All posts by Luella Campbell

JOHN’S GOSPEL… WAS THIS THE END? – 32

Bible Study,

The inevitable happened! He was tried in a travesty of injustice, sentenced for blasphemy and treason, found guilty for being who He said He was, both Son of God and King of the Jews, and killed for the sin of the whole world, not His own.

1 John 2:2 NIV
[2] “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

And the world looked on, jeered, and celebrated.

Luke 23:35-37 NIV
[35] “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” [36] The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar [37] and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

One man cared…

John 19:38-42 NIV
[38] “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. [39] He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. [40] Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. [41] At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. [42] Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

John’s words sound so final. The body of Jesus…His remains! Only one man had the courage to do something about it. He asked permission to give Jesus’ remains a decent burial. If Joseph of Arimthea had not intervened, Jesus’ remains would have been thrown on the city garbage dump to be burned along with the bodies of the criminals who were crucified with Him.

Joseph had been a secret believer. He was afraid of the repercussions of his faith if the members of the Sanhedrin got to know about it. Was he finally ready to reveal his connection with Jesus, now that his Messiah was safely dead and out of the way? How would Jesus’ death affect Joseph’s faith?

Nicodemus also came out of hiding to join him in this final act of love towards their Messiah.

Two men, despite the hatred and contempt their fellow Sanhedrin members had shown towards Jesus, by their act of compassion, finally made a public declaration of their faith and would be remembered for their loving gesture and generosity towards Jesus. They spared no cost to give Him a dignified burial…Joseph’s new tomb, the linen cloth, the expensive herbs and spices to mask the smell of decay… nothing was too good for Jesus’ remains.

Even Joseph’s tomb, prepared for his own burial, was freely given to Jesus. Joseph was wealthy enough to have another tomb prepared for himself and his family. One wonders, after Jesus’ resurrection, if Joseph’s family ever used that tomb again or would it be dedicated as a religious shrine to be visited by millions in the centuries to come?

How much did Jesus’ prediction that He would rise again affect the actions of these two men? Did they know about His prophecy or did the disciples’ unbelief silence them from speaking about something they didn’t understand? Is seems that the actions of Joseph and Nicodemus indicated that Jesus’ remains would be prepared and left to decay like any other body after death.

… But something was different! Jesus had spoken a word, and His Word would never be unfruitful.

Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV
[10] “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, [11] so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Jesus had made a promise, and His promises were guaranteed…

2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
[20] “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

Jesus had said He would rise again after three days, and Jesus never lied…

Matthew 16:21 NIV
[21] “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

John 10:17-18 NIV
[17] “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Since He had spoken the word, and His Word was His bond, Jesus, would rise again…not at the end of time but after three days. His prediction was as specific as that.

Whatever the two men had done for Jesus, as permanent as His death might have been in their thoughts, Jesus walked from the tomb three days later, through the impenetrable and immovable stone, smelling like the fragrant spices of His burial. Even greater than that, He returned with the fresh breath of heaven on Him, finally bringing the hope of heaven coming to earth as the foretaste of all that His death and resurrection had promised.

So, Paul could declare with unshakable confidence…

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV
[55] “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

JOHN’S GOSPEL… “I AM HE” – 31

Bible Study, ,

John 18:4-5 NLT
[4] “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. [5] “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I Am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.)”

Only John recorded this unusual interlude in the arrest of Jesus, the same John who presented Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus’ announcement “I am He!” had a surprising effect on the arresting mob.

John 18:6 NLT
[6] “As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground!”

They fell backwards as if a blast of wind had sent them flying! What happened? Jesus did much more than identify Himself as the one they had come to arrest. He declared, with authority, His name… Yahweh! That should have been enough to send them scurrying in the opposite direction.

How strange! A mob of soldiers, threatening, brandishing weapons, rough and unruly…arresting the Son of God! Why? How can this be?

The story unfolds as if copied and pasted from God’s history book written in eternity before time began, every detail a perfect match with the eternal story.

John 18:4, 8-9 NLT
[4] “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked…
[8]  “I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.”
[9] He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

Let’s match the story…

The betrayal…

Psalms 41:9 NLT
[9] “Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.”

The price…

Zechariah 11:12 NIV
[12] “I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.”

The arrest…

Zechariah 13:7 NLT
[7] “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.”

The trial…

Isaiah 53:7-8a NIV
[7]” He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. [8] By oppression and judgment he was taken away…”

The sentence…

Isaiah 53:5 NIV
[5] “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

The suffering…

Psalms 22:14-15 NIV
[14] “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. [15] My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.”

