Our Peace - Our Shalom

                                                                               

Week Twelve

Our Peace-Our Shalom

The Hebrew word Shalom means peace, wholeness, completeness. That is what Jesus Christ brought to the world. 

When Jesus died and reconciled the world to God through his blood, all people in the world were now eligible to become sons and daughters of God. To be able to have a relationship with the God of the universe, to be able to speak to God and fellowship with him as he intended from the beginning. 

Jesus paid the price for the sins of the whole world, he bridged the gap for not only the Jewish people, who had been the chosen people but also for the gentile world. All people were now considered chosen by God because of Christ. He is our peace.

How does that affect us today? What does this peace, this wholeness mean to us?

Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:34-39.

Our peace in Christ is not a peace that the world understands. “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” Ephesians 2:14-16

The world today tries to achieve peace by being politically correct, never stepping on anyone’s toes, not sharing the truth that Christ is the only way to the Father. We want to hope that there are other routes to reach God, but that would mean that Jesus died for nothing. 

The fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the entire world, no one was excluded. But Christ said that to find that life that he died to give us, we must put him first in our lives. He is the one who should sit on the thrones of our hearts. He is our peace, he is the one who brings wholeness to our lives. No one else offers what he offers, no one else paid the price that he paid. 

Without Jesus in our hearts, we are still separated from God. Even though the way was made for us to come to God, we have to acknowledge and accept that way. We have to accept the gift that God has given us.

Proverbs 14:30 states, “a heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 17: 1 tells us, “better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22. 

All of these passages show us what happens without peace, they speak of peace giving life, being better than living in strife, they show us that wicked people do not experience this peace.

Once again we see this reconciliation in Colossians 1:19-20, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.” This wholeness, completeness, this peace comes from God himself. He wants us to belong to him, to serve him, to be at peace with him. 

Oftentimes this means that we will be at odds with the world. Those family members who do not understand your love for Christ and all that he has done for you, may ridicule you, they may make fun of you and be angry with you. There may very well be anything but peace in your home because of your love for Christ Jesus. But don’t despair. 

1 Peter 3:8-12 tell us, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing. For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 

If we keep believing and continue to be steadfast in our faith, God will hear our prayers for family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, anyone who may not know or accept what Christ did for them. God will give us opportunities to share our faith and his word tells us that his ears are attentive to our prayers. 

That is pretty amazing. That is our peace, our shalom, our wholeness. God wants that wholeness even more than we do and he will stop at nothing to answer our prayers. 

Our completeness is exactly what will bring loved ones into the kingdom of God. We are complete, whole and at peace with God, our creator and the creator of all living things. That wholeness gives us legitimate rights. The enemy tries to tell us otherwise, but the word of God tells us that we can ask anything in the name of Jesus and that God will answer. 

As children of the living God we have his Spirit within us and that Spirit will direct our prayers according to what God wants. His word also tells us that he doesn’t want to lose anyone, but wants everyone to be saved. The blood of Christ was sufficient for the sins of the entire world, he didn’t leave anyone out. The most evil person in the world is capable of becoming a new creature in Christ. That is where we come in. God has given us dominion over the earth and he is waiting for us to ask him to meet our needs. It is up to us, as believers, to ask God to meet our fellow earth travelers right where they are. We have to want them to have peace, wholeness and to be complete.

God is waiting for us to bring others into the kingdom. Jesus blood was the sacrifice that brought about the shalom, the completness, but it is through his disciples that other disciples are birthed. How badly do we want to share the peace that we have with others?

Heavenly Father,

We give you praise for being such a God of wholeness that you would want the world to be reconciled to yourself. Thank you for providing a way through the blood of Jesus Christ. We ask that you use each one of us, to reach those around us, who do not fully understand what you have done to bring us peace. Give us boldness to speak when your Spirit prompts us, and open doors of opportunity to share our faith with those who need to know of your love. We ask these things because of Christ. Amen.

