Peace Everywhere

Bumperstickers proclaim “Peace”. Organizations promote peace. Periodically a peace movement will arise. As a teenager in the sixties I was apart of a peace movement when the Vietnam War was raging. I look back at that time and I am amazed at how little I knew. We all want peace and do what we can to bring peace. But at the same time, if you look at our personal lives you will find little peace. Peace seems out of reach. We are, by nature, selfish individuals. Selfishness and self-centeredness inevitably leads to quarrels with other selfish individuals. Inner peace cannot be found as nothing satisfies our selfishness.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Everyone wants inner peace. God promises to give peace to those who make their requests to Him. He will take away anxiety and not only replace anxiety with peace, but also guard your heart so that peace stays with you. Oh Lord, help us realize that our selfish ways keep us from finding the peace that we desperately seek. Give us the humility to understand our weaknesses and submit our requests to you. Then give us the peace we desire, starting with peace with you and guard our hearts from the world’s anxieties.

Blameless

It is true that misery loves company. When we are in a good mood, we like to be with joyful people. The reverse is also often true, when we are with joyful people we tend to be in a good mood. Unfortunately it is also understood that when we are gloomy and sad, we want to be around other people who are not so happy. And when we are with gloomy people we tend to also become sad.

Philippians 2:14-15 says, “In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people.” We should stay away from grumbling and arguing about things, which only serve to draw us into the evil that surrounds us. However, when we are full of thanksgiving and praise, we are drawn closer to God and our minds are full of heavenly thoughts.

Exalted Name

Have you ever found yourself at awe of the presence of another person? Perhaps you have met a celebrity that you admire. Maybe you have met someone who is a world leader. It could be that you met some universally recognized or personal hero. Whoever, it may have been, your feelings were overwhelmed and you felt a sense of honor being in their presence and acknowledged by them.

Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Worship of Jesus Christ as Lord of all is our ultimate purpose. We can choose to honor Him in this life and forevermore. No name matches the exalted status of Jesus Christ. He is God’s Son and our Savior and Lord. He is worthy of all honor and glory. At the end of time everyone will bow and worship Him.

Blessings

In Old Testament times it was common for the patriarch of a family to give blessings to his children during significant events. Isaac blessed his two sons, Esau and Jacob, just before he died. Jacob blessed his twelve sons also before he died. These blessings were a view into the future for the sons so show them what kind of character they would have and what their lives would be like.

In Numbers 6:24-26 God gives us a blessing for His children; “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” The Lord looks upon His people with joy and expectation of the great things He will lead us to do. His face shines upon us to lead us in His light and to give us grace to help in time of need. These are the gifts of grace that we can expect to give His children.

Attitude Makes a Difference

While I was in college, I had a job as a teaching assistant in a local junior high school. One day, the teaching assistants were given the assignment of putting together a package of instructions for the students. Several of the assistants were grumbling and complaining about this assignment. To be honest, it was tedious. But I found myself singing worship songs and reciting Bible verses to myself. It made the task much more enjoyable and the time seemed to fly by.

Ephesians 6:6-7 says, “not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.” When doing our schoolwork, housework, job, or some volunteer work, we have the privilege of doing these things to serve others. But more significantly we have the honor of serving God in these things from a heart of worship and love. If we view ourselves as honoring God by what we are doing, we will do better quality work and enjoy it much more.