Maintaining the Presence of Peace

If you have been following along, you know I have been talking about the last name of Jesus mentioned in Isaiah 9:6, Prince of Peace. Even though we often refer to that scripture at Christmas, I believe it is one that we should look at again and again. We need to be reminded who this One is that we call Lord and Savior.

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While it is true that we always have the Prince of Peace with us, as I explain last week, we don’t always feel His peace. We all to often allow life and all of its difficulties and distractions to take the place of peace in our hearts.

Many of you are probably familiar with the “love bank” idea created by Dr. Willard F. Harley, clinical psychologist and author of a variety of relationship and marriage books, including His Needs, Her Needs. The sum up is that the more we put into someone else’s love bank, the more they will feel loved. When we criticize, demand, or do unkind things we make withdrawals from the their love bank, thus causing damage to the relationship.

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I believe we can use a similar analogy when it comes to peace in our lives. When we read God’s word, pray, have fellowship with others, and abide in Him we add to our “peace bank”. When we neglect those activities, or do things that go against God and His truth, we make withdrawals from the bank. It is easy to suddenly find ourselves lacking funds in our bank account when we have been living life in our own strength and might.

For this final post on the Prince of Peace, I would like to look at some of the tools we can use to ensure our peace banks never run low. I want to look at a few specific ideas. As I said earlier, prayer, God’s word, etc. help us maintain peace, but I want to look at specific thoughts in this regard.

1 - Prayer

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a - Prayers of confession and repentance. There is nothing faster at removing our peace than unconfessed sin. I like the idea of keeping “short accounts”. Did I hurt someone’s feelings at work today? Did I gossip when I was with my lady friends at lunch? Did I speak harshly towards my spouse? We must be ever vigilant to keep our minds and hearts clean before our Prince of Peace.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

— 1 John 1:9 (NASB 1995)

b - Prayers of release. As a parent, and grandparent, this is one of the hardest things to do. You might wonder, if I let it go, how is that going to give me peace? Don’t I have to do something about it? Actually, the most important thing we can do is to lay our fears, doubts and desires at the foot of the cross. We need to find our Lord to be the most trustworthy friend we will ever have. Let go of those things that are troubling you and let Him be God.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

— Philippians 4:6

2 - Scripture

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a - Using God’s Word for meditation. When we are having difficulty with peace going back to God’s word and mulling it over helps to bring back our connection to the Prince of Peace. I always have a journal and at least a pen when I read passages from the Word. The Holy Spirit is always able to give us new insights, even from passages we have read over and over. I am not afraid to underline and write notes in my Bible either. Being centered on His holy Word will always reconnect us to our wonderful Prince of Peace.

“And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes.”

— Psalm 119:48 (NASB 1995)

b - Using God’s Word for battle. I have discussed my walkabouts on here before, but as a refresher, a walkabout is when I pace around my house praying out loud for the purpose of spiritual warfare. I do this often when I am praying for my children, grandsons and my spouse, although, many people end up on my walkabout list, because so many are struggling. During these times of intense communication with God, I take the Words He has inspired in the Bible and I pray them back to Him.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

— Ephesians 6:17 (NASB 1995)

The Word of God is not passive. According to Hebrews 4:12 it is, “living and active.”

“ For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

— Hebrews 4:12 (NASB 1995)

3 - Changing our thought life.

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This might seem obvious, and certainly spending more time in prayer and the Word of God will help. However, I thought it important to give this a little more emphasis since we can change our thoughts by doing other things as well. The mind is not the only part of our bodies affected by a lack of peace. Anxiety, anger, lust, bitterness, and lack of forgiveness can affect our digestive systems, cause aches and pains and can rev up the inflammation triggers all over our bodies. One of the main areas we can control is our thoughts.

a - Scriptures to help our thoughts:

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

— Philippians 4:8 (NASB 1995)

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You..”

— Isaiah 26:6 (NKJV)

“The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.”

— Psalm 29:11 (NASB 1995)

“Those who love Your Law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.”

— Psalm 119:165 (NASB 1995)

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.”

