Day 4 - Week 25 - John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Sometimes it's good to look at opposites to more fully understand a message. 

To you, what is the opposite of peace?  I think the closest thing that I can identify as the opposite of peace is anxiety.  And boy, does our world today have an abundance of anxiety!  Yet, what does the Bible tell us about anxiety?

1 Peter 5:7  "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Jesus told His disciples that He would leave them with peace...and we are told not to be anxious because God cares so much for us.  The evidence of God's affection for us is the fact that He sent His Son and His Son was obedient in His plan to save us.  Jesus knew that His role would include the gift of peace.  It's because He lived, died, was resurrected and ascended that we can know we have a God who cares for us immensely.  And with that knowledge should come an overwhelming sense of peace

It's a sad commentary, then, that so many of us, even those who proclaim faith in Jesus Christ, are abiding in lives of high anxiety.  We worry about so many things and we live lives full of tension, resulting in both mental and physical unhealthiness. 

We should resolve each day to recite John 14:27 with an immediate follow up of 1 Peter 5:7.  Do you think that might make a difference in your life?  I'm pretty sure it will in mine. 

Day 3 - Week 25 - John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Of all the gifts that Jesus could have told His disciples that He as giving them as He left, He gave them the gift of peace.  And it is not just the "hey man, peace" kind of peace...this peace is Jesus' peace.  The peace that comes from knowing who you really are in the realm of God's kingdom and where you are going when you leave this tangible world that we currently call home.  For when we know these things, then we also know that what happens in the here and now, good or bad, will fade into oblivion when we pass to our eternal, forever home.  So the trials and troubles that come our way do not cause our hearts to tremble, do not cause our minds to crumble...no, today's trials and troubles just remind us that this stuff is so temporary.

So peace, faith, trust become intertwined in the heart of a Christian.  Can you have Christ's peace without an active faith?  I don't see how.  Can you have true faith without complete trust in the One whom you are putting your faith in?   Not in my way of thinking. 

Without Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, we would not have the gift of peace.  For we would have no assurance of our salvation, of our new life or of the home that He has gone to prepare for us.  Yes, peace is such a wonderful gift from the One who loves us for eternity---pull off the big fancy bow, unwrap it, try it on for size and then start enjoying it. 

We have been transformed out of lives of worldly care, of hearts hat are troubled, of lives full of fear because our Savior left us with a gift like no other. 

Get rid of your troubled heart - stop being afraid - remember Romans 8:21

What, then, are we to say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

We don't have to worry about whose side we are on - we are on the side of the Victor, the One who can withstand ever opposition, and who is our Strong Defense. Hallelujah...Amen!

Day 2 - Week 25 -John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

I love the things that Robert J. Morgan has to say about this verse.  Here are some of his words,

This is one of the Bible's greatest verses about inner peace, spoken by our Lord in His upper room discourse (John 13-17) on the night He was betrayed.   As the disciples listened to Jesus speaking that night, they must have cringed at the second and third words of he verse: I leave.  Throughout the upper room discourse, Jesus sought to prepare His disciples for His death, resurrection, and departure from earth.  But as He went to the cross, to the grave, and into the skies, He was planning to leave one aspect of Himself behind:  Peace I leave with you.

And it wasn't just generic or generalized peace.  It was His own internal realms of infinite peace:  My peace I give to you.  He wasn't bestowing it to them in a temporary, inconsistent or conditional way: I do not give to you as the world gives.  He was giving them a legacy of peace that had the power forever to banish fear and trouble from their hearts:  Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.

And then he adds this last paragraph that I really love, because it make me truly feel this filling of peace from Jesus in such a  personal way....

Notice that this verse falls naturally into four phrases.  You can memorize it one small sentence at a time.  Realize that Jesus was speaking these words to you and me just as clearly and immediately as they were spoken to the disciples two thousand years ago.  Once you memorize this verse, you can close your eyes and listen to Jesus saying it to you at any time.

When you find yourself in those times of such desperate need of peace, this is the verse to fall back on---to stop, take deep breaths, and let wash over you.  We have a Savior who has given us many gifts, don't forget that one of His gifts to us is peace.  What a horrible witness we are to people who have not come into relationship with Jesus Christ when we exhibit lives lacking deep, inner core, peace.  When we look just like the rest of the world in our lack of confidence regarding our futures, in our frustration with the things that just don't go right in our lives, in our desperation when we see goals go by the wayside...we are not looking like a people who have been given a peace that surpasses anything that this world can offer. 

Wake up - breath in the deep and satisfying peace that Jesus has given to us, knowing that He has promised to walk beside forever.

 

Day 1 - Week 25 - Another verse of assurance!

I'm finding that Tuesdays bring with them a bit of anticipation as I look forward to the "unveiling" of another verse in our 100 verse journey.  But before we can add, we have to make sure we've stored the treasures that we've already mined so that they are secure in our hearts and ready for use whenever needed....

The Romans Road to Salvation

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Romans 5:8  But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9  If you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 12:1  Therefore, dear brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual worship.

The Gift of Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16  All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correction and for training in righteousness.

Joshua 1:8  This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth, you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.  For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

Psalm 119:11  I have treasured your words in my heart so that I may not sin against You.

Deuteronomy 6:4-6  Listen O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.  These words I am giving you today are to be in you heart.

Deuteronomy 6:7  Repeat them to your children, talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 

Hebrews 4:12  The Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide joint, marrow, soul and spirit.  It is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the mind.