The dying…

Isaiah 53:8-9 NIV
[8] “By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.”

The burial…

Isaiah 53:9 NIV
[9] “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”

The resurrection…

Psalms 16:10 NIV
[10] “… You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”

… all written in detail before the beginning of time.

The ancient hymn writer captures, in beautiful poetry, this awful event in history.

1. My song is love unknown–
my Savior’s love to me;
love to the loveless shown,
that they might lovely be.
Oh, who am I, that for my sake
my Lord should take frail flesh and die?

2. He came from His blest throne
salvation to bestow;
but men made strange, and none
the longed for Christ would know.
But oh, my Friend, my Friend indeed,
who at my need His life did spend!

3. Sometimes they strew His way,
and His sweet praises sing;
resounding all the day
hosannas to their King.
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
and for His death they thirst and cry.

4. Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run;
He gave the blind their sight.
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
themselves displease,
and ‘gainst Him rise.

5. They rise, and needs will have
my dear Lord made away.
A murderer they save;
the Prince of Life they slay.
Yet cheerful He to suff’ring goes,
that He His foes from thence might free.

6. In life, no house, no home
my Lord on earth might have;
in death, no friendly tomb
but what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
but mine the tomb wherein He lay.

7. Here might I stay and sing–
no story so divine!
Never was love, dear King,
never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend, in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

Samuel Crossman (1674)
https://hymnary.org

Surely, then, for Jesus, the Son of God, to be arrested, tried, crucified, and buried, it could only have been that He chose to submit Himself to humans. There is no other way that God could have died in the place of sinners.

Philippians 2:6-8 NIV
[6] “Christ Jesus… who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; [7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”

So, when the soldiers took Him to trial, He went, like a lamb to the slaughter, unresisting, without a murmur. Surely, this alone should have alerted them to something so unusual that they would have stopped to ponder…

JOHN’S GOSPEL… “THE TIME HAS COME” – 30

Bible Study, ,

John 18:1-3 NIV
[1] “When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.”

Jesus had a tryst to honour. He had to meet someone who would play a crucial role in the unfolding drama.

[2] “Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. [3] So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.”

What an unusual situation! Written between the lines was Jesus’ prophetic word…

John 10:17-18 NIV
[17] “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Step by step, through these dramatic events, Jesus demonstrated His absolute control over the story as it unfolded. He had a timetable to follow, and every detail had to fulfil all the prophecies about Him that covered this salvation event.

John 18:4 NIV
[4] Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

So, like a prearranged signal, Judas knew where to find Him.

Why a garden, why this garden? Again, there is symbolism in the story. How fitting that the death of humanity, when they rejected God as theie God, which happened in a garden, should be reversed by the one who came to do the Father’s will by dying, in a garden!

The Garden of Eden was a plethora of provision for the first pair, delights of every kind in the fruits of the garden. In that same garden, they forfeited everything by one choice and one decision, turning their lives from perpetual bliss into never-ending suffering and loss. Driven out of the garden, they and all mankind, were to live their lives in toil and struggle.

The Garden of Gethsemane was a garden of olive trees, the fruit of which demanded extreme pressure to release its bounty. Gethsemane, the name that always reminds us of His suffering, means “press”. As the oil is pressed from the olives to benefit humans, so our Saviour was pressed until all that remained was His loyalty to the Father and obedience to His will, the way of suffering that restored our bliss.

Mark 14:36 NIV
[36] “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Only when every shred of reservation, every atom of resistance was submitted to the Father, was He ready to move with the circumstances that took Him to the cross.

It was at the perfect moment, when the struggle was over, that Judas and his ignominious bunch of “religious and military might” arrive on the scene to arrest Him. Why the need for such a mob? Did they really think this was necessary to arrest one man…and the one man who would be willing to go because it was His destiny? How little did Judas know that he was not in charge, and that those with him were doing the Father’s will?

Acts 2:23 NIV
[23] “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.”

So, the drama picked up pace. Arrest, trial…all in the perfect timing and purpose of the Father. How Jesus monitored the unfolding events until the moment when the cock crowed…the sun darkened…and the Passover lambs were slaughtered. The angel of death passed over, taking only the firstborn, the perfect Son of God…as the sacrifice for sinners.

How can we ever believe that Calvary was a random event, in which sinners carried out their own will? Far from this, Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He died in eternity, caused it to happen in time, carried it out according to a perfect timetable, and made salvation through faith in Him possible from before the beginning of history. Hence, the Old Covenant encapsulated, in a symbolic ritual called Passover, what Jesus did before time, and which Jesus fulfilled perfectly at Passover, so that we can know without a doubt, that His sacrificial death was all of God.

