World – Page 7 – Praying Pint

19.l. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners”

Romans 5:6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

1 John 4:9-10 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

While we were helpless and with no hope and at the right time God sent His Son to die (redeem) the ungodly. This does not mean God universally saved all of mankind, but that His Son, Jesus Christ, universally paid the price that universally saves all who would believe. There has to be a connection between what Jesus did and each individual person. This connection is belief first. Without belief in God, His Son, and the need for His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you, then there is no need for Him. Some may say that they believe in God but they have never come to the place where they realize the need for Jesus Christ. They may even say they get more and more convinced about God the older they get and still they do not come to the place where they know they need Jesus Christ. Still, others, as they get older, get bolder and bolder in their denial and rejection of God. What good is the death of Jesus if you do not see a personal need? If all you see is a universal general payment for the sin of mankind then the point of His death is still missed. The death of Jesus, for your personal sin, must be a known heart-deep certainty. If it is not personal then His death has no benefit for you other than to judge you unwilling to believe your need and for His death a full once and for all payment (redemption and forgiveness) for your sin. Once you come to the point where you know the need, then by faith you trust in, cling to, and rely solely on Him. There is nothing you can do to earn it. It is a free gift of grace, mercy, and love. There is no work you can do to become worthy of it. Belief and faith are the work God has established for redemption, salvation, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. You can’t vow your way there. You can’t do enough good to get there.

While we were helpless, lost, disobedient, rebellious, selfish, self-centered, self-righteous, self-worthy, and self-reliant, God, out of grace, mercy, and love, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the redemption, salvation, and forgiveness. While we were yet sinners. We had nothing to do with why God purposed this act of overwhelming love toward us. It is only out of His grace, mercy, and love. There is no earning this. If we did not earn it, then it was not due us, and if it was not due us then it is a gift from God. This gift is offered to each and every person, but they are never required to take it. Eternal life in heaven awaits those who accept this gift of redemption through Jesus Christ. The very hand of God is offering this gift of eternal life and how sad is it that the gift from the God of the universe is so easily cast aside and deemed unworthy of our self-centered lives?

19.h. “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

Romans 4:1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Ephesians 2:9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Jeremiah 9:23-24   Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

2 Corinthians 11:30   If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Galatians 6:14    But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

This boasting is nothing because before God, every pretense is stripped away and it is evident that no one can really be justified by works. Boasting can take many forms. It can be voiced; I am a good or great person, I do good or great things, I speak good or great things, I understand and have great wisdom, I am strong, I am powerful, I am an example to be followed, I am a light to be followed, I am a great giver, I am a great speaker, etc…….. It can also be silent and these same boasts can be spoken. They are spoken within our minds directly to our hearts. These boasts are silent killers of our souls. When boasting is verbal at least it can be discussed in the context of God’s holiness and righteousness. It can be challenged by the hearer. It can be debated and rooted out for what it is. It can be rebuked by the hearer. However, silent boasting within our minds goes unchallenged and, if allowed to fester, will soon lead to self-reliance and self-worth. This silent killer has and continues to lead many people directly to hell without them even knowing their unholy sickness of certain condemnation to hell and eternal punishment. They have judged themselves worthy of salvation by the acts they proudly boast to themselves within their mind. They do not judge in light of God’s Word or His holiness, or his righteousness. They are convinced that the world’s view of their acts justifies their stance before God. This lie has blinded them to the need for Jesus Christ. This lie has deafened their ears to the Word of God. It is in this blindness and deafness they internally boast of their goodness and good works. God’s Word is clear; “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

There is an urgent shout to the souls of man to reject self-reliance and to cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ alone.

19.g. “O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;”

John 21:25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John 20:30-31    Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Psalms 71:15   My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.

Job 26:14   Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Psalms 40:5    You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

If it were possible to write volumes of books that contained the works of Jesus, the world could not contain them. The righteous acts of God and His deeds of salvation exceed our knowledge. Though we have been given God’s Word, it appears to be a vast writing with unlimited knowledge of God. We could spend a lifetime reading it and our understanding of God would still be but a whisper of who and what God is, let alone His power, might, strength, grace, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, ……….. Understanding of God can not be something that is read and understood, it must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. “To whom will he teach knowledge,

and to whom will he explain the message? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

