorts of things arise that have the potential to keep us from living a life that is steadfastly rooted in the kind of peace that God has promised us. To know the blessing of his promised peace, though, we must be willing to do our part - love his law. This may mean that before we know peace, we need to know God's plan, his direction for how to live life, and then do it (see I Peter 3:11; II Peter 3:18; James 1:22; Proverbs 16:7). 

When we have committed our lives to doing God's will and pleasing him, we are assured the promise of his blessings, one of which is unshakable peace. We can also be certain that our adversary will do everything he can to cause us to doubt that we can trust in the One who promises to never leave, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:6). We must draw strength and direction from God's Word if we are to remain in his peace.

So, my day has begun; the peace and quiet have been jostled. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will remind me to do my part in keeping the peace that comes through knowing God and his Word and living it.

"The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
       the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes,
       in undisturbed places of rest."  Isaiah 32:17-18

"Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace...." Romans 14:19

Lord, thank you for your peace that goes beyond anything I can manufacture. Thank you for your Word that provides direction for how I can live in your peace. I pray that your Holy Spirit will teach me and lead me so that I might be obedient to your Word and live in the peace that surpasses my understanding. Amen.

It's a Choice: Know God, Know Peace

Yesterday, I came across this verse in Job: "Acquaint now yourself with Him [agree with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will] and be at peace; by that [you shall prosper and great] good shall come to you" (AMP Job 22:21). Another translation says that we should give into God and everything will turn out fine (Job 22:21). This was no coincidence; I believe the Holy Spirit allowed me to find this verse at just this moment in time to drive home a point to me - if I want peace in my life, I must choose to submit my will to God's plans and purposes. As I continued to do some study, I ran across more verses that say peace is a "work of righteousness" (Isaiah 32:17) and righteousness is the fruit of peace (James 3:18; Hebrews 12:11).

Most of us say that we want peace, but I wonder if we are asking for peace according to our standards and on our terms, or are we seeking the peace that Jesus promised (John 14:27). We don't live in a peaceful world. We are daily confronted with situations that create frustration for us. When we have to make decisions - choose one thing or another - that creates tension on some level and can upset our peace. In general, we can find ourselves in conflict with another person, our society, nature (just think 108 degrees temperatures of late), ourselves, or with God. Whether or not we have peace in those situations depends on how we choose.

Satan enjoys seeing us without peace; confusion is a by-product of his influence. Yet, we don't have to live in a state of unrest or strife. Dissension does not have to be the norm of our existence. Jesus called us to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) and to live in peace with others (II Corinthians 13:11; I Thessalonians 5:13; Hebrews 12:14). God especially wants us to be at peace with him (Ephesians 1:2).

When we choose to walk in peace with our heavenly Father, we can be assured that we will not be overwhelmed by the daily grind and tragedies and injustices of this life (John 16:33b). God didn't say that we would be without trials, but he does promise that in the middle of the raging storms we can have peace that surpasses human understanding (Philippians 4:7). 

In the times when life throws at us what we think we can't handle, we have the opportunity to learn to choose God's way over the world's.This isn't an easy step to take. We're inundated with plenty of influences and fears that encourage us to do otherwise. I am convinced, though, that if we are to know lasting peace - the kind that Daniel knew in the den of hungry lions and his Hebrew buddies knew in the middle of the fiery furnace - then we must determine to know God to know his peace.

"Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. " Romans 14:19

Lord, you are well-aware of all the things that create strife in our lives. You know sometimes we are the cause of that confusion and dissension. We know that your desire is for us to live in your peace and produce righteousness. Heavenly Father, I pray that we will seek to know you and as a result know peace within and extend peace to others. Amen.

Service: Look At Me!

Last week, I was asked to babysit my two adorable grandchildren. When I arrived, my soon-to-be 3 year old granddaughter ran over to her 4 month old brother who was happily swinging and leaned over him - fully covering him from view - and said, "Now, take a picture of us!" I had to laugh. Had I chosen to take that picture, there would have been only one sweet face - my granddaughter's - proudly expressing a "Look at me" look!

As we grow older, we really don't lose that childlike look at me desire for attention. My granddaughter's actions, while humorous, remind me of how we sometimes approach our service to God and our fellowman. In Matthew 6:1-4, Jesus teaches his followers about the hazards of doing their "alms" with the intent of being praised by men rather than God. The religious leaders of the day were guilty of putting on quite a show for all to see when they did their "righteous acts." Their purpose wasn't to serve others and glorify God; they sought the attention and glory for themselves. They were saying loudly and clearly, "Hey, look at me!" Jesus said that these folks earned their reward and would receive no reward from their Father in Heaven.

When we set out to serve God and others, Jesus teaches that we should not "...let your left hand know what your right hand is doing..." (Matthew 6:3). That doesn't mean what we do should result in confusion. It means that when we serve, we do these things as unto the Lord, not for our glory, but for his. We serve others and God not because we want acclaim but because we love God. Our service comes from a heart of obedience and a desire to please the One who serves us.

We have all been in situations where we have done the right thing, and it's gone unnoticed or someone else got the credit. That stings! If it happens often enough, we're inclined to quit doing the right thing. But, we have also had the wonderful experience of doing something for someone and watching or hearing how what we did "in secret" blessed that person. Jesus says that when we serve others in secret, our Father "...who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:4).

Our need to be recognized doesn't surprise God. He knows that we need attention, but he also knows that we need to have our intentions and our purposes be in line with his intentions and purposes. When we decide to be obedient to his direction for us as Christians - (see Luke 10:27; John 13:34-35; John 14:15; 15:14) - we will serve whether or not we are recognized by people. Our prayer should be that we do so without a desire for the spotlight to shine on us but rather that all glory is given to God. 

We may never receive accolades while on earth, but our promise from our heavenly Father is that we will receive rewards in eternity (Matthew 16:27; Matthew 10:42; I Cor. 3:8,14; II Tim. 4:7-8; Rev. 22:12). As we live our faith, may we serve as unto the Lord so that on that day when we see him face to face, we will with the exuberance and joy of a child say, "Look at me!" when we hear our Father say, "Well done!"

"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men..." Ephesians 6:7

Lord, I don't like to admit it, but I have a big ego! I want people to see the good things I do and give me attention for them. Please help me to stay humble, to follow your example, and serve you and others so that you receive the glory and not me. Thank you for understanding the human heart and for patiently working with us to develop in us your ways. Amen.

Eastside Community Church