1 Peter 1:20 NIV
[20] “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”

So, closely monitored by the Father, and fulfilled through the Spirit, Jesus walked the road to Calvary. Paul asserted that the Father was “in Christ” doing the work of reconciliation, while the writer to the Hebrews declares…

Hebrews 9:14 NIV
[14] “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

The Scriptures affirm that Jesus’ death was an event of the Godhead rather than just Jesus alone. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were in it together. The timing was perfect, prophecy was perfectly fulfilled, and the Father’s will done fully to the perfect moment.

How can we, then, not believe that the three-in-one God is sovereign in all He does. No matter what happens, as Jesus assured His disciples before these events unfolded…

John 14:1 NIV
[1] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”

If with Him, so with us, He is working in all things for our good, patiently and purposefully restoring in us the image of His Son.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… MISSION ACCOMPLISHED – 29

Bible Study, ,

John 17:4, 6, 8 NIV
[4] “I have BROUGHT YOU GLORY on earth by FINISHING THE WORK you gave me to do…
[6] “I have REVEALED YOU to those whom you gave me out of the world….
[8] For I GAVE THEM THE WORDS you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.”

How confidently Jesus reported back to the Father the completion of His work on earth! In this unparalleled prayer, He shared with the Father the success of His mission.

What had the Father sent Him to earth to do?

  1. “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do…”

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.”

Through centuries of disobedience and rebellion, God’s people had lost the reality of His love for them. Despite His reassurances, they rejected Him, rebelled against His laws, and turned to idols. Therefore, He had become to them a strict disciplinarian who punished them harshly for their sinfulness.

In Jesus’ day, this notion was compounded by the teaching of their spiritual leaders, who had added a plethora of laws to their aleady demanding religious system. This way of gaining acceptance with God through obedience to His laws didn’t work because they had no power to overcome their inherent sinfulness.

Jesus’ work, then, was to show them just how gracious God is by introducing Him to them as Father, and by treating them with the same love and mercy as is in the heart of the Father.

  1. “I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.”

His words and works…these were the most powerful witness to His identity as the Son of God! The entire success of His mission hung on His identity. If His disciples were convinced that He was the Son of God, they would believe what He said. Since who He was and what He said was the Word of God, His mission was to give them God’s words.

Why was this so important? God’s words were written by people through the Holy Spirit and preserved in written form through the centuries. Only in this way could they, we, and every believer throughout the ages, receive these words, and believe their message.

Not only this, but it is also in the power of these words that we can experience what they convey.

1 Peter 1:23 NIV
[23] “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

Since Jesus’ primary focus was on His disciples, to train them to continue His work on earth after He had left them, His last recorded prayer was about them and those who would follow them.

John 17:9 NIV
[9] “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

What was His concern?

Unity!

John 17:11 NIV
[11] “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.”

During His time with them, Jesus had made every effort to protect His disciples from splintering into rival groups. They were not a homigenious bunch. Frequent quarrels broke out among them… constantly trying to sort out their pecking order.

Their leadership style was flawed. For them, leadership depended on who was the greatest. Jesus had to turn their philosophy upside down, not lording over but serving one another in love and humility. He knew that disunity would destroy their witness and their mission to reach the world with His message.

When we read through this relatively long prayer, we discover that Jesus’ requests focus on His two requirements for His church that will set His people apart from the world and be the witness to His identity and His mission… unity and love.

The world can never match what is in the church…the love and unity that is only made possible by the Holy Spirit. Paul expands on these qualities produced by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:5 NIV
[5] “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Ephesians 4:3 NIV
[3] “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Only through God’s power would His disciples be protected from the damage their sinful nature could cause.

John 17:15 NIV
[15] “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

Jesus knew that the most powerful force against them was not the devil but the effects of their own evil hearts. The Greek word, “poneros”, unfortunately, mostly translated “evil one”, is not about the devil but about the results of the evil in the human heart. As in the Lord’s prayer, “deliver us from evil,”, so here in this prayer, Jesus’ focuses on what sin does in and to people.

Jeremiah 17:9 NIV
[9] “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

These men had yet to undergo the radical experience of the new birth. Only after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell on them in transforming power, would they be ready to fight and win the battle over their sinful flesh.

John 17:15-17 NIV
[15] “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from (the) evil (one) . [16] They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. [17] Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

How beautifully, in His own prayer, Jesus gives us the way to overcome the sinful nature that constantly demands the satisfaction of evil desires. God’s Word has the power to change us on the inside from self-centred slaves of sin to unselfish servants of Jesus, serving one another in love from the heart.