God has given deep in our hearts a beginning knowledge of Himself. He has revealed Himself to us through creation. He has revealed Himself through His Word. He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. He has revealed Himself through mighty and wondrous works of His power. He has revealed His grace, mercy, and love through Jesus. When we think of the limitlessness of God, then His Word and what we can see of His Creation speak but a whisper to our minds. What He has revealed should not be considered a whisper though. It should be considered a SHOUT, a thunderous SHOUT to each and every soul. It is a SHOUT of love and of warning. It is a SHOUT of eternal life and eternal torment and hell. It is a Shout of the Heavenly and worldly. It is a SHOUT of righteousness and wickedness, good and bad, faithful and unfaithful, truth and lies. It is a SHOUT of hope, refuge, power, strength, and courage, and of fear, anger, hate, and confusion. It is a SHOUT of redemption, salvation, and forgiveness, and of judgment, condemnation, and rejection.

It is a loud thunderous SHOUT to every soul. On judgment day no one will be able to say I didn’t know or I never heard for it will be clear to them than just how many times in their lives they rejected and denied the thunderous SHOUTS of God’s warnings and love.

18.x. “I have given them your word”

John 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

“See how the Lord Jesus himself takes all his teaching from the Father. You never hear from him any boast about being the originator of profound thoughts. No, he just repeated to his disciples the words he had received from the Father: ‘I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.’ If Jesus acted thus, how much more must the messengers of God receive the word from the Lord’s mouth, and speak it as they receive it!” (Spurgeon)

The whole revelation of God was and is manifested in the words, works, and actions of Jesus Christ. We would be in spiritual darkness without the revealed Word in Jesus Christ and the written Word of God. We are called to bring and reflect the Light of Jesus Christ into the darkness of this world. We do this for His honor and glory. Our goal is to be in the world but not of it or of the evil one. We are not to be fearful of this darkness. We are not to be surprised by the evil one directing the dark and evil deeds of those who are his captive. We are to live with a desire to continue to grow in our understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are to live with a continued desire for His Word. We are to live with a desire to be obedient, faithful, and reliant on Him. How can this be if we choose to become complacent and neglectful of the very Word that will continue to grow us in this understanding? Christianity is not a course we take for a semester and think we have acquired knowledge for a lifetime. A believer is forever in study, forever gaining knowledge, and forever becoming so that no matter how dark the darkness is, people will see the light of the Gospel and give glory and honor to Jesus Christ.

18.v. “For he will speak peace to his people”

John 16:31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Psalms 85:8-11    Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

Micah 5:5   And he shall be their peace.

Ephesians 2:14-17    For he himself is our peace

Philippians 4:7    And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 3:16     Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

Jesus relied upon His close relationship with God all the way to the cross, and even upon it. In the loneliest moments imaginable, He understood that the Father was with Him. (Guzik)

“I remember that passage about Abraham going with Isaac to mount Moriah, where Isaac was to be offered up. It is written, ‘So they went both of them together.’ So did the Eternal Father and his Well- beloved Son when God was about to give up his own Son to death. There was no divided purpose; they went both of them together.” (Spurgeon)

Jesus offered His disciples peace. He made the offer in the most unlikely circumstances. At that very minute, Judas met with Jesus’ enemies to plot His arrest. Jesus knew that He would be arrested, forsaken, rejected, mocked, humiliated, tortured and executed before the next day was over. We think that the disciples should have comforted Him – yet Jesus had peace, and enough to give to others. Jesus did not promise peace; He offered it. He said, “you may have peace.” People may follow Jesus yet deny themselves this peace. We gain the peace Jesus offered by finding it in Him. Jesus said, “that in Me you may have peace.” We won’t find real peace anywhere else other than in Jesus. This word of peace is especially meaningful set in the context of conflict – tribulation and overcome both speak of battles to fight. “He promises a peace which co-exists with tribulation and disturbances, a peace which is realized in and through conflict and struggle.” (Maclaren)

Jesus also made the promise of tribulation. Peace is offered to us, but tribulation is promised. Understanding this removes a false hope. Struggling Christians often hope for the day when they will laugh at temptation and there will be one effortless victory after another. We are promised struggle as long as we are in this world; yet there is peace in Jesus.

18.u. “Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.”