Looking Into the Word

Week Eleven

Looking into the Word

God has given us his Word, the Bible, to guide us through this earthly life. Jesus is the Word of God. The Bible tells us in John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

In Genesis we see that God spoke everything into existence. It was his Word that made all things. How amazing that is. God did not make things with his hands, he did not have to craft the world, but he spoke and it became. I often get a mental image of God just imagining something and then speaking and it becomes reality. How powerful is his Word? More powerful than we can even imagine.

I heard a saying once that I have never forgotten. The Word of God is like a lion, we don’t have to defend it, we just have to let it out of its cage. Everytime we speak God’s word over a situation, we claim the promises that are within that word and it becomes reality. That is an amazing concept. 

God gave us his Word in the Bible. I have heard it said that Jesus shows up in every chapter of the Bible somewhere, if we look for him there we can find him. The Bible is not just words written on paper and put in book form, it is the inspired Word of God. The men who penned the Bible were not just writing historical events, they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write specific accounts. Most of us who have taken different Bible classes can agree that the same word that we didn’t understand last year, now makes sense to us. We can read a passage every day and find something fresh and new each time we read it.

Since God’s word is alive, it seems to speak to us differently each time we read it. And God’s Holy Spirit helps us recall his word when we really need it. Sometimes we can be in a situation and not know what to do, then the Spirit of God can speak to our hearts and share a scripture that helps us through the trial. In Daniel we read about three young men who refused to bow down to a foreign god. They were put into the firey furnace, but before they were thrown in, they said this, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18. They refer to Psalm 27:1-2 “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.” The spirit of God reminded them of a promise. And as a result, Jesus showed up in the furnace with them. When they came out, they didn’t even smell like smoke.

When we ask God’s Holy Spirit to teach us from the Word some wonderful things happen. Our eyes see things in a new light. Our ears hear the voice of God leading us where he wants us to go. Our hearts are encouraged and amazed by the way God has worked his plan over the ages. Our spirits convict us of sin in our lives and direct us to repent and seek forgiveness. 

The more we read God’s word, the more we want to read it. He has placed in us a desire to know him better, but we can never get to the end of his word. It is eternal. The Word, Jesus, was with God from the beginning and will be with God long after everything else is gone. When we look into the Bible we can get a glimpse of God from the beginning. His heart is there for us to see, his love is there for us to know, his wisdom, his creativity, his mercy, his grace, his power and might are all displayed there. But most importantly his glory is there, shining above all else. 

I have been spending time with the Lord nearly every morning now for more than 15 years. I think I have a good relationship with God, but no matter how much I read and know the word, I still long to read more and know him better. We can never get to the end of God. 

The Word of God not only reads like a good novel, with many beautiful stories and historical accounts, but it also has depth to it. When reading the Bible over and over we begin to see how all the accounts interact with one another. The story of Ruth is a beautiful illustration of Jesus as our kinsman redeemer, the bridegroom of the church. The story of Joshua is a wonderful example of Jesus leading us into the Kingdom of God, destroying the enemies who would seek to imprison us. 

We see ourselves in the shortcomings of some of the notable saints. We realize that God has always chosen the least likely candidates to be leaders. The Bible gives us such hope for ourselves. As we read the accounts over and over we have new insights because our faith is growing and maturing with each passing year. 

The Word of God gives us instruction in our daily lives also. Just as Solomon said in Ecclesiates 1:9b, “there is nothing new under the sun.” The promises of God are as good today as the day they were given. The wisdom that God gives is available today just as it was during the rule of King Solomon. Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Try God on this. Ask him a question, he has every answer. 

From financial responsibilities, family structure and work ethics, God’s word will help us. His word can help us through difficult physical pain and grief that comes with the loss of a loved one. All we have to do is open his word and look. Seek guidance from God when you have a problem, instead of running to friends for advice, ask the maker of heaven and earth.