— Isaiah 26:3 (NASB 1995)

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 4:7 (NASB 1995)

I am particularly fond of this last verse. The word guard in this verse evokes the idea of a battalion of soldiers standing guard over our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This is what God’s word says about His peace. His peace is beyond our comprehension, meaning we can have it, even when it doesn’t make any sense, and it will be like a company of warriors watching over our hearts and minds.

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c - Other ways to maintain our peace:

There are plenty of secular things people do to give them peace of mind from meditation, and medication, to music, to exercise and getting outside. All of these are good, but don’t forget, as a Christ follower your peace ultimately comes from the Prince of Peace. Nothing else will give you true, deep, lasting peace like Jesus.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at the word peace, and our Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Please let me know in the comments how our Prince has given His peace to you.

A Further Look at Peace

Last week we took a look at the last name of Jesus mentioned in Isaiah 9:6. Next month I plan on getting back to my monthly columns, but I thought this idea of the Prince of Peace something we need to sit on for a spell. Peace is a commodity that is hard to come by. Even as Christ followers we struggle with anxiety and worry, just like many people. If Jesus is the Prince of Peace, then why do we, who call Him our Savior, have such a hard time finding peace?

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Finding peace is directly related to knowing the Prince of Peace; Jesus. It isn’t just a head nod to whether Jesus was a real, historical figure, but an understanding and acceptance of why He came to earth and what He did while He was here. Even that understanding can be on an intellectual level rather than a heart level. Truth faith is committing ourselves to what God says in His word, the Bible, about who Christ is, who the Holy Spirit is, and our part in the faith process.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

— Romans 5:1-2 (NASB 1995)

Once we have that relationship with our Prince of Peace we begin to grow in our walk with Him. As we read His word our understanding of His movement in our lives and our responsibilities to Him become more clear. However, we are still walking in this world, daily affected by our flesh and all of its struggles and appetites. Peace comes more easily as we walk by the Spirit rather than the flesh.

“16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. ”

— Galatians 5:16-17 (NASB 1995)

What is it, then, that destroys our peace? What keeps us from having that peace from Prince of Peace? Why do we so often strive when we are facing difficulty, rather than just having the peace that passes all understanding. Let’s look at a few thoughts.

1 - Anxiety

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“No amount of regretting can change the past, and no amount of worrying can change the future.”

— Roy T. Bennett - The Light in the Heart

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

— Corrie Ten Boom

Here is an interesting article from Psychology Today on the difference between worry and anxiety. For this post today we are going to look at the two as one. Certainly worry can lead to anxiety, and it would be rare to have anxiety without some sort of worry.

Obviously anxiety/worry can take away our peace. If we live life in the realm of the “what if’s” we will never know the beauty of a life of peace or contentment. God’s word is very specific about worry and anxiety. Our great Creator knew we would struggle with this, so He gave us tools to use when we are in the anxious state. We’ll look at those next week, but for now, this is what the Bible says about worry and anxiety.

““For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”

— Matthew 6:25-29 (NASB 1995)

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

— Philippians 4:6 (NASB 1995)

2 - Unresolved Emotions

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You might wonder what I mean by unresolved emotions. I am referring to emotions that have come about due to difficult circumstances or relationships. Anger, sadness, or fear when left to fester will consume us and take away our peace.

Emotions are God’s gift to us. They give us the ability to live a full and productive life. Fear enables us to keep ourselves secure and away from harm. Sadness allows us to see that which is really important to us. Desire motivates us to do things. Anger itself can be a useful emotion if it moves us to take good action like lobbying for change or protecting someone who is being harmed. However, these emotions can also be the pathway for anxiety, bitterness, addiction, and wrath. What does the Bible say about our emotions?

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”

— Psalm 27:1 (NASB 1995)

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”

— Psalm 42:5 (NASB 1995)

“You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

— Psalm 145:16 (NASB 1995)

“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,”

— Ephesians 4:26 (NASB 1995)

God knows our emotions better than we know them ourselves and we were created with them to use them as a way to worship and draw closer to Him. Allowing those emotions to take over will take away our peace and cause further problems. Counseling offices are full with people who are trying to figure out how to manage their run away emotions.

3 - Pride

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How does pride get in the way of having God’s perfect peace? What does the Bible say?