John 17:20-21 NIV
[20] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:26 NIV
[26] “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Love and unity, the greatest witness to Jesus! In His so-called “high-priestly” prayer, Jesus gives us His modus operandi to reach the people of the world. He called His disciples to BE His witnesses. When the world looks at the church, what do they see?

The love and unity that are the only true witnesses of His powerful presence in the church are only possible through the Holy Spirit. Yet, so much of the church is not really His church but the counterfeit woman of Revelation. Why? Is it because doing replaces being? Doing “Christian” things like prophesying etc., can never replace being “in the vine” as the witness to Jesus.

Matthew 7:21-23 NIV
[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ [23] Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

Is Jesus prayer being answered? Yes and no! Yes, when the fellowship of the church mirrors the prayer of Jesus. No, when the people in the church act like the world.

1 Corinthians 3:3 NIV
[3] You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?

In the end, it’s all about fruit. Love begets unity, hence the commandments of the Old Covenant are distilled into two in the New Covenant.

1 John 3:23 NIV
[23] “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. “

JOHN’S GOSPEL… FINAL REASSURANCE – 28

Bible Study, ,

John 16:33 NIV
[33] “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

What could Jesus have said to His disciples in this moment of crisis? He knew that He would never have time with them alone again before He went to the cross. How could He reassure them that all was well and that, despite the way things seemed to be heading, everything would also turn out well for them?

Peace! They needed a peace that would hold them steady in every situation, no matter what happened. He had already bequeathed to them His love, joy, and peace, the most priceless gifts He could ever give them in a world of chaos and turmoil.

John 15:9 NIV
[9] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:11 NIV
[11] “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

John 14:27 NIV
[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.”

Uncertainty, insecurity, fear gripped them like the tentacles of a clinging vine. How would they be able to navigate the next few hours and the days to follow when He spoke repeatedly of leaving them? For years they had walked in His shadow, secure and protected by His presence and wisdom. What now?

Let’s examine the peace of which He spoke. What is Jeaus’ peace?

Google says…

“The peace Jesus gave his disciples was his own “inner peace” and spiritual tranquility, not the absence of conflict or worldly problems. It was a powerful, internal calm that provided reassurance and freedom from fear, even amidst turmoil and impending suffering. This divine peace is unconditional, permanent, and rooted in a relationship with God, offering assurance of salvation and eternal life, unlike the temporary and conditional peace of the world.”

How could Jesus experience this peace despite everything He endured as a man? “I have overcome the world.”

For Jesus, “the world” implied all the forces of evil in the world system over which His arch enemy had control that attempted to destroy the unity between Him and the Father. The one thing that could break that unity was sin, i.e., acting independently of the Father.

Jesus treasured and guarded this unity even to the shedding of His blood in obedience to the Father. Since He never sinned, His peace remained intact through every temptation, the assurance that He and the Father were always in complete harmony.

So, He offered the possibility of experiencing the same tranquility of heart and mind to His disciples in their current circumstances. Having this peace, to steady them always, depended on two responses…

  1. Faith in Him to remove the sin barrier between themselves and God. Only Jesus could forgive their sin by paying their debt. Once their sin had been forgiven and removed, God was free to accept them as His own children.

Romans 5:1 NIV
[1] “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Peace with God! All barriers removed! Fully accepted by the Father!

This part of His peace was a once-for-all reality when they were made alive and transferred, through the power of the Holy Spirit, out of the realm of darkness into the kingdom of God.

Romans 5:2 NIV
[2] “… through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

…a standing in grace!

This means, that God was free to provide for them, (and us), because of His grace…His goodwill and favour towards them…everything they needed to live godly lives.

  1. Faith in Him to carry them through every trial and test. Anxiety and fear are the two great monsters that rise up in daily experience to threaten His peace.

The key is to trade anxieties for His peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
[6] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And THE PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So, Jesus assured them that He had taken care of their victory as well as His own, by holding steady against all the onslaughtss of the world. Since He had overcome, they could also overcome through His power in them and maintain the trust in Him that assured them of peace.

As long as they held fast to their trust in Him with gratitude for His unfailing goodness, His peace would act as a referee, only blowing the whistle when they trespassed outside the truth that held them steady. Truth and peace go hand-in-hand, peace in the heart always confirming truth in the mind.

So, despite outward turbulence, inward peace was His legacy to keep them from falling apart when their world spun out of control.