We are instructed in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” How can the word of Christ dwell in us if we don’t read it and know it? In order for something to become a part of your life and dwell in you, it has to be something that you live with daily. You can’t just read your Bible for 10 minutes during a worship service and expect to have enough of the word in you to sustain you all week. It must be a daily routine, somehow, someway you have to allot God’s word time every day to have it become part of you. 

Years ago, when I was a "baby" Christian, I didn’t understand this concept of daily devotions. I would go to church on Sunday, ask forgiveness, pray a little and maybe read a few chapters in my Bible. Then the rest of the week I lived my life the way I wanted to and I just couldn’t understand why God was allowing some things to happen in my life. I was not being faithful to him and he was letting me live my life the way I chose to. 

Now I realize that I need to speak to him about everything I do. Every decision I make should be a result of asking him what to do. Right down to making phone calls, picking out my clothes for the day and I’m really trying to consult him with my eating habits now. He really wants to take an active part in my life, but I have to actively seek him and ask for his advice.

With his word dwelling in me it is easier to know the right thing to do. I still don’t do everything right, but I’m a work in progress and I truly do want to be an obedient child.

If you haven’t read the Bible through from cover to cover, I urge you to do so. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you, get into a Bible study group. If you are not a reader borrow the CD version or cassette tape version from your local library or church library. There are so many ways to get fed on the Word and so many versions that are understandable. It will amaze you and you will  never be the same.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your Word. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Thank you for Jesus Christ. We want to know you better and there is no other way to know you more than through your Word. Bless you God for inspiring those who wrote the Bible. How wonderful that you would give us your Word in a form that we would understand. Thank you for all those who have translated your Word and put your Word on different forms of media for us. How amazing that you would be able to reach so many people in so many different ways and that you would use one spirit to do so. We praise your Holy name and we thank you in Jesus name. Amen

God is multi-dimensional

Week Ten

Have you ever wondered how God can be so many places, know so much, how he could be able to work miracles? Our brains just cannot begin to fathom his vastness and yet we keep trying to understand him. We want to know him, we seek him, we want to know him in terms that we can understand. It is impossible, but yet we are to seek him. When we realize that we could never know all there is to know about him, we can be content to see glimpses of him. We can better understand him by knowing his character. We can see his heart by knowing Christ.

Jesus, God incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us. The more we know Jesus, the more we know the one who sent him. The Bible tells us that God is our creator, the sovereign ruler of the universe that he created, that he is our judge, our provider, he is wise, he is our protector, our savior and that God is spirit. 

I guess if we see God working within our lives, that is a good place to start. When we woke up today it was obvious that this would be a new day. The earth was still revolving around the sun and the planets were still in their orbits. The God who created the universe was still in control of the universe, he was still keeping the planets and stars on their courses and we could get up and begin our day. There is a certain amount of trust that we have in God and don’t even realize it, most of the time.

God has put each one of us where we are on this earth. We had no choice of who our parents would be, what continent we would live on, what color our skin would be, if we would be deformed or our brains would be functional. God did the choosing.

Psalm 139:13-16 says, “You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well. You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother’s body. When I was put together there, you saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old.” We need to look at ourselves as God looks at us.

God provides for our needs each day, his word doesn’t tell us that he provides for everything we want, but the things that we need. When we see little children starving in other countries, when we see our neighbor without a coat, when we see a co-worker who doesn’t have lunch money, when we know someone in the hospital, or in jail God expects us to meet their needs. He uses the followers of Christ to be his hands and feet, his voice and he uses us to provide for the needs of people in need.

God is all knowing. Everything on heaven and earth was created by him. He knows every element, he knows how everything is made because he provided the necessities and the knowledge to make all of it. Computers, cars, appliances, buildings, all things - he has the answers for these things that are broken, misplaced, in disrepair and malfunctioning. If you have a problem with something mechanical, ask God for the wisdom to fix it. If your computer keeps crashing, ask God to show you what the problem is. He really does know the answers and he would love to show you what to do to fix the problems that arise in your life. There is nothing that he can’t do! Sometimes he may tell you to seek professional help, but he will give you an answer to your question.