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

— Proverbs 16:8 (NASB 1995)

That one verse sums up God’s opinion on pride. The Bible is actually full of examples of men whose very kingdom’s fell due to their pride. Let’s not forget Satan, our enemy whose pride led to his being banished from heaven. See Ezekiel 28:13-19. Pride is the exact opposite of humility and humility is essential in our relationship with God.

Peace in our lives requires dependence on the Prince of Peace. Dependence requires a humble heart.

Next week I will share with you ways to combat these three thieves of peace. I hope you will come back again.

Have a great weekend!

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:12-13

This week’s Mulling it Over passage is going to continue to look at Romans chapter 8. The book of Romans is full of doctrine that relates specifically to our standing before God without Christ and with Christ. It deals, in detail, with the flesh versus the Spirit and how that plays out in our lives culminating either in the devastation and destruction of the one (flesh), or the fullness and life of the other (Spirit).

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Today I am only going to look at two verses.

“12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ”

— Romans 8:12-13 (NASB 1995)

Verse 12 tells us, “…we are under obligation…” What does it mean to be under obligation? Being obligated means I have a duty or responsibility to someone or something. In this case Paul is telling us we have a responsibility “…not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.” We are duty bound to not be living according to the flesh. That sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it? The next verse tells us why.

Verse 13 begins with a devastating statement. “For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die…” Whoa! Now wait a minute. How can we not be living according to the flesh? We are, after all, walking in our skin, or flesh. In a manner of speaking we are always living in the flesh.

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The idea of “living according to the flesh” isn’t speaking just of the physical, fleshly body we are stuck in while on this earth. Living according to the flesh, means that we are letting our flesh rule our lives. We are living for our desires, our passions, our lusts and our self. We want what we want, when we want it. If you are a Christ follower and think you no longer live according to the flesh, don’t fool yourself. We are in a constant state of dying at all times. Look at the rest of verse 13.

“…But if, by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the the body, you will live.” The tense of the word “putting” means we are doing it on a regular basis. If it had been in the past, it would have said, “…if, by the Spirit you put to death…” This would have changed the meaning making it that we only had to put our flesh to death once.

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Before you get discouraged let’s remember what Christ did on the cross. Verse 3 of Roman’s 8 reminds us that God sent his own Son to condemn sin in the flesh. Jesus was made flesh for us and then put to death for us. The moment we align ourselves with Christ we have His blood covering us and giving us the ability to die to sin, and flesh. We are dead, because of what sin has done, but alive because of what Christ has done.

How do we put this flesh to death on a regular basis? If you are like me, you might find yourself easily sliding into old habits like feeling sorry for yourself, thinking you are not enough, turning to food or purchasing items to make you feel better. These are all “fleshly” rather than “Spiritual” forms of coping. I am learning, to battle and put to death the flesh there are several things I need to do.

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1 - Keep short accounts. Checking in with God regularly helps me to keep my mind and heart where it needs to be and keeps me from focusing on the flesh.

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2 - Find some accountability. I have a good friend that I know I can text any time and she will pray for and with me. I also have a group of women I meet with virtually once a week for a Bible study, that I know I could check in with any one of them if I am struggling with my flesh.

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3 - Memorize God’s word. This is one I don’t do nearly enough, in fact hardly at all, and of that I am ashamed. God’s word is our sword, and if you want a quick way to put your flesh to death, the sword of the Spirit is it.

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4 - Pray without ceasing. You all know this from 1 Thessalonians 5:17, but we need to make it a reality in our lives. Praying doesn’t have to be an on your knees posture. It isn’t about physical posture, but heart posture, although, getting on my knees or even flat on my face on the floor does wonders for my prayer life and for my dying to the flesh.

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5 - My sister-in-law gave me some great advice, which she had gotten from a book she was reading, take life 24 hours at a time. When you wake up in the morning, before you even get out of bed, dedicate the next 24 hour period to God, submitting to His divine appointments. Sometimes, life just doesn’t go as planned, but when we begin to see that each 24 hour day is a gift from Him, even the bad stuff can be used for our growth and His glory. This is Spirit living, not flesh living.