The Giift of Prayer

Hebrews 4:16  Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

1 John 5:14  Now this is the confidence we have before Him, whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

1 John 5:15  And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.

The Gift of Assurance

1 John 5:11  And this is the testmony:  God has given us eternal life, and that life is in His Son.

1 John 5:12-13  The one who has the Son has life; the one who doesn't have the Son of God, does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life.

John 14:1  Your heart must not be troubled.  Believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:3  And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back to receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

John 14:6  Jesus said  to pto him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father except through Me.'

And our 7th verse of assurance is......

John 14:27   Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

What a great verse of assurance for our troubled times!  Don't we all long for a heart that is at peace?  No fretfulness about wild stock markets, no worries about our futures, no concerns about our health...could there be hope for that kind of absolute peace in our lives?  It certainly is not something that can be found through what the world has to offer...most of us have tried those avenues and they produced anything but peacefulness.  But Jesus says He leaves us with the gift of peace...

Strong's definition of peace as used in this verse:  the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.

Lord, when I find myself without peace, let me stop and examine where my focus is.  For when I am looking to You and to all You have blessed me with, and when I know that you have paid my way so that I can enjoy eternity with You without fear of the punishment that my sinfulness deserves, then I should feel nothing other than absolute peace within my soul.  I pray that the only unrest that I should experience is the unrest of knowing that there are those around me who I need to share Your love with so that they can come to know Your gift of immeasurable and inconceivable peace in their lives.  I love you Lord Jesus - help me to love You more and to love those around me just as You do.  I pray these things in the Holy name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and my Lord ~ Amen.

Day 7 - Week 24 - John 14:6 "Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.'"

Robert J. Morgan states,

Jesus' discourse on 'Let not your heart be troubled' was interrupted by Thomas, who asked in John 14:5, 'Lord, we don't know where You are going.  How can we know the way?' Try imagining the tone of voice Thomas used.  Was it gentle and sincere or edgy and argumentative?  As you picture and replay the scene in your mind, you'll soon find you've memorized the entire passage---John 14:1-6.

The Way to the Father - John 14:1-6

1 "Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.  (We've got that verse down)2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. (KJV - we've got that one down too!) 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. (Check!)4 You know the way where I am going." (just a small addition!)5 "Lord," Thomas said, "we don't know where You're going. How can we know the way?" (Throw in a little Doubting Thomas....)6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (Finish off with this week's verse!)Are you sometimes finding this easier than you thought it would be?  When you put it all together and in context, it just becomes a dialogue....a very affirming dialogue!  Do you identify with our friend, Doubting Thomas?  I know I sometimes do! There is a cartoon showing Thomas looking at the Apostle Peter saying, "why doesn't everyone call him Denying Peter?"  Makes me empathize a little bit with Thomas...he really did get dubbed for all of time with his character flaw, didn't he?  Makes me wonder how I would go down in Biblical history!But just like Thomas, I find myself saying, "How can you expect me to know what to do, God?  How should I know which way to go?"  And I hear God say back to me..."Oh let's see...I've given you my Word, my Son came to live on earth and showed you what is and what isn't important in this life, I've surrounded you with Christian influences, and, oh yes, I've empowered you with My Holy Spirit...so, use the tools that you've been gifted with and walk in the way I'm directing you!"Makes our excuses seem pretty lame, doesn't it?Jesus is the way -- the way from this life to the next, and the way to live this life here and now.  He lived it.  He died.  He lives again!  He is the way...we can know how to live and how to make good choices in our lives, and then how to follow Him as our Good Shepherd into our eternal lives.Follow the Way...follow Jesus.

Day 6 - Week 24 - John 14:6 "Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father except through Me."

Jesus states that He is the way, the truth and the life...does that sound exclusive?  Yes it does.  If the accusation is narrowness, Jesus stands guilty as accused.  He actually said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

He tells us that God has devised one way to come to Him, and that way is only available because of Him and His sacrifice.  Jesus cannot embrace the advocacy of other paths to God, because He knows there is no other way.  When You are the one that God has sent to tell people of Him, of His love for them, and of the Way that He has designed for them to come to Him...when You are that Way...than how can you be tolerant of false teachings that will lead people to false ends?  You know that the wide gates will be enticing, but that they lead to destruction...only You can deliver mankind to life.  How can You take anything but an exclusive stance when You know it is the only stance that holds the promise of life?  To do anything else would be leading the people You have come to save to their eternal death.

But that's where the exclusivity ends...for the proclamation that Jesus makes, and the offer that comes to people through Him, is absolutely open to all.  There are no requirements to become a follower of Christ other than what we already are, broken human beings acknowledging our need of healing from the Divine Healer. 

As Christians, what do we say when others charge us with being intolerant of other religions?  How do we "rebuke" their claims of other pathways to God? 

Listen to what Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:21-26...it's really something we need to hear and to remember..

Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.  Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness - faith, love, peace - joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil's trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands. (The Message)

What we are to do is to be people who love other people, and to share God's love and truth with them.  What we are not to do is to present the truth that we have (and that we know through the Holy Spirit is God's truth) in a manner that says we are smarter, more gifted, more righteous or more deserving of this Truth. 

We are not to get in "inane discussions that always end up in fights:...have you ever been in one of those?  I have. They never win anyone over to Christ...in fact, they probably drive the person deeper into their conviction that Christians care more about proclaiming how "right" they are than in proclaiming that God's love and Jesus' sacrifice is the reason for their passion. 

Pray for God's direction when you are confronted with the opportunity to share the truth that Jesus has brought to us with someone who has not yet accepted God's way.  It is a God-given moment that is to be handled in a God-driven way...too often we make it a "self promoting" moment...and the moment that was meant to be used for God's glory, slips away.