God wants to take care of us and protect us from the evil one. Jesus specifically asked the Father to protect us. “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” John 17:11-12.

When we become Christians, we are under the protection of God the Father because Jesus has asked the Father to protect us. Why do we live as if the enemy had control over our lives? He cannot touch us. Remember Job? God would not let Satan take his life. Satan had to ask permission from God to afflict Job. We need to remember that God is sheltering us, his hand is covering us and we are his.

God is our savior, He died for us because he chose to do so. 1 John 4:14 says, “and we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” John 3:16-17 clearly states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” What a marvelous God to choose to save everyone in the world. In return all he asks for is our belief in him. 

God didn’t just send a representative from heaven, he came to earth himself in the form of Jesus. He left behind a glorious home, he willingly elected to take on humanity and become like one of us. The difference was in his sinless blood. Jesus’ mother did not conceive him in the conventional way, but she was inseminated by God himself. The Holy Spirit of God made Mary pregnant. In every way Jesus was human, except for his perfect blood. This blood was the necessary sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.

God is a spirit. Jesus told the woman at the well that God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship him in spirit and in truth. How can we do this? If we truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God, if we really want the God of the universe to dwell within us, we can invite God’s spirit to enter our hearts and be the voice that we listen to. Romans 8:9 says, “True believers are not controlled by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” It is a choice we make to invite God to speak to us. God uses his spirit to communicate with believers. 

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 tells us much about the spirit of God. “However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

What better way to know God better than to communicate with him through his Spirit. If you have never invited the Holy Spirit of God to speak to you, please do it today.

It is impossible to understand everything about God. He is indeed multi-dimensional and beyond that, he is all encompassing. He knows that we will never understand him fully, and he doesn’t expect us to. He just wants us to grow in our knowledge of him and to seek him daily. He wants us to have a relationship with him. 

I truly believe that he is eager to show us more of himself - as much as we are able to grasp. As we see him more clearly, we want to see more of him. In all loving relationships we grow into a deeper and more intimate knowledge of one another through trust and faithfulness. The more that we see we can trust someone with our hearts, the more of our hearts we want to share. The more that we know they will be faithful, the more faithful we become. The thing about a relationship with God is that he can always be trusted, he is always faithful. People will let us down, but God will never let us down.

Heavenly, Holy God,

We know that you are powerful and mighty, that you are wise and creative and we want to know you more. We want to understand you better. The only way that we can communicate with you is through your precious Holy Spirit. We have accepted Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, we know that he died for our sins, but we know that there is so much more to know and so we ask your spirit to speak to our hearts today. Tell us what direction to take, speak to us clearly to know what you want us to do today. We ask your spirit to teach us through your word, through Christians that teach us, through the world around us. Fill us to overflowing, let us know so much of you that we cannot hold it all. Only you can do this and we long to glimpse you in our lives today. Because of Jesus, we pray. Amen

Unless a Seed Dies

Week Nine

Unless a Seed Dies

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” John 12:23-28.

The only way that we could ever experience eternal life was for Jesus Christ to die. As long as he was living on the earth and walking among men he was able to do mighty acts under the power of the Holy Spirit. But he was a man and could only be in one place at a time. It was only in his dying that the Holy Spirit was able to dwell in men who believed in him and bring eternal life to each person on earth who believed. This Holy Spirit enabled God to be wherever men and women of faith were. The seed, Jesus Christ, died so that he could produce more seeds to accomplish more for the Father and the kingdom of God.

We also can accomplish much for the kingdom when we die to self and live for Christ, the resurrected Lord of the universe. It is the dying to self that is difficult for us. We want to be our own bosses, we like to think that we know what is best for ourselves and others and many times refuse to live for God.

When we finally understand that we are kingdom people, we are all working for the common good of mankind, that God wants to direct our paths, then we can surrender to his will and our seed will die. In so doing, we will grow into trees of righteousness and produce much fruit for God. We become more and more what God created us to be and less and less what we think we ought to be.