Believe me ladies when I say, I am struggling right now to live in the Spirit rather than the flesh, but even taking the time to mull over these two verses has brought me back to His center, and that is the only way we can really live.

Next month we will delve deeper into Romans 8.

Capturing Wild Horses

Have you ever had one of those nights where you lay in bed tossing and turning because you just can’t turn your mind off? Everything suddenly comes front and center as soon as you lay your head on that pillow. My husband has more of a regular problem with insomnia than I do, but every once in a while I struggle with it as well.

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For many they can’t get to sleep at all; for others they wake up at about 3AM and can’t go back to sleep; still others sleep in fits and spurts interrupted by dreams, worries and night time trips to use the bathroom. What kind of a sleeper are you?

What about during the day time? Do you have trouble with your mind wandering when you try to sit down to have a quiet time with God? How about when you are out driving around? Have you ever suddenly had to ask yourself, where am I, because your thoughts were a million miles away, or your brain was trying to remember all the things on your to do list?

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These types of mind games are pretty ordinary for most people. Our lives are full of activity, responsibility, lists, and a long line of worries. God knows how important our minds are. He is the Creator. He designed the brain to be a complex web of cells and tissue that all work together to send messages 24/7 to the rest of our body. Our brains keep our lungs breathing, our hearts beating and every other organ working properly. If there is a misfire in our brain, the rest of the body will know.

God also created us in His image. We are meant to purpose, ruminate and understand. We are meant to create, love and explore. Unfortunately, just like our brains can run amok, our minds can also get off track and suddenly become like a herd of wild mustangs running from watering hole to watering hole trying to satiate an incredible thirst.

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Last night I was struggling with those wild mustangs. My mind flitted from one worry to another; one thing I needed to do to another task that waited to be done. The image of those wild horses running along the ocean on a sandy beach came to my mind: think Misty of Chincoteague. I read this book as a girl who grew up loving horses and my oldest daughter read this book as a girl who grew up loving horses.

I started to pray for each of the things my mind focused on and as I prayed God brought the vision to my mind of capturing the wild horses. Each thought was like a prancing filly or a rearing colt. In my imagination I saw myself lasso each of those thoughts with the tools God gave me and bring it in to the corral.

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB 1995)

It becomes problematic when we do not take those wild horses into captivity. When they are left to run free, the dust they leave in their wake becomes a wall; a wall that rises to heaven choking out our light and our ability to hear the master.

Before we look more closely at the above verse we need to see it in context.

“3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

— 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NASB 1995)

Verses 3 and 4 remind us of several things:

1 - We walk in the flesh.

2 - We don’t fight according to the flesh.

3 - Our weapons are not of the flesh.

4 - Our weapons are divinely powerful.

5 - Our weapons are for the purpose of destroying fortresses.

Lest today’s post get too long, we will only look at the beginning of verse 5, then pick up the rest next time.

We are destroying speculations -

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In order to understand, why Paul is embedding this verse in a group of verses that talks about spiritual warfare, we must understand what the word speculate means. Webster’s Online Dictionary has multiple definitions for this word and I think they all apply.

Intransitive verb:

1 - a. To Meditate or ponder on a subject. b. to review something idly, or casually and often inconclusively.

2 - To assume a business risk in hope of gain. (Often in something risky like stocks that fluctuate hoping to make a large short term profit.)

Transitive verb:

1 - to take to be true on insufficient evidence.

2 - to be curious or doubtful about.

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Speculation is not just thinking about something the way we might think about whether we should order a pizza for dinner or make a pot roast. Speculating has the idea of sitting on a topic for a while. In addition, it seems to allow for doubt, misunderstanding, and risk. When we think about the things that worry us we need to ask ourselves, are these things causing me to doubt God? Are my worries the result of not understanding who God truly is and the truth He brings us in His Word? Are my anxious thoughts driving me to take risks, make decisions and participate in things that God would have never wanted for us?

Other synonyms for the word speculate include: assume, conjecture, guess, imagine, suppose, surmise and suspect. Do these terms bring you peace and comfort? Do they help calm your fears and bring your worries to rest? No!

Next time we will will look further at why it is so important to capture those wild horses and destroy those speculations.

Have a great week.