John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

John 7:39    Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 14:16-17   And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26    But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26    “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Sin is the truth about man, righteousness is the truth about God, judgment is the inevitable combination of these two truths. (Guzik)

“Each man’s conscience has some glimmering of light on each of these; some consciousness of guilt, some sense of right, some power of judgment of what is transitory and worthless; but all these are unreal and unpractical, till the convicting work of the Spirit has wrought in him.” (Alford)

The ancient Greek work translated convict has a broader range of meaning than simply our word convict, especially as it is understood in a legal sense. It also carries the ideas to expose, to refute, and to convince (Bruce). This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the world and in individual hearts; to convince and convict of these truths. It is a serious thing to resist and reject this work of the Holy Spirit, which is especially prominent and powerful in seasons of great spiritual advance. “The Spirit does not merely accuse men of sin, he brings to them an inescapable sense of guilt so that they realize their shame and helplessness before God.” (Tenney)

“The Spirit is the ‘advocate’ or helper of those who believe in Jesus, their counsel for the defence. But in relation to unbelievers, to the godless world, he acts as counsel for the prosecution.” (Bruce) It’s important to have the Spirit of God to defend rather than to convict.

In the great awakening of 1860-61 in Great Britain, a high-ranking army officer described the conviction of sin in his Scottish town: “Those of you who are ease have little conception of how terrifying a sight it is when the Holy Spirit is pleased to open a man’s eyes to see the real state of heart. Men who were thought to be, and who thought themselves to be good, religious people… have been led to search into the foundation upon which they were resting, and have found all rotten, that they were self-satisfied, resting on their own goodness, and not upon Christ. Many turned from open sin to lives of holiness, some weeping for joy for sins forgiven.” (J. Edwin Orr, The Second Evangelical Awakening in Britain)

It is unbelief, the rejection of Jesus, which ultimately proves one to be guilty. The Holy Spirit will tell the world of the importance of trusting in, relying on, and clinging to Jesus to avoid this sin. “The essence of sin is unbelief, which is not simply a casual skepticism nor a difference of opinion; rather, it is a total rejection of God’s messenger and message.” (Tenney) It is a vague kind of skepticism which is one of the most common spiritual diseases in man.

18.r. “And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: They hated me without a cause.’

Ezekiel 2:5    And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Romans 1:20    For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Acts 17:30    The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

Ezekiel 33:31-33  And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.  And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.  When this comes—and come it will!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

2 Corinthians 2:14-16   But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,  to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

Luke 12:46    the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.

Because Jesus did come to and speak to the world, they knew something of God that they did not know before. This made them without excuse for hating and rejecting Jesus and His Father in heaven. Jesus did among them the works which no one else did, and they still hated and rejected Him. (Guzik)

People will say and do many things in their lives, some good, some bad, and some irrelevant. Live has a way of drawing us into things of this world and I guess rightly so. The hard part is, while in this world, not to be blinded by its offers of peace, joy, happiness, and purpose. They are lies. While we may be part of this world, we live in it, we should not allow it to distract us from humble service, honor, glory, obedience, trust, and reliance in and to Jesus Christ.

God’s Word is a heavenly scent to those who believe and to those who do not it is either unnoticed or it is a stench to them. Those that reject the heavenly fragrance from God’s Word reject Him. Those that reject Him are guilty of sin. Those that reject Jesus Christ, reject God and are guilty of sin. Those that reject the heavenly fragrance of the Holy Spirit’s leading to salvation, reject the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and God. They are guilty of sin. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” “ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

With all that is going on right now in the world our prayer should be for the heavenly fragrance of God’s Word be ever so powerful in our lives and also in the lives of those who do not know Him.

18.q. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

The earliest Christians would know the hatred of the world. “Tacitus spoke of the people ‘hated for their crimes, whom the mob call Christians.’ Suetonius had spoken of ‘a race of men who belong to a new and evil superstition.’” (Barclay)

“It is an odd fact that the world soon justified its hostility to them by imputing to them the initiative in hatred. The earliest extant reference to Christians in pagan literature charges them with ‘hatred of the human race’.” (Tacitus, Annals, 15.44.5) (Bruce)

“It is not without significance that the disciples are to be known by their love, the world by its hatred.” (Morris)

“The perfect tense of the verb ‘hate’ (memiseken) implies that the world’s hatred is a fixed attitude toward him — an attitude that carries over to his disciples as well.” (Tenney)

If people do not know God as He really is, they often attack and persecute those who represent God in some way. “Men may prefer to evolve an idea of their universal Father, but that idea of theirs will take their own color and the color of their Age. The only true idea of Him is to be got from The Son.” (Trench)

It would seem there is nothing new under the sun. Mankind is void of love when God is displaced and rejected. I took special note of what was recorded (written) by pagan historian Cornelius Tacitus and how Christians were hated for their crimes of hatred against mankind with their superstitions. Calling good bad and bad good. Hatred of Christians was good. Works of peace and love of Christians was called bad. Mankind void of God will hate the things of God and the people who honor, glorify, obey, follow, trust, and worship Him. If you speak out against abortion you are labeled a woman hater. If you speak out against LGBTQ you are a labeled a bigot. If you speak out that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven you are labeled ignorant. If you speak out about injustice you are labeled intolerant.

Mankind will call our love and devotion to Jesus Christ a hatred of mankind.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

“It is not without significance that the disciples are to be known by their love, the world by its hatred.” (Morris)

“The perfect tense of the verb ‘hate’ (memiseken) implies that the world’s hatred is a fixed attitude toward him — an attitude that carries over to his disciples as well.” (Tenney)

Mankind will call our love and devotion to Jesus Christ a hatred of mankind.

18.p. “Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.”

Psalm 8:3  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Psalms 144:3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?

Psalms 111:2    Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.

Romans 1:20     For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Isaiah 40:17    All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

Let’s review a little high school science, shall we? First, a light-year. A light-year is a measurement of distance. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, so a light-year is the distance light travels in one year. If you do the math, that comes out to about 5.9 trillion miles.

So—a light-year is a distance of about 5.9 trillion miles. Obviously, we have no earthly references for such a distance. For example, the distance around planet Earth is only 24,900 miles; the moon is 238,900 miles from the earth; the sun is 93 million miles from earth. None of those numbers come close to the distance of one light-year—about 5.9 trillion miles.

So one light-year is a distance that none of us can really identify with. But that makes the following facts even harder to comprehend.

The galaxy in which planet Earth is found—the Milky Way galaxy—is huge. It contains between 100-400 billion stars, and possibly that many planets. Its diameter is between 170,000-200,000 light-years. Now we’re getting somewhere. One light-year is 5.9 trillion miles, and the Milky Way galaxy may be 200,000 light-years in diameter.

But hold on—we’re not talking about the big numbers yet. Our Milky Way galaxy is part of what is known as the Laniakea Supercluster, a collection of 100,000 galaxies like the Milky Way which stretches out over 520 million light-years. In miles, that is 520,000,000 multiplied by 5,900,000,000,000—a number I can’t compute because I don’t have a calculator that has room for that many zeros! To travel from one side of the Laniakea Supercluster to the other would take 520 million years traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second).

Finally, if you have any breath left, consider this: It is estimated that there are some 10 million superclusters like the Laniakea Supercluster in the known universe.

Is it any wonder that the psalmist, David, wrote, “When I consider Your heavens . . . what is man that You are mindful of him…?” (Psalm 8:3-4) Think about yourself, an individual person. Now think about the immensity of the universe I have just described. God is bigger than the universe He created, yet He knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7)! How is it that God is immense and personal at the same time? All we know is that He is. (David Jeremiah)

God can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. Why is it that we don’t surrender and lay at His feet all of those hurts, fears, anxious thoughts, and pain? Certainly, He can do more than we ask or can imagine. He loves us! He sent His son to redeem us! He has prepared a place for us! Don’t let the worries and cares and troubles of this world hinder you from seeing and the awesomeness of God. It is in these glimpses of His majesty that we find new reasons and purpose for hope and faith in Him.

18.m. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

Isaiah 32:15-17     until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.  Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.  And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

Romans 8:6    For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Philippians 4:7   And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The peace this world has to offer is often based on deliberate blind and deafness, half-truths and lies, and a host of other shiny bright distractions or false alternatives. The peace which the world offers us is the peace of escape, the peace which comes from the avoidance of trouble and from refusing to face things.” (Barclay) Jesus offers a better peace, a real peace, a peace that passes all understanding.

When Jesus is our refuge, hope, rock, courage, and strength we find peace. This does not mean freedom from trouble but rather Peace of Mind. We are definitely living in troubling times. Good is called bad, bad is called good, and lies and half-truths fill media news. Fear is being sold at every opportunity and the problem is that way too many Christians are buying it, cowering to it, and even proclaiming it. Love, faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ casts out all fear. The arrows of fear never strike. The arrows of fear pass us by as we stand on the Rock of our salvation. David said; “You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge”

“Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”

Peace comes at a price. That price is total surrender to the author and finisher, alpha and omega, creator, and all-powerful heavenly Father. Too often we think that the more we are in control the better it will be, the more peace we will find. Only when we surrender all we have and all we are to Jesus Christ will we find the peace that passes all understanding.