This is a process, it is a daily surrendering of ourselves to God. I used to think it was a one time deal, we surrender and then just go on our own ways again. It begins like that, but it needs to be a daily dying to self. The more we practice doing this, the easier it becomes. The more we see God working through us, the more we want him to work through us again and again. The more we realize that we are not in control, the more we want to give the control to him.

Jesus knew that the Father had mens' best interest in mind and he knew that unless he died on that cross, men would forever be lost. Remember when Jesus told his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him? He was speaking to us, the cross is a reminder to daily die to our own selfish desires and do the things that Christ would do.

The WWJD (what would Jesus do) bracelets are a reminder to think about the situations that we face daily and decide what Jesus would do, then we can respond to those situations in our lives, living as Christ would, being obedient to the Father.

Jesus even asked to be delivered from his hour of dying, but in obedience, he knew what God had asked him to do and that he had to go through the pain, endure the hardship, but on the other side of the cross was eternal life.

When we are seeking God’s will, when we truly want to be Christlike, we will hear God tell us what to do. Most days it may be very small little things, other days it may be a big leap of faith, but no matter what he asks us to do, it is a promise that some fruit will be the result. We may not see the fruit of our obedience in this life, but sometimes he lets us see the results of our dying to self.

Years ago God placed on my heart to share the gospel with my sister-in-law, Mary. It was difficult to do because it meant that I had to die to myself, become Christ to her and tell her about how much God loves her. (My personal belief is that is it is harder to minister to family members than total strangers). I would send her devotional books and ask that she read them along with me each day.

Her only response at the time, was that she did not want to give up her friends and her lifestyle to follow God. I continued to pray for her, but stopped pushing the issue. A few years ago, she shared with my husband and myself that she has been born again. She said now I know what you were trying to tell me years ago. The seed was planted, but it was up to God to plow and fertilize her heart to be able to see that seed sprout. Mary has gone on to be with the Lord now and I thank Him that I He placed her on my heart so long ago.

Many times God has asked me to go visit someone in the hospital and pray with them. This is a difficult thing for me to do, because I am not naturally drawn to sick people or those I really don’t know well. But if God has asks me to do it, I die to myself and let him use me. I haven’t really seen the fruit of those seeds, but someday I will. God would not ask us to do something if there was not going to be some fruit from it.

When you ask God for opportunities, he will definitely give them to you. One day I asked Him to use me to be a blessing to others. With only $5 cash in my purse, I was shopping on my lunch hour. As I stood in line to check out, I saw a man come through the store who was obviously homeless. The duct tape on his shoes and his unkempt appearance gave him away. It was a cold snowy day and I am sure he was in the store to get warm. God told me to give him the $5 I had in my purse. I had to get out of the check out line, follow this man through the store, and be ready to give him the money and speak of God’s love to him.

This is not something that I do very often, but it was such a strong urge that I knew I had to do it. I was able to approach him and offer him the $5, as he looked into my eyes I simply said, “God loves you.” That was all that God asked me to do. I sacrificed my lunch that day, but I sowed a seed for Jesus. I don’t know when I will see the fruit of that seed, but I have God’s assurance that anything he asks me to do will produce fruit.

When God asks you to do something that requires death to self, just do it. If God asks you to do it, He will also provide you with the grace to perform the task. This is another one of those things that gets a little easier the more you do it. Soon you get to the point where you don’t care what others may think of the things you do, when you know that the God of the Universe wants to use you, it is indeed an awesome honor and responsibility.

Holy God,

We just want to thank you for the precious, sinless blood of Jesus that paid the price for the salvation of the world. How amazing that you would love us enough to die for us. In return for that gift, may we offer ourselves to you this day and ask that you use us to bring blessings to others. May we be seed sowers, may we die to ourselves today to bring glory to you. You don’t ask us to lay down our lives, but we willingly give our lives to you to use to increase your kingdom. It is in the name of Jesus that we come to you today